Last year’s Pixel launch seemed to promise a significant boost to Google’s phone charging speeds, with a 30W charger requirement compared to the lackluster 18W from previous years. Some sleuthing revealed that the company wasn’t entirely truthful in its representation, with the Pixel 6 limited to 21W and the 6 Pro providing 23W of peak power. Nice, but nowhere near the levels of competitive power that the marketing materials originally promised. Back to today, the charging messages for the Pixel 7 series have not changed. Google recommends getting the 30W charger for the new phones, which you have to buy separately, as the brand no longer includes a charger in the box. However, the fine print notes that the actual charging power requirements remain at 21W and 23W for the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, respectively. Once again, the 30W plug claim is seemingly excessive and lower wattage alternatives will achieve the same results. Read more: How to choose the right charger We took Google’s two latest devices into our lab to find out exactly what you need to fast charge the Pixel 7 series.
Google Pixel 7 charging test
Two things to note before looking at the numbers. First, the Pixel 7 series charges at maximum power levels when connected to a fairly powerful USB Power Delivery PPS plug, which official Google products and many other third-party products support. Second, the headphones peak at a lower 18W when connected to a standard USB Power Delivery charger (without PPS support), such as an older Pixel plug or the 30W Apple USB-C charger we’re using for this test. With that out of the way, let’s dive into some facts. The data speaks for itself. There isn’t a huge difference in full charge times between a PPS and a standard USB power supply plug. In fact, the Pixel 7 hits full charge in 100 minutes with USB PD PSS and 101 minutes with an older charger. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 Pro hits full charge in 104 minutes with the Google charger and 111 minutes with the Apple model. We’re talking about margin of error here. Astute readers will also note that the Pixel 7’s charge times are a bit faster than last year’s models. We clocked the Pixel 6 Pro at 111 minutes, though some of that difference may be due to temperature fluctuations at the time of testing. The Pixel 7 Pro charges slightly faster than the Pixel 6 Pro. Looking at the key milestones, there isn’t a huge amount to it. Using the optimal charger, the regular Pixel 7 achieves 25% in 15 minutes, 50% in 30 minutes and 75% in 52 minutes. In comparison, using a non-PPS charger, the Pixel 7 hits 25% in 17 minutes, 50% in 34 minutes, and 75% in 55 minutes. In other words, choosing an older charger only costs you a few minutes compared to the best case scenario. There is virtually no difference in Pixel 7 charge times between a USB PD PPS charger and a non-PPS charger. There’s a bigger discrepancy for the Pixel 7 Pro, due to its higher charge rate and larger 5,000mAh battery versus the Pixel 7’s 4,355mAh cell. It hits 25% in 15 minutes, 50% in 30 minutes, and 75% in 55 minutes when using Google’s 30W plug, which follows the Pixel 7’s trajectory very closely. By switching to a non-PPS charger, these times drop slightly to 25% in 18 minutes, 50% in 37 minutes, and 75% in 60 minutes. At its worst, this charger is only seven minutes behind Google’s official recommendation. Although the Pro benefits more from a PPS charger than the regular model, we’re talking about a few minutes. It seems pretty clear that going for Google’s 30W charger isn’t necessarily worth the extra cash, especially for the standard Pixel 7 model.
Why is the Pixel 7 charging slowly?
The reason for the equally slow charge times of the Google Pixel 7 series, regardless of the plug, can be seen by taking a look at the power level throughout the charge cycle. The graph below shows the amount of power the handset draws over a full cycle for both 30W plugs used in the previous test. As you can see, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro hit 21W and 23W, respectively, for about half of their charge cycle. This explains why they charge faster to 25% and 50% via USB PD PSS than standard USB PD. However, after that initial 30-minute charge, both handsets drop back down to a more limited power level below 18W. In comparison, a typical USB PD charger provides almost 19W of power fairly steadily until the battery reaches 60% charge. While it’s clearly slower, it’s only a few watts behind what you’ll get from a more impressive PPS charger. Google’s Pixel 7 Pro benefits more from PPS, thanks to higher power charging, but only in a few minutes. This explains the almost identical charge times we saw with the regular Pixel 7. An extra 2W makes very little difference in the early stages of charging, while the regular USB PD charger actually maintains higher power for longer (probably due to temperatures), which sees reach the small lead of the PPS charger in the latter stages of the charge cycle. Either way, the Pixel 7 duo are certainly not the fastest-charging phones on the market, which is almost certainly by design to ensure long-term sustainable battery life. The biggest problem for Pixel owners is how to maximize their charging speed, and whether it’s really worth spending money on a brand new, state-of-the-art charging port. Further reading: How long does it really take to fully charge your phone?
What charger should I use with the Pixel 7?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro offer solid battery life, so we’d expect most users to be perfectly fine with overnight charging, thanks to Google’s Adaptive Charging technology. In this case, almost any charger will do, but we’d recommend a USB power plug capable of delivering 18W or more. Such a plug would still work well enough for fast daytime charging, and chances are you already have one from an older product. More ideas: The best Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro chargers However, if you prefer daily charging or just want to make sure you can top up your handset as quickly as possible, then you’ll need a USB Power Delivery PPS charger that delivers around 25W or more. However, our tests only show that this is worth it with the Google Pixel 7 Pro — the regular Pixel 7 has very few benefits. Google’s official 30W plug does the trick here, but there are plenty of third-party options as well. Comments
