Google’s next flagship phone, the Pixel 8, has made an early appearance with a regulatory body, revealing that it won’t be getting a significant wireless charging boost.
Any new phone heading to market has to make a stop off at the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) if it wants to advertise its Qi charging capabilities. As reported by 9to5Google, the Pixel 8 has just made such an appearance.
It’s a surprisingly early showing from Google’s next phone, with the Pixel 7 not showing up on the WPC until a week after their October launch.
Still, here the Pixel 8 is, operating under the GKWS6 model number. The device pictured in the listing is the Pixel 6, so we don’t get any sneak peek at the new phone’s design.
Indeed, given the limited nature of this certification, we don’t learn very much about the Pixel 8 at all. What we do learn is that its Qi charging rate will max out at 12W. We also note that there’s no support for the next generation Qi2 standard, which the WPC announced back in January.
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Qi2 promises to essentially give Android phones their own version of Apple’s MagSafe standard. With the help of Apple itself, a magnetised system will ensure a firm attachment to specific wireless chargers, boosting wireless charging efficiency considerably.
Unless the Pixel 8 Pro comes through on the Qi2 front, it would seem as if the next phase of wireless charging isn’t going to take off until 2024 at the earliest.
