Name: Google Pixel Stand 2
Brand: Google

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Long-term update

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were a much-needed breath of fresh air in Google's smartphone lineup. After years of half-measures and poor decisions, the Pixel team finally nailed it. While Google is getting better at phones, it still struggles with accessories. Case in point: the $79 Pixel Stand 2. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro can charge at up to 21 and 23W, respectively, matching wired charging speeds. However, that's just the maximum speed. Most of the time, the Pixel Stand charges much slower. That makes the price tag hard to swallow, particularly when other OEMs are producing much faster custom wireless standards. To top it off, the stand's Pixel-exclusive features don't work well enough to make up for that.

Google Pixel Stand 2

6.00 / 10

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Design, hardware, what's in the box

The new Pixel Stand looks about as boring as you can make a wireless charger. It's done up in white and gray, and it lacks the funky minimalist design of the first-gen version. That's probably because this one is much beefier with support for up to 23W wireless charging. All that power means Google had to do something about heat generation, so the Pixel Stand 2 has a small cooling fan hidden under its nondescript housing.

The only visible branding is the debossed G on the bottom. Around back, there's a USB-C port where the included charger plugs in. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Stand has a removable six-foot USB-C-to-C cable, which some high-wattage chargers do not. It also comes with Google's new 30W adapter. So, you can unplug the cable and use the wired charger if you prefer. This brick has USB-PD and PPS, so it should fast charge just about anything up to 30W.

When you drop your phone on the Stand, a small LED in the bottom lip will light up briefly to let you know charging has started. The lip at the bottom holds it in place fairly well, but the phone will shift if you move the Stand around. Because it's taller, the Pixel 6 Pro tends to move more. Note, all photos in this review show the Pixel 6 on the Pixel Stand 2. If you have earbuds with wireless charging, the Pixel Stand 2 isn't going to be ideal. You can prop them up on the stand, but most earbuds won't line up with the charging coils, which are toward the middle.

Performance and features

The Pixel Stand 2's claim to fame is its higher charging wattage. While the first-gen stand could only manage 10W, this one can do 23W for the Pixel 6 Pro and 21W for the Pixel 6. Yes, there are some wireless chargers that operate at even higher speeds, but it's still a big improvement for Google—older Pixel phones topped out at 18W for wired charging.

So, will the Pixel Stand 2 charge your phone quickly? Yes, but probably not as fast as you think. Due to the inherent difficulties in measuring wireless charging speeds, I can't tell you the exact real-world wattage over time. However, the Pixel Stand 2 performs at similar speeds to the 30W wired charger when the phone is low on power. That 0-50% block goes by fast, but the charging rate slows down considerably as the battery gets closer to full. In my testing, a full charge cycle for the Pixel 6 clocks in at about two hours and just a touch longer for the 6 Pro. The Pixel Stand 2 is more appealing if you're the type to run your phone down to almost nothing before you drop it on the charger. If you're only draining it to 70% before it goes back on the dock, the Pixel Stand 2 isn't going to be a big help.

Left to right: Pixel Stand, Pixel Stand 2, OnePlus Warp Charge 50

Interestingly, it works correctly with Samsung phones in addition to Google's. A few years back, Samsung added what is essentially charging DRM to its phones. Qi-based chargers that support high speeds will default to the base 5W Qi speed on Samsung phones unless they've been certified, and most aren't. The Pixel Stand 2 is one of the few third-party chargers I've used that correctly fast charges Samsung phones. I'm not sure if it's getting the full 15W, but it's better than the base speed.

Because the Stand can operate at such high speeds, it needs an internal cooling fan. It doesn't run all the time, but when it does, you will absolutely notice it. The small fan has a high-pitched whine, which stands out from the background noise in my office. I'm sitting about equidistant from my desktop PC and the Pixel Stand. With the Stand's fan running, it's louder than the six fans in my PC. I do like that you can control the charging speed with the quiet and max toggles. Quiet, naturally, charges slower to keep the fan from spinning up. The max setting sticks closer to the full charging speed, but it runs the fan almost constantly.

Google guides you through a detailed onboarding process when you first place your Pixel on the Stand. The options are the same as the old version—you can view photo slideshows, access smart home controls, and use "OK Google" while your phone is on the Pixel Stand 2, but some features are buggy. For example, "OK Google" reliability was sporadic, and my smart home controls often failed to connect even after multiple attempts to set them up. I've been checking o this periodically for months, but they still don't work. Half of the toggles I add don't do anything, and the other half seem to read device status incorrectly (eg. lights that are "off" appear as "on" and vice versa). Most of my devices and rooms don't even show up in the menu to add.

While the theoretical functionality is impressive, the reality is somewhat more, well... classic Google. The Pixel Stand 2 didn't even work at maximum speed until the January update, so I can't say I'm surprised there are still issues.

Should you buy it?

Probably not. Google is looking for $80 here, and that's too much. The Pixel Stand 2 is no doubt a powerful wireless charger. The 21-23W Pixel charging is nice to have, and it can even fast charge standard Qi devices up to 15W. It has the sort of bugs I might forgive on a cheaper device from a startup, but this is Google. This is a company with the resources and money to release a wireless charger that works perfectly. And yet, here we are.

Look, if you love your Pixel 6 and want to have the best experience possible, the Pixel Stand 2 is going to help get you there, if only for the faster wireless charging. For those who don't mind using a cable or coping with slower wireless charging, you should save that $80. A perfectly serviceable wireless charger that can hit 12W on the Pixel 6 costs less than half as much, and 12W is nothing to scoff at.