One of the higher entries on my Pixel 10 wishlist was a brand new Pixel Stand wireless charger — ideally one that was Qi2 compliant. What we got was the Pixelsnap Stand, which is not quite what I was expecting.
As happy as I am that Google has finally brought magnetic accessory support to Pixel phones, via the Pixelsnap feature, the new charger itself is a major disappointment.
It's more like a removable case for Google's Pixelsnap wireless charger, and not a standalone charging stand the way the Pixel Stands were. While that adds a little versatility — letting you remove the wireless charging pad if the need arises — it lacks two of the things I liked most about having the Pixel Stand 2.
What is the Pixelsnap Stand?
The Pixelsnap stand comes in two parts. The first is Google's Pixelsnap charger, a Qi 2.2-certified wireless charging puck capable of offering speeds up to 25W — but only on Pixel 10 Pro XL. The Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 are both limited to standard Qi2 charging, which tops out at 15W.
The stand is, well, a stand. The charging puck slots inside it, with the cable trailing off to whatever power source you choose — something you have to supply yourself. The puck is where all the actual technology is, including the magnets, and without it the stand part is basically a glorified paperweight.
The stand weighs around 12 ounces without the Pixelsnap plug and around 14 ounces in total. As a paperweight, it would probably do a good job too. Not that people actually use paperweights anymore.
Really it just had me wondering why it was so heavy. I get it needs to have some weight to avoid tipping over under the weight of the phone. But considering the Pixel Stand 2 weighed just over 9 ounces, and was considerably bulkier, I'm curious as to what Google's thought process was.
As you'd expect from a magnetic charging stand, all you need to do is slap the back of your Pixel 10 (or Qi2-compliant iPhone) to the stand to get the charging going. Plus it will work with certain cases, like Google's official Pixelsnap cases.
The heat is an issue
While it works very well, the Pixelsnap stand has one fatal flaw that I can't really accept: It produces a lot of heat. And I mean a lot, regardless of which phone you're actually using. I've tested it with the Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10, Pixel 9 Pro (with a case) and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. All of them started getting pretty hot pretty quickly.
Obviously heat and wireless charging have a long, storied history. Even Apple's MagSafe has a reputation for running hot. Even though the magnets are supposed to offer perfect alignment of the charging coils, and ensure less energy is wasted as heat, it can't stop that heat from being produced.
After 10 minutes of wireless charging I found the Pixel 10 Pro came out with a temperature of around 95 degrees Fahrenheit (measured from the back with the Pixel 9 Pro's temperature sensor). That's pretty warm for the outside of a phone, when the ambient room temperature was 30 degrees cooler. The iPhone 15 Pro Max came out at around 90 degrees after a similar amount of time charging.
I should also point out that the Pixel 10 Pro felt an awful lot hotter, but I didn't have the foresight to check the temperature at the time. We're not talking skin burning temperatures, but it was still hot enough to make it uncomfortable to hold.
One of the reasons I was never a fan of wireless charging was the excess heat build-up, and a big reason why I liked the Pixel Stand 2 so much was that it actively aimed to deal with that problem. It's not something you typically see on wireless chargers, even the first generation Pixel Stand was fan free, but it really helped change my mind about what wireless charging could do.
Sadly the Pixelsnap Stand so far hasn't really carried on that momentum — and is instead sending me back to square one.
Android's screensaver feature is good, but lacks one key thing
Since the Pixelsnap stand support Qi2, rather than a proprietary charger for Pixel phones, it has to be suitable for just about every phone that comes its way. That means there's no extra hardware that triggers special modes on the phone, as was the case with a Pixel Stand and "Stand Mode." But Android 16 does have a "screen saver" feature that does functionally the same thing — with a little bit more user control.
The feature is good since it makes it a heck of a lot easier to control than Stand Mode used to be. It was very finicky, and you had to tap specific areas of the screen to get anywhere, and could be a hassle if you forgot what to do. Screen saver is all in the settings, and laid out in a way that anyone can use.
Crucially, it's not limited to wireless charging, or even Qi2. Like Apple's Stand Mode, it can be configured to turn on whenever you start charging — and regardless of your phone's orientation. You don't even need a stand, your phone can be lying on the counter and the screensaver will show up anyway.
The one thing it lacks is the ability to control charging speed. The Pixel Stand 2 offered the option to charge slowly or at the maximum possible speed — a setting that also controlled the fans in the back of the charger. In the past this also included a "normal" setting, which was a balance between speed and temperature.
The Pixel 10 can't seem to do this, even with the Pixel Stand 2 supplying power. Considering one of the lauded benefits of Qi2 is adaptive power, which intelligently adjusts charging rate rather than supplying a constant wattage, it's surprising that this isn't hidden somewhere in the settings.
Sure, the Pixelsnap charger may not have cooling fans, but it would still be nice to have a little more control over how fast it charges. At the very least it would help to reduce all that heat, even if there aren't any fans to help pick up the slack.
Bottom line: It's all rather underwhelming (and expensive)
Does the Pixelsnap Stand work as a wireless charger? It certainly fulfills that mission, and the stand itself is a useful enough place for your phone to live — even if it does feel a little large and bulky in places. Unfortunately, having come from the Pixel Stand 2, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the Pixelsnap Stand's capabilities.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it would have been so nice to have a proper wireless charging stand with some cooling, rather than a glorified case for a Pixelsnap puck, especially for the price. Admittedly, you are getting a Qi2.2 compliant charger, which is still very new technology and not that easy to come by, but it feels as though the $70 price tag is still rather steep.
The puck itself costs just $40 by itself. For that extra $30, I'd expect something more than the stand casing, which isn't particularly impressive by itself. Google couldn't throw at least one fan into the mix?
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
More from Tom's Guide
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge may miss out on this major battery upgrade — but might gain another
- Apple reportedly mandating robot manufacturing ahead of iPhone 17 launch — what it means for you
- Pixel 10 problems — all the issues we know about so far
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
