Google has replied to claims that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro don’t charge as quickly as some had hoped, saying that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro’s charging rates are an intentional compromise for longer battery life. It comes after a report from Android Authority revealed that the phones’ highest power drain was roughly 22W, far less than the 30W that Google’s newest USB-C charging brick is capable of.
A Google official verified in a community support post that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro’s maximum power drain when utilized with its 30W USB-C charging brick is 21W and 23W, respectively. They also mentioned that when the phones’ batteries fill up, charging speeds slow down to ensure the phones’ lifetime.
They explain in their essay that these statistics are unavoidable consequences of battery tradeoffs. “A battery might be constructed for high energy density or for quick charging power capabilities, which necessitates sacrificing capacity to avoid battery deterioration,” the spokesman explains. To put it another way, a phone may either have a long battery life or quick charging, but not both at the same time. As a result, Google prioritized battery life and engineered the phones to take less power when charging.
Although Google’s support documents never explicitly state the new phones’ charging speeds, many people assumed that their compatibility with Google’s 30W charging brick (sold separately) meant that their real-world maximum charging speeds would approach 30W, which would be much faster than the 18W charging supported by the Pixel 5. The actual power drain of both phones, according to Android Authority’s study, peaks at 22W and averages at 13W over the course of a full cycle.
As a result, the phones charge far slower than you might think, with the Pixel 6 Pro taking nearly two hours to achieve full charge, according to Android Authority. That’s 49 minutes slower than Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, which has a same battery size but only advertises 25W fast charging capabilities. Indeed, Google’s power consumption is so low that its 30W charger only charges a Pixel 6 Pro 10 minutes faster than its previous 18W charger.
The phones were never advertised as charging at 30 watts. Instead, it promoted the time it takes to charge from zero to fifty percent and eighty percent when using its 30W charger – 30 minutes and an hour, respectively. This is consistent with the findings of Android Authority’s tests.
In addition to charging speeds, Google also explained that the phones’ fingerprint scanners’ poor performance is due to their “improved security algorithms.” It later provided an update with “some fingerprint sensor performance enhancements,” albeit in fact, the gains appeared to be minor.