With the Pixel 6’s launch expected to happen sometime in October, more details about Google’s next flagship phone have started to leak out including new info regarding significantly faster charging speeds.
Originally, a rumour from 91mobiles claimed that the Pixel 6 will support 33-watt wired charging after photos of 33-watt power bricks were said to have been captured at Google’s headquarters. But now, that rumour has seemingly been confirmed by XDA Developers, which spotted a filing made to Taiwan’s NCC (Taiwan’s electronic regulatory body) that lists the Pixel 6 as supporting 15-watt, 18-watt, 27-watt, and 33-watt charging speeds.
While this might not seem like a huge development, when you remember that every Pixel phone up to date has topped out at 18-watt wired charging, it’s nice to see the Pixel 6 get a major bump up in charging speeds.
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news because, with Google having told Gizmodo and other media outlets that the Pixel 5a is mostly likely the last Pixel phone to come with an included power brick, future Pixel 6 owners may be forced to buy compatible 33-watt power adapters separately if they want to take full advantage of the Pixel 6’s improved wired charging speeds. For some, this may be a frustrating development, though Google claims that choosing to not ship an included power adaptor with its phones is intended to help curb e-waste since the number of people who already have USB-C power bricks means including power adapters has become somewhat unnecessary.
On the bright side, for anyone who prefers wireless charging, in a report last month, Android Police claims that there will also be a new Pixel Stand for 2021 featuring 23-watt wireless charging, up from just 10-watts on the current model.
Heard from someone I trust that the foldable Pixel — codename: Passport, retail branding: unknown — will indeed launch before the end of the year. Apparently they’ve been working on this device for over two years, and if the P6 is any indication, it’ll be worth a look.
— Ev (@evleaks) September 20, 2021
Other Pixel 6 rumours include mention of a new 50-MP main camera, and the use of not one but two ARM Cortex X1 cores in Google’s new Tensor chip, which represents a notable departure from the single X1 core used in current mobile chips like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888.
But what might be the juiciest rumour comes in an update from @Evleaks, who claims that a “trusted” source says that Google’s foldable Pixel — codenamed Passport — will indeed launch sometime this year. The source claims Google has been working on Passport for more than two years, and with new updates coming in Android 12.1 expected to include improved software for foldable phones, suddenly the idea of a foldable Pixel in 2021 doesn’t seem quite so outlandish.
Regardless, after Google CEO Sundar Pichai promised “significant product updates” prior to Google I/O, between a recent major update to its line of Nest cams, the Pixel 6, and potentially a foldable Pixel on the way, Google seems like fully set on backing up Pichai’s big talk with a range of new devices scheduled for release between now and the end of the year.