Friday, March 29, 2024

Ditch the wires with these Pixel 4 charging pads

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“What is the best wireless charger for the Pixel 4” has been a surprisingly hard question to answer. After being hobbled on the Pixel 3, Google has answered our prays and made the Pixel 4 more widely compatible with fast Qi charging by supporting 10W charging on far more chargers through the Extended Power Profile, but finding EPP chargers has needed a decoder ring and a fair amount of luck, but I think we’ve cracked it with this group. Whether you prefer vertical stands that you can use with Motion Sense’s swift face unlocking and flat pads, there are ample options now for the Pixel 4.

Name-brand quality

Anker PowerWave Alloy Pad

Staff pick

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Anker has a lot of wireless chargers available, but this is one of the few that users have reported consistently fast charges the Pixel 4. Even better, this is one of the few Anker pads that works with Power Delivery or Qualcomm QuickCharge.

$30 at Amazon

Looking slick

Yootech 15W Wireless Charger with Cooling Fan

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This 15W stand is more conducive to sitting next to your laptop at your desk or keeping your phone propped up in the kitchen while you’re working on that new recipe, and the built-in fan should help keep things cool while your Pixel 4 charges.

$20 at Amazon

Fancy photo slideshow

Google Pixel Stand

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$70 at Amazon

This was the only charger for the Pixel 3 that would charge at top speed, but the Pixel 4 isn’t limited anymore. If you want the Google look, though, the Pixel Stand is designed for the Pixel line, looks quite clean in white, and has a special slideshow mode when docked.

Thin but powerful

Choetech USB-C 15W Wireless Charger

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Choetech’s got a couple of wireless pads that should charge the Pixel 4 at top speed, but this model is the best-looking of the bunch, as well as being one of the thinner Qi pads around if you like to bring your Qi pad on trips. It also comes with an AC adapter.

$22 at Amazon

Outfit your home

Yootech 10W Wireless Charging Pad Stand Bundle

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This bundle features a 10W pad and a 10W stand, allowing you to jumpstart your Qi charger collection without breaking the bank. Just keep in mind to reach top speed, these pads need to be powered by a QC3.0 wall adapter.

$20 at Amazon

On the go

Aukey Wireless Power Bank 8,000mAh

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If you find yourself needing to charge-up away from an outlet frequently, this power bank won’t charge a Pixel 4 at 10W, but it will charge wirelessly at 5W or wire at 18W if you’re in a hurry.

$30 at Amazon

These are the best Pixel 4 wireless chargers

FINALLY! We can use more regular Qi chargers for fast charging the Pixel 4! This is awesome for so many reasons, but most especially because that means we can save some money buying chargers that aren’t 80 bucks like the Pixel Stand! The Anker PowerWave Alloy is compact and affordable while still giving us the fast charging we want, and Anker is a name we trust to the moon and back. Even better, unlike 90% of the Qi chargers on the market, you can use Power Delivery, so you won’t have to go hunting for an older Qualcomm QuickCharge wall adapter to power it at top speed.

If you’re looking for a stand but don’t feel like paying big bucks for Google’s version, Yootech’s 15W stand is a great alternative that should be able to fast-charge just about every phone your throw at it. Plus, the built-in fan should keep things from overheating when you’re charging for long periods. I like stands for the living room and the office where I can perch my phone next to my laptop or my drink coaster, whereas flat pads are great for the bedroom where they’ll keep the screen from shining into your face if you get a notification in the middle of the night.

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