The Pixel 7 can’t charge your Pixel Watch — even if it looks like it can
Charging thebest Android smartwatchesand thebest fitness trackerson the market right now is a mess. Apart from their bundled charger, there’s no guarantee you will get a consistent charging experience. For example, theSamsung Galaxy Watch 4andWatch 5series feature WPC-based wireless charging. That means you could use your Galaxy phone to charge your watch, but not most other Android phones, even if they do support reverse wireless charging through Qi. If you were hoping for theGoogle Pixel Watchto fare better in this department, prepare to be disappointed.
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Our team has observed, though, that the charging animation does appear on their Pixel Watches when placed on a Qi-supported surface. The battery never gains any power, however, and continues to discharge. There are reports from other Pixel Watch users onRedditand Twitter with a similar experience. Some were able to get the charging animation to show up using reverse wireless charging on theirPixel 7, but ten seconds after that, the wearable stopped charging.
Google confirmed this odd behavior of the Pixel Watch and doubled down on the lack of Qi charging in a statement to9to5Google:
Qi charging is not supported on the Google Pixel Watch. There may be some charging configurations where reverse wireless or Qi charging appears to work. This will be very device and charger specific and is not guaranteed to provide a consistent, steady or strong charge. Note that in some cases, this could cause the device to discharge while on charger. Pixel Watch only supports charging with the inbox (sic) charger provided.
This means you’re going to need to carry the Pixel Watch’s magnetic charger with you on holiday and business trips. It’ll especially be a bummer if you’re already packed to the gills.
The Pixel Watch is not the only watch with this charging problem. Unlike smartphones, there is no universal charging standard for smartwatches as companies have devised their own solutions and they all end up being incompatible with each other.
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