I tested the Pixel 11 Pro XL’s 25W wireless charging. It’s still way too slow

Pixels and I get on reasonably well, but if there’s one area that I find myself constantly sighing loudly at, it’s charging the darn phones. Yes, you can just splash the cash on official accessories like the Pixel Flex 67W charger ($59.99 at Amazon), a mighty impressive USB-C adapter in its own right. But not all the accessories in Google’s charging ecosystem are as good — and I’m pointing fingers squarely at the PixelSnap charger ($39.99 at Amazon).

I’m still disappointed that Google has essentially abandoned my beloved Pixel Stand in favor of PixelSnap. While MagSafe undoubtedly has some conveniences for case accessories, it’s proven to be a significant downgrade in terms of what actually matters — charging times. Last year’s Pixel 10 Pro XL using PixelSnap proved to be over half an hour slower than the Pixel 9 Pro XL on the old Pixel Stand.

For starters, the wireless charger takes an absolute age to approach anything close to 25W (my model tapped out at 23W, far less than the 31W I clocked on the 10 Pro XL). It spent several minutes switching between 9V and 16V for some reason, perhaps probing what the phone’s temperatures and battery will allow. This is annoying because you typically expect a charger to start providing maximum power virtually right away, or at least within a few seconds of plugging in. Instead, it took the charger and phone about six minutes to lock in at peak charging power, increasing the time needed for a meaningful short top-up.

Unfortunately, it was only able to maintain peak power for about that long again; talk about disappointing. For all the talk of 25W capabilities, the PixelSnap remains firmly closer to a 15W model.

If there’s good news, the peak power level is slightly better sustained than last year. While the Pixel 10 Pro XL dipped to 10W within the first 30 minutes of its painfully slow charge cycle when I tested it last year, the Pixel 11 Pro XL stays closer to 15W for the best part of an hour. The net result is faster charging times than last year’s model, taking 119 minutes to full compared to 145, which is certainly significant. Better sustained power also means the Pixel 11 Pro XL reaches 50% battery in 47 minutes, compared to 61 minutes on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, another meaningful improvement.

But that’s about all the good news there is in this generation. Temperatures remain higher when using wireless charging, making the handset feel considerably warm to the touch. Internal temperatures are limited to 40°C (I didn’t test with Extreme Charging), which causes the phone to throttle back power after the initial faster-charging period. The average temperature of 37.4°C is about half a degree warmer than last year’s, so this year’s increase in speed isn’t free. The bottom line, though, is that charging with PixelSnap remains slower and hotter than even using a modest wired charger.

This is made all the worse by the fact that Google once had a reasonably good wireless charging solution with the Pixel Stand (2nd gen). When using PixelSnap, the Pixel 11 Pro XL is still significantly slower to charge than the Pixel 9 Pro XL on the Pixel Stand (2nd gen). The two-generation-old Pixel 9 Pro XL can reach full charge in 101 minutes over the air and 50% in just 33 minutes, thanks to its higher 30W charging power and built-in fan that helps keep temperatures down, allowing it to sustain high power for longer.

Unfortunately, the Pixel Stand is incredibly slow with the Pixel 11 Pro XL. Presumably because the charging coils are now misaligned or too far apart, power is capped at just 7.5W. This results in an estimated charge time well in excess of four hours, and I wasn’t going to wait to verify that. Sadly, the Pixel Stand is now virtually useless for the Pixel 10 and 11 series unless you plan to charge them exclusively overnight.

Of course, MagSafe is just as much about convenience as it is about maximizing charging power via Qi 2.2. There’s no denying that having cases, battery packs, and more that neatly hug the phone while also potentially providing power or other features is a trade-off that many will consider worthwhile. Especially when the phone has wired charging to get it back on when you’re in desperate need of a fast top-up.

That said, the new Pixel 11 Pro XL’s impressive-sounding 45W wired charging capabilities aren’t quite as straightforward either. The real peak power output is closer to 41W, and only if your charger can provide 18V and 2.27A via the USB PD PPS protocol. That reminds me, you need a charger with similar specs for the PixelSnap as well. Who has time to research all that?

Furthermore, Google’s new Extreme Charging mode offers a 5-minute boost at the cost of a roughly 3°C temperature increase, peaking at a rather warm 42.9°C in my test, which is hardly compelling either. Needless to say, it’s all a bit of a mess if you just want your Pixel to charge as quickly as possible without cooking itself.

And that’s one of the things the Pixel Stand really had going for it — the internal fan helped keep the phone cool, allowing it to pull more power for longer. What I’d really like to see is a new model with built-in magnets to ensure proper alignment and faster, cooler charging than the current bare-bones puck. That would provide the best of both worlds. But the fact that Google still tries to charge $65 for the Snap and stand combo still feels like a bad joke. Let’s hope for something better next year.