Madness: The $1800 Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold charges fully in 1 hour 40 minutes

I currently juggle between two smartphones as my primary devices. One has a regular candy bar form factor and costs about $400. The other is a clamshell foldable – a flip smartphone – and it costs a little over $500. Both of them have 45W fast charging and fully charge up in less than one hour.

How fast does the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold charge?

But the $1,800 Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is fitted with a mere 21W fast charging and fully charges up in 1 hour and 40 minutes. That’s madness. Absolutely insane.

If you want to manufacture a cutting edge premium device, put in everything it takes for it to be truly cutting edge. There is absolutely no point building a Ferrari that has a top speed of 500 miles per hour but an acceleration of zero to 100 in 30 minutes. That’s not cutting edge; that’s a crippled super car.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a crippled device. Against most of the competition, it stands no chance, and it isn’t just about how slow it charges. But since this rant is about charging, let’s stick to that. Below is listed how fast competing foldables from other manufacturers charge up.

Charging Speeds of Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Alternatives

How long does it take to charge these Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold alternatives? Have a look.

• Huawei Mate X3: 48 minutes
• Xiaomi Mix Fold 3: 50 minutes
• Honor Magic V2: 52 minutes
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5: 1 hour 24 minutes
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6: 1 hour 26 minutes

When it comes to fast charging, the US smartphone market gets the short end of the stick a lot. The main players here are clearly sworn to keep consumers tied to the charger for as long as possible. Apple is guilty of it. Samsung is guilty of it. Google is guilty of it. These three brands are the triumvirate of slow charging. There is no question about it that whenever Apple makes a foldable device, it will also be crippled with slower charging.

The key problem for US consumers is that these alternative devices are not readily available in the market. Were brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus to establish themselves further in the US and make their devices more widely available, it would only be a matter of time before more savvy users flock to them.

Elsewhere in the world – across Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, other cell phone brands have embraced more cutting edge charging speeds that provide users of their devices with super convenience. Here in the United States, phone users get charging speeds from 2020 in 2024.

Anyone should feel scandalized to be offered 21W fast charging for a device that costs from $1,800 upwards. Seriously. Consumers should be up in arms and flocking to the competition.

Also, one has to ask: why is it that the Pixel 9 Pro XL supports 37W, and the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 support 27W charging, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold gets only 21W? In my opinion, 27W charging is still too slow for any phone in the Pixel 9 series’ categories. At the very least, all of them, including the Google Pixel 9 Fold, should support no less than 37W charging.

It just doesn’t make any sense. Not to mention that I suspect that despite crippling the Pixel 9 Pro Fold this way, we shall soon start getting reports of how the device overheats at the slightest opportunity, something that has become a Google Pixel staple, year after year.

References

1. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the lowest charging speed of the series (source)