With the Pixel Watch 2, Google is moving away from wireless charging and instead using a pin-based connector that Fitbit owners will be familiar with.
The back of the Pixel Watch 2 has a 3×3 grid of circular points. That inner cross consists of the new health sensors, while the corners are contact pins for power.
This is the exact same arrangement as recent Fitbit Sense and Versa series devices. In fact, those existing chargers will work on the Pixel Watch 2. The “USB-C Fast Charging Cable” included in the box is still a white and circular puck, but there are now four pins on the underside.
Magnets help line up the connection, with the wire being on the same side as the crown. Unfortunately, you can’t just haphazardly connect the wearable and cable in any orientation.
Google is making this change because pin-based charging is faster than wireless and generates less heat, a noticeable factor in the original model. With this new cable, you can go from 0-80% in 43 minutes versus that taking nearly an hour on the original watch.
| Pixel Watch: Old | Pixel Watch: New | Pixel Watch 2 | |
| 0-50% | 30 mins | 45 mins | 30 mins |
| 0-80% | 55 mins | 75 mins | 43 mins |
| 0-100% | 80 mins | 110 mins | 75 mins |
This charging cable comes as the Pixel Watch 2, with its 306 mAh battery, now offers 24 hours of power with the AOD enabled. A major factor there is the new 4 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 SoC that replaces the Samsung Exynos 9110, which was built on a 10 nm process.
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