Google Pixel 8 May Not Get Qi2 Wireless Charging Upgrade

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series made their debut in October 2021 and 2022, so the Pixel 8 lineup is highly anticipated to go official sometime in October this year. Google is yet to confirm the next Pixel series’ arrival officially, but ahead of it, wireless charging details of the Pixel 8 have been spotted on the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) website. As per the listing, the upcoming Pixel handset may not get improved wireless Qi2 standard support. A new Google Tensor 3 based on Samsung’s Exynos 2300 SoC is expected to power the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro handsets.

An alleged Google Pixel 8 handset has appeared on the WPC site with model number GKWS6. It is listed with 12W wireless charging support. The Pixel 7 also supports 12W wireless charging. The listing dated June 1 suggests that the upcoming handset will not feature the recently announced “Qi2” standard. The Pixel smartphone is shown to support the older Qi standard 1.2.4.

Google’s annual I/O event concluded a few weeks ago and the company showed off multiple devices including the new Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet at the event. The Keynote event, however, didn’t give us an early glimpse of the Pixel 8 models.

The Pixel 8 is expected to come with a 6.16-inch display with a hole punch design. Leaked renders of the handset suggest a raised camera bar with curved edges, similar to the predecessor. It is expected to carry a dual rear camera unit, led by a 64-megapixel primary sensor. The Google Tensor 3 is expected to power the handset.

Google’s Pixel 7 was launched in October last year alongside the Pixel 7 Pro. It was also launched in India, with the vanilla model priced at Rs. 59,999 in India, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro carrying a price tag of Rs. 84,999.

The Pixel 7 is powered by the second-generation Tensor G2 SoC. It has a 50-megapixel dual rear camera setup that includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor and a 12-megapixel secondary sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens. It gets a 10.8-megapixel selfie camera. The handset houses a 4,355mAh battery with fast wired charging along with wireless charging support.