Accessories that We Say Work...

[SteelGator]

I have purchased these, based on Benson's sheet. I am very happy with both. I'm not likely to buy any charging accessories not on his sheet, too many folks failing his tests.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D8C6ULO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017V7SI30/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jlangner]

I considered those, but combined over $50

 

[Impulses]

The $35 Google charger is the same 18W one you get with the phone AND it comes with the same 6ft cable. It you need both a secondary charger AND cable it's actually pretty affordable and probably your best bet.

The cheapest in spec charger I've seen (one of only 2-3) is still like $18 and any decent cable would run another $8+ atop that, plus possibly shipping... You end up saving all of $5-9 vs Google's combo and you probably end up with a shorter cable.

Their Type C to A cable is more overpriced at $25 by itself, but you shouldn't need that unless you need a second 3.0/3.1 cable besides the original for fast data transfers... For optimal charging just go Type C to Type C. Type C car chargers like the Nekteck are pretty cheap ($16 IIRC).

Those two recommendations cover the vast majority of people's needs tbh, no need to go hunting for anything else.

I bought a couple extra C to C cables myself for use with a Type C wall outlet/charger and with a Vinsic car charger (connected to a solar panel) but anyone doing something like that has probably (or should probably) already read every review and recommendation posted by Benson, Nathan K etc.

It's not that simple to test this stuff, seeing "charging rapidly" on screen or going by manufacturer specs is almost meaningless... If you're gonna stray away from well reviewed/tested stuff I'd at least make damn sure it carries the USB-IF's certification seal (and few things do right now).

 

[Impulses]

You can't use rapid charging as an indicator of USB PD. If it's like the Nexus phones last year they indicate rapid charging if the phone is receiving at least a certain wattage. So there is a variance to rapid charging. Even a charger that doesn't output a full 3A by 5V can show the phone as rapid charging.

For example it's possible to use a USB A charger which can do up to 2.4A and have the phone report it's charging rapidly. So that would be a wattage of 12W. So that would charge a little slower than a charger that provides 3A by 5V or a USB PD adapter that does 2A by 9V. But they are all considered rapid charging by the phone.

Correct.

 

[Impulses]

Are there really so many dodgy chargers on the market? Is this something that you guys think will eventually be phased out? Or would the hardware in phones make it a non-issue through safety precautions?

There are actually, there's a crapload of bad cables and chargers that don't follow the spec and are downright dangerous.

The fact that Qualcomm decided to shoehorn their proprietary Quick Charging spec unto Type C ports (on the phone side but not the charger side to boot) only complicated matters more since it violates the spec and just stunted adoption of the official USB Power Delivery spec. Devices from MS, Google, and Apple mostly follow the PD spec.

In a year or two QC will go away and this will probably be a non issue, you can probably just look for the USB-IF certificate of approval. Right now? Tread and buy very carefully IMO.

 

[Impulses]

What I am after here isn't necessarily focused on safety and dodginess, but rather how can we easily purchase real PD-performance cables and chargers at affordable prices, now. I realize that eventually, this stuff will sort-out based on lots of customer experiences. I was hoping to nail-down something specific in the near-term.

If you've actually read Benson or Nathan K's reviews you should've easily spotted some affordable alternatives... The spreadsheets make it more confusing than it really is to find some decent stuff IMO, specially since they aren't totally updated or detailed.

Benson's Amazon profile, or his G+ page, or Nathan's, are easier to follow but it does involve more reading... Nathan K even has a "Light" section on his G+ page for those that don't wanna do a ton of reading tho.

In any case, I'll synthesize what I think are some of the better yet affordable options in case it helps anyone else. You can save $3-4 by going with a separate (albeit shorter) cable and charger, but I still maintain that the $35 18W charger + 6ft cable shipped free straight from Google is actually a pretty solid value.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../store.google.com/us/?hl=en-US&token=NnqKrEV2

If you wanna save those $3-4 or you need a charger but not a cable (or vice versa), then take a look at these):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017V7SI30/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537550

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GVDVEMM/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537550

You can save another $3 or so if you track down a USB 2.0 Type C cable instead, but honestly, why bother? I guess in some cases one may want a fancier looking or slightly better built cable than the Black Squid (braided etc), but you're probably gonna end up paying more for that regardless...

There's actually more decent car charger out there than AC chargers, Benson was using that Nekteck for a while as his personal charger and I think it's still one of the better ones overall, particularly if you want to charge two things at once which I think is a fairly common need:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CH9NEM2/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537550

It's cheap, well built (I have both it and the Vinsic), and comes with a built in cable in your choice of coiled or not. If it wasn't so cheap and/or a single port I'd take issue with the permanently attached cable, but at $16 it's not much more expensive than a decent cable anyway!

So that's your AC and car charging beds needs covered... The phone comes with a USB 3.1 A to C cable and an OTG adapter (which isn't technically OTG anymore but nevermind that). I doubt most people need extras of those right away...

I bought two of the longer/flexible Type C to female A adapter by Google because I thought $12 wasn't too bad and there were no third party adapters with detailed reviews. Bought an extra Type C to A cable too but that one IS overpriced at $25 IMO, I just didn't care to keep scouring reviews.

When in doubt, or if you're really broke, just get Anker's two pack of micro USB to Type C adapters, they're well reviewed by Benson and only like $7. You can safely use any old charger/cable with those, you just won't get the absolute fastest charging rear or data transfer speed.

Beats buying spec violating stuff that might fry your $700 phone or charger... I intend to use one of those adapters with my old USB power pack for now, because decent Type C power packs are almost non existent right now.

 

[billykac]

If you've actually read Benson or Nathan K's reviews you should've easily spotted some affordable alternatives... The spreadsheets make it more confusing than it really is to find some decent stuff IMO, specially since they aren't totally updated or detailed.

Benson's Amazon profile, or his G+ page, or Nathan's, are easier to follow but it does involve more reading... Nathan K even has a "Light" section on his G+ page for those that don't wanna do a ton of reading tho.

In any case, I'll synthesize what I think are some of the better yet affordable options in case it helps anyone else. You can save $3-4 by going with a separate (albeit shorter) cable and charger, but I still maintain that the $35 18W charger + 6ft cable shipped free straight from Google is actually a pretty solid value.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../store.google.com/us/?hl=en-US&token=VLqn_n-G

If you wanna save those $3-4 or you need a charger but not a cable (or vice versa), then take a look at these):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017V7SI30/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537635

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GVDVEMM/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537635

You can save another $3 or so if you track down a USB 2.0 Type C cable instead, but honestly, why bother? I guess in some cases one may want a fancier looking or slightly better built cable than the Black Squid (braided etc), but you're probably gonna end up paying more for that regardless...

There's actually more decent car charger out there than AC chargers, Benson was using that Nekteck for a while as his personal charger and I think it's still one of the better ones overall, particularly if you want to charge two things at once which I think is a fairly common need:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CH9NEM2/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537635

It's cheap, well built (I have both it and the Vinsic), and comes with a built in cable in your choice of coiled or not. If it wasn't so cheap and/or a single port I'd take issue with the permanently attached cable, but at $16 it's not much more expensive than a decent cable anyway!

So that's your AC and car charging beds needs covered... The phone comes with a USB 3.1 A to C cable and an OTG adapter (which isn't technically OTG anymore but nevermind that). I doubt most people need extras of those right away...

I bought two of the longer/flexible Type C to female A adapter by Google because I thought $12 wasn't too bad and there were no third party adapters with detailed reviews. Bought an extra Type C to A cable too but that one IS overpriced at $25 IMO, I just didn't care to keep scouring reviews.

When in doubt, or if you're really broke, just get Anker's two pack of micro USB to Type C adapters, they're well reviewed by Benson and only like $7. You can safely use any old charger/cable with those, you just won't get the absolute fastest charging rear or data transfer speed.

Beats buying spec violating stuff that might fry your $700 phone or charger... I intend to use one of those adapters with my old USB power pack for now, because decent Type C power packs are almost non existent right now.

Excellent!
Thanks for this!!

I bought a couple of Google chargers with cables. I bought the Aukey PD car charger (link in an earlier post) and I wanted a good PD cable to go with it. I bought the Black Squid earlier today, so I should be set.

Hopefully, all of this insight can assist other Pixel owners.

 

[billykac]

If you've actually read Benson or Nathan K's reviews you should've easily spotted some affordable alternatives... The spreadsheets make it more confusing than it really is to find some decent stuff IMO, specially since they aren't totally updated or detailed.

Benson's Amazon profile, or his G+ page, or Nathan's, are easier to follow but it does involve more reading... Nathan K even has a "Light" section on his G+ page for those that don't wanna do a ton of reading tho.

In any case, I'll synthesize what I think are some of the better yet affordable options in case it helps anyone else. You can save $3-4 by going with a separate (albeit shorter) cable and charger, but I still maintain that the $35 18W charger + 6ft cable shipped free straight from Google is actually a pretty solid value.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../store.google.com/us/?hl=en-US&token=jVJ_sJSx

If you wanna save those $3-4 or you need a charger but not a cable (or vice versa), then take a look at these):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017V7SI30/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537637

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GVDVEMM/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537637

You can save another $3 or so if you track down a USB 2.0 Type C cable instead, but honestly, why bother? I guess in some cases one may want a fancier looking or slightly better built cable than the Black Squid (braided etc), but you're probably gonna end up paying more for that regardless...

There's actually more decent car charger out there than AC chargers, Benson was using that Nekteck for a while as his personal charger and I think it's still one of the better ones overall, particularly if you want to charge two things at once which I think is a fairly common need:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CH9NEM2/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537637

It's cheap, well built (I have both it and the Vinsic), and comes with a built in cable in your choice of coiled or not. If it wasn't so cheap and/or a single port I'd take issue with the permanently attached cable, but at $16 it's not much more expensive than a decent cable anyway!

So that's your AC and car charging beds needs covered... The phone comes with a USB 3.1 A to C cable and an OTG adapter (which isn't technically OTG anymore but nevermind that). I doubt most people need extras of those right away...

I bought two of the longer/flexible Type C to female A adapter by Google because I thought $12 wasn't too bad and there were no third party adapters with detailed reviews. Bought an extra Type C to A cable too but that one IS overpriced at $25 IMO, I just didn't care to keep scouring reviews.

When in doubt, or if you're really broke, just get Anker's two pack of micro USB to Type C adapters, they're well reviewed by Benson and only like $7. You can safely use any old charger/cable with those, you just won't get the absolute fastest charging rear or data transfer speed.

Beats buying spec violating stuff that might fry your $700 phone or charger... I intend to use one of those adapters with my old USB power pack for now, because decent Type C power packs are almost non existent right now.

Excellent! Thanks for this.

 

[Impulses]

Didn't link the Anker adapters earlier, probably should've:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01AHKYIRS/?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5537747

They're handy to have even if you don't intend to immediately adapt any old accessories... Never know when one of your chargers will crap out and you'll be somewhere where there's a bunch of micro USB chargers but no Type Cs. They're small enough to tuck in a wallet/pocket for emergencies like that IMO.

I bought a similar but totally non-spec compliant adapter from OnePlus in addition to the Ankers, just for the keychain silicon sleeve it comes with... Just shipped out, I'll report if the Anker adapter fits inside it well enough. Slapping it on my keychain would be ideal for use with my old power bank.

In my pocket it's liable to end up in the wash or the bottom of the couch eventually...

 

[Impulses]

Note that the recent revelation that the smaller Pixel only ever uses a max PD rate of 15W (and never 18W) doesn't really change much, if anything, with regards to buying accessories.

At most, a couple of the cheaper car chargers that only did 3A/5V (15W) but not 2A/9V just became a slightly better value (if you have a Pixel and not an XL). I think the Nekteck/Vinsic might be in that camp, from memory.

There were barely any decent in-spec AC chargers to choose from to begin with (dodocool and Monoprice's?), and they were all capable of higher rates IIRC so it's kinda moot on that end. Nothing changes with regards to cables at all.

https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/7WS9sXe3k6y?sfc=true

Less nerdy:

Google clarifies Pixel charging speeds, 5" Pixel peaks at 15 watts, only XL can do 18W

 

[Impulses]

Excellent!
Thanks for this!!

I bought a couple of Google chargers with cables. I bought the Aukey PD car charger (link in an earlier post) and I wanted a good PD cable to go with it. I bought the Black Squid earlier today, so I should be set.

Hopefully, all of this insight can assist other Pixel owners.

https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/C6iWFDfSGt4

 

[billykac]

Yup, saw the other post.

Let's see what Aukey says.