Google’s official line is that the Pixel Watch does not help Qi charging or reverse charging from a telephone. However, in the previous few days, many customers have anecdotally reported that these wi-fi charging strategies do, in actual fact, work. Curious, I attempted it out for myself, and I’m sorry to say that, whereas it does form of work, it’s merely not dependable.

First off, I made a decision to attempt charging the Pixel Watch utilizing my Pixel 7 Pro assessment unit. I turned on the Battery Sharing characteristic, plopped the watch on the again of the telephone, and it labored! For a grand complete of 10 seconds. While the charging animation popped up, it by no means truly maintained a stable-enough connection to meaningfully cost. Sometimes I obtained it to work for so long as a minute, however that was the perfect I may handle. It was simpler if I eliminated the straps so the watch may lay completely flat — however that’s not all the time life like if you’re on the go.

Undeterred, I attempted it once more with my 3-in-1 Belkin charging dock — and obtained the identical outcomes.

On Twitter and subreddits, some customers have reported better luck. Others have had a similar experience to mine. But the underside line is that this isn’t going to work the identical for everybody, all the time. It jogs my memory of Samsung Galaxy Watches, which also have this feature. Sometimes it really works like a appeal. Other occasions, it simply plain doesn’t. Mostly, it was a lot more effort than merely sticking it on the charger that the watch got here with.

I get the frustration. Unlike just about each different client gadget, smartwatches and health trackers nonetheless depend on proprietary chargers. Even if two chargers look equivalent, they gained’t work with one other firm’s smartwatch or tracker. You should buy third-party chargers off Amazon, however your mileage will fluctuate on whether or not it really works 100% of the time. Some corporations, like Garmin, handle to make use of the identical charger throughout a number of gadgets and fashions. Others, like Fitbit, hold altering the design to the purpose the place it’s an e-waste catastrophe. What offers?

The reply is fairly easy. These gadgets are too dang small, and the know-how isn’t there but. Most normal connectors, like USB-C, are too massive to suit inside a smartwatch or on gadgets that are supposed to mould to your physique. The smaller the system, the tougher this turns into.

Even with wi-fi charging, the coil measurement is difficult to get proper because of sensor placements. This may clarify why some individuals can get wi-fi charging on the Pixel Watch to work comparatively properly and others, like me, can’t. It will depend on which Qi charger you’ve got, the way you place the system, and whether or not you may keep that placement with out a magnetic factor to make sure every little thing strains up completely. (For the file, this is the reason so many smartwatches and wearables have magnetic chargers.)

The kicker is that, as a result of every smartwatch’s inside design is completely different, the charging components probably gained’t be in the identical spot. That’s why you gained’t see actually common third-party smartwatch chargers, both. I’ve written more in-depth articles about this earlier than, however a dependable, common wearable charging normal is subsequent to unattainable proper now. This, in flip, is why most smartwatches don’t help Qi charging. Or in the event that they do, as in Samsung’s case, the expertise is wonky and requires you to purchase Samsung’s Qi chargers or telephones to get the best result.

Google most likely says it’s not formally supported — even when it’s technically potential — as a result of it may well’t assure a uniform and dependable expertise for everybody. So positive, this “hack” may work in a pinch. I simply wouldn’t wager on it.