It turns out, the “charging rapidly” message hasn’t disappeared entirely. It still shows up when using the Google 45W USB-C Charger, but it’s not exclusive to that charger. In fact, any charger delivering at least 20W of power will trigger the “charging rapidly” message on the Pixel 9 series.
Also the Pixel 9 Pro XL annoyingly removed the “Charging rapidly” and replaced it with an ETA. While the ETA is useful, I can no longer easily tell if I’m connected to a “fast” charger or not.
Maybe the Google 45W charger does still show “charging rapidly”? But nothing I’ve… pic.twitter.com/69hDi5WiGZ
— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) August 28, 2024
This change is due to an update in Android that’s currently only active on the Pixel 9 series. Previously, Android considered any charger delivering 7.5W or more as “fast.” However, with the Pixel 9 series, Google has raised the bar to 20W.This means older chargers that might have been considered “fast” on previous Pixel models may not trigger the “charging rapidly” message on the Pixel 9. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean the phone isn’t charging quickly; it just means it’s not meeting the new 20W threshold.
While Google’s official 45W charger guarantees the fastest charging speeds, any fast USB-PD PPS charger delivering at least 20W should also trigger the “charging rapidly” message. It’s worth noting that Google’s phones don’t use a proprietary wired charging standard, so you have flexibility in choosing a charger.
So, basically, the Pixel 9 series has redefined what it considers “fast charging” by raising the threshold to 20W. This change might require some adjustment for users accustomed to seeing the “charging rapidly” message with lower-powered chargers. However, it also reflects how the standards of fast charging technology are changing, where higher wattages are becoming the norm for quicker charging times.
