Battery charging speeds

[Clayton Short]

One of the advertised features of the Pixel/Pixel XL prior to release was the ability to charge the device by 75% in just 15 minutes.

Has anyone been lucky enough to experience this? Mine charges fairly quickly (around an hour from 0%) but hasn't reached the dizzying speeds of 75% in 15 minutes.

 

[akin_t]

I thought it said 7.5 hours of use in 15 minutes. Not 75%

 

[pmendu]

Yah 7hrs in 15mins supposedly..

 

[akin_t]

Yah 7hrs in 15mins supposedly..

Which doesn't even mean anything. 7 hours doing what? Playing games or looping a video with Wi-Fi off?

 

[noordzy77]

I sleep for 7 hours and my phone drops 2%...

It's a very ambiguous statement. But it does charge fast. It's rate is acceptable to me.

 

[pmendu]

So how long does it take to fully charge from 0? Note 7 took 1.5hrs

 

[christophermccarthy]

I got about 8 hrs after 15 min

 

[Impulses]

AFAIK it's more like 40% in 15 min, the Pixel XL charges at a max of 18W (it'll use 2A at 9V at certain points then switch) whereas the Pixel tops out at 15W (3A at 5V) so take that into account with third party chargers.

Both phones charge at a much faster rate up to 50% then slow down, and the last 10-20% takes the longest. Both phones will slow down charge rate if they heat up too much etc, Type C allows for somewhat better battery management.

Lastly, to exploit USB Power Delivery at all you need to be using Type C to C cables and/or PD chargers with built in Type C cables. If you use a Type A (full size) to C cable the best you'll manage is 7.5W, maybe 10W in some cases.

 

[Phonejock]

I have a charger that is Type A to type C and I get the charging rapidly notification is that not as rapid or what?

 

[Impulses]

I have a charger that is Type A to type C and I get the charging rapidly notification is that not as rapid or what?

The notification is meaningless, it shows up at some arbitrary amount over 7W but doesn't mean that you're charging at the *fastest* rate of 15W+... Yea it's misleading.

Basically the message just means you're charging at an 'okay' rate, to not see it at all you'd have to use something like an older 1A charger (5W), pre BC2.1 spec, or a PC's USB port (often limited to 2.5W)... Then it'll just say 'charging'.

Google could've been more explicit with that part of the UI IMO. You'll never get up to 15W with an A to C cable, and if it's somehow mis wired to allow it the thing would probably just kill the charger (best case scenario, phone being the worst case).

Safe Type A to C cables with the proper resistor are fine otherwise, you're just not charging as fast as possible.

 

[matty032]

This phone takes forever to drain the battery, even with heavy use. And charges very quickly. I have never had a phone with this good a battery system before.

 

[robber]

So how long does it take to fully charge from 0? Note 7 took 1.5hrs

About the same.

 

[ihbsbA]

This phone takes forever to drain the battery, even with heavy use. And charges very quickly. I have never had a phone with this good a battery system before.

Same.. However I'm on my charging about 1% per minute on all of my chargers that were quick charge capable (I don't know all the tech crap about mah, mhz, wattage, etc).. I haven't gotten the cables out of the box yet.... Is that going to be the difference?

 

[Impulses]

Same.. However I'm on my charging about 1% per minute on all of my chargers that were quick charge capable (I don't know all the tech crap about mah, mhz, wattage, etc).. I haven't gotten the cables out of the box yet.... Is that going to be the difference?

Yes. If you're charging using a Type A to Type C cable and a "Quick Charge capable" charger you're basically charging about half as fast as what the phone is capable of (specially <50% battery capacity). The Pixels use an open standard called USB Power Delivery which will probably replace Qualcomm's QC in the long run.

The only way you're gonna charge near full speed is A) using a Type C to Type C cable or charger with built in Type C cable and B) using a PD capable charger. The phone comes with a very very nice 6 foot Type C cable and an 18W PD charger, do yourself a favor and take it out and use it.

 

[ihbsbA]

Yes. If you're charging using a Type A to Type C cable and a "Quick Charge capable" charger you're basically charging about half as fast as what the phone is capable of (specially <50% battery capacity). The Pixels use an open standard called USB Power Delivery which will probably replace Qualcomm's QC in the long run.

The only way you're gonna charge near full speed is A) using a Type C to Type C cable or charger with built in Type C cable and B) using a PD capable charger. The phone comes with a very very nice 6 foot Type C cable and an 18W PD charger, do yourself a favor and take it out and use it.

Haha... I did today. It went a little faster.

 

[rslifkin]

Do keep in mind, slower charging is kinder to the battery (in terms of degradation over time). So for those who typically let their phones charge while sleeping (like me), using a slower charger for that isn't a bad thing (considering the phone will still be fully charged in the morning).