A question that keeps bouncing off the insides of my brain is whether the Pixel 10 will finally bump the embarrassing charging speed of the Pixel 9 series.
The base model Pixel 9 and mid-level Pixel 9 Pro charge at 27W, whereas the upper-tier Pixel 9 Pro XL charges at 37W wired charging speeds.
If you’re wondering why I care about charging speeds so much, it’s quite straightforward.
The Google Pixel 6 supported 21W wired charging, which isn’t a whole lot different from the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro’s 27W speed.
Funny enough, I don’t care about the camera setup as much as I do about the charging speed anymore.
Everybody in the tech industry is occupied with rumors regarding the Pixel 10. There are rumors that the next Google series will have different camera configurations, possibly even a downgrade, and that the color scheme will be a diverse range of hues. But none of these things pique my interest. I’m only thinking about one thing.
Whether the Pixel 10 will eventually improve upon the embarrassing charging speed of the Pixel 9 series is a question that will never go away. Wired charging speeds for the top-tier Pixel 9 Pro XL are 37W, while the base model Pixel 9 and mid-range Pixel 9 Pro charge at 27W. These figures don’t give a good impression of Google.
There’s a simple explanation for why charging speeds are important to me. Fast charging will always be important until battery technology advances to the point where we can sustain heavy use for several days on a single charge; Google has lagged behind in this regard.
How did Google allow it to reach this point?
What’s even more shocking is that over the past few years, Google has had the audacity to continuously let us down with the charging speeds of its flagship phones. The 21W wired charging speed that the Google Pixel 6 supported isn’t all that different from the 27W speed of the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. In just three years, Google made no effort to adequately support this industry.
At least the Galaxy S25 Plus and S25 Ultra support 45W fast charging, but I’ve criticized Samsung for the S25’s antiquated 25W charging speed. Comparing that to the 37W charging speed of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, there is a noticeable difference.
We honor these gadgets, give them titles, and refer to them as the best of the best, but they still let us down. How can such big brands possibly get away with such terrible charging specifications?
Oddly enough, the charging speed is now more important to me than the camera configuration. The Pixel family is already skilled at photography and recycles old lenses, so that’s why. We still have an amazing photography experience in spite of this.
Even though one of the Pixel 10 models has a primary or secondary lens that is downgraded, I’m confident that the cameras will still be excellent. But Google needs to focus much more on charging speed.
The reputation of the Pixel 9a as the battery king is what made it so popular. This powerful little gadget’s long-lasting battery lessens the need for daily charging of the Pixel 9a. Users might not mind charging more frequently if the charging speed were faster.
I know because I was unable to return to using the Pixel as my primary device after switching to a OnePlus phone. It is extremely difficult to give up the battery and charging specifications once you get used to 100W charging and an all-day battery life.
If Google does increase the price of the Pixel 10 Pro XL by $100 while keeping the mediocre charging speed of 37W or 40W, I can’t even begin to imagine how terrible that will look. I doubt that consumers will still be willing to purchase such a costly Google Pixel phone with such subpar charging capabilities.
That rumored $100 price increase, however, might be worthwhile for many people, including myself, if Google surprises us with 50W to 60W fast charging.
