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Google Pixel 2 XL may charge significantly slower when cold
- The Google Pixel XL 2 may charge at a slower rate when its battery is cold.
- In a crude test, the device was found to charge at up to ~16W at room temperature and up to ~4W when cold—though it still said it was “charging rapidly” (meaning 10W+).
- Google has said it is investigating the discrepancy between the real charge level and what the phone displays.
The Google Pixel 2 XL’s rapid charging functionality may be significantly affected by temperature, it has been discovered. The issue was raised in the Google Product Forums before Android Police did a bit of digging to try and corroborate the claims.
Despite the device displaying that it was “charging rapidly,” meaning it should be hitting 10W or more, it was actually shown to be charging at around 4W when it was particularly cold (~16°C/61°F) from around 16W at room temperature (~24°C/75°F).
Smartphones aren’t intended to stay in uncommonly hot or cold conditions because it can harm their internal components. It’s no great surprise, then, to learn that the Pixel 2 XL—and four other devices Android Police tested—were shown to charge at different rates depending on temperature; I would assume this would be the case for every smartphone. Further, 16°C/61°F is plenty cold for a smartphone battery and rarely a state that it will find itself in for very long.
Above all else, Android Police’s testing, by its own admittance, had a number of drawbacks and any results should be taken with a grain of salt.
With all of that being said, the 12W difference when charging the Pixel XL 2 in warm and cold conditions was far higher than the four other smartphones tested (each of which displayed somewhere between a 3W and 5W difference) and could affect charge speeds to a greater extent.
Again, this shouldn’t be taken as the final word on the matter but it indicates that the Pixel XL 2 is particularly susceptible to such a slowdown in charging. Google has said it is investigating the discrepancy between the Pixel 2 XL’s language on the lock screen and the reality of its charge speeds.