Does the Google Pixel Watch 4 support Qi wireless charging?

Why the Pixel Watch 4 benefits from its third proprietary charger in four years

New Pixel 10 owners will be able to charge their phones with Qi2 chargers, including Google's proprietary Pixelsnap chargers or other MagSafe accessories. So Pixel Watch 4 owners may feel disappointed that they're getting a third proprietary charger in four years instead of a universal charging standard.

But Google has made a compelling case for this new charging system. The new two-pin charger is 25% faster than the old one. Where the Watch 3 41mm took 24 and 60 minutes to hit 50% and 100%, respectively, the Watch 4 41mm only needs 15 and 45 minutes.

Likewise, the Pixel Watch 4 45mm only needs 15 or 60 minutes to hit 50% or 100%, while the Watch 3 45mm needed 28 and 80 minutes.

This charging speed is on par with the OnePlus Watch 3's speedy VOOC charging, and it's significantly faster than the Galaxy Watch 8. You can easily top off your Pixel Watch 4 while showering or brushing your teeth and get enough juice for sleep tracking.

On top of that, the Quick Charge Dock lets you place your Watch 4 upright while it charges, making it easier to see the time and charging time remaining, or to swipe through your Tiles for information while in charging mode.

During our Pixel Watch 4 hands-on, our tester noticed another useful feature: If the Watch 4 is sitting improperly or the charger lacks power, the Watch 4 will detect that you're trying to charge it and place a warning notification on screen to fix things.

We may be waiting a long time for Qi charging for Android watches

Smartwatch owners know the pain of proprietary chargers. You get one cable in the box, and if you lose it or leave it at home during a vacation, your watch suddenly becomes useless; the replacement is expensive and often isn't available on Amazon for faster shipping.

Why can't we demand a universal Qi charging standard for watches, like we have with smartphones and USB-C? Mainly because a Qi magnet takes up a decent amount of design space that Android smartwatches or fitness watches can use for other priorities, like battery life.

"Smartwatch designs are a delicate balancing act, and a mandated wireless charging coil would stifle innovation in other areas," says Jitesh Ubrani, IDC's research manager of worldwide device trackers, when I asked him about the possibility.

So for now, we'll have to accept that Pixel Watches won't be compatible with Qi or Qi2 chargers for a long time, forcing you to keep that extra cable on hand. But at least the Quick Charge Dock makes up for it with some of the fastest smartwatch charging we've seen yet.