Don’t buy a Qi2 25W wireless charger hoping for faster speeds – just get the ‘slower’ one instead

Ben Schoon | Nov 26 2025 - 12:40 pm PT

On the backs of the Pixel 10 Pro XL and latest iPhones, Qi2 25W has been heralded as the “next big thing” in wireless charging. Yet, it really doesn’t feel worth the effort of seeking it out for two key reasons.

Wireless charging has always been my preferred way to charge a phone, purely because it’s super convenient. Being able to just drop my phone on a charger at night with no worries about finding the cable and plugging it in perhaps as it’s dark and I’m falling asleep is just so good.

Yet, people have been complaining about the speed of wireless charging for years.

The old 5W Qi chargers were indeed very slow, and even more so in the modern age of ultra-fast wired charging methods. Over time, that’s improved, with 15W being the norm in 2025, but the new generation is full of Qi2 25W chargers.

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After using several of them, I do not feel they’re worth the added price tag or downsides.

Qi2 25W’s promise is to deliver faster charging speeds, but it really only does that for a few minutes. Whether it’s the Pixelsnap Charger or any number of third-party options, Qi2 25W only delivers that full-speed charging for a few minutes. After that, it ends up dropping down to 15W, 10W, or even less if things get too warm. It mostly defeats the purpose of pushing all of that additional power. It’s also something I’ve heard repeatedly even from brands that make these chargers. Qi 2.2 can deliver the added power, but it only does so for a very short period of time in reality.

While using the Pixel 10 Pro XL, I was more often than not just frustrated by the added heat of those “faster” chargers, and since switching over to the 15W-only base Pixel 10, I’ve been much happier with all of those Qi2 25W chargers. For instance, the Belkin charger that I still recommend to all Pixel 10 owners is capable of Qi2 25W, but it runs cooler on the base Pixel 10 because it’s just pushing a fairly consistent 15W of power, versus trying its hardest to push up to 25W on the Pixel 10 Pro XL where it often just heats up.

Belkin’s 3-in-1 Qi2 25W charging stand is the first accessory Pixel 10 owners should buy

All of this is to say, don’t worry too much about the faster speeds.

If you see two Qi2 chargers that support 25W or 15W, the “slower” one is probably just as good, and probably cheaper too. There are tons of these chargers on sale for Black Friday, and the 15W ones are often going to be a better deal as brands look to offload older models.

Ultimately, you should buy whatever charger best fits your needs, but don’t bother paying a premium for 25W if you don’t have to, and similarly, you shouldn’t actually expect to get 25W speeds.

Have you tried any Qi2 25W chargers yet? Have you been happy with them?