Google has ditched Battery Share on the Pixel 10 – but for a good reason

The Google Pixel 10 series comes with a number of new features, but it’s also missing some things, with Battery Share notably being absent from these phones.

That’s Google’s name for its reverse wireless charging feature – in other words the ability to use your phone to wirelessly charge other devices. It’s a common feature on Android handsets, including the Google Pixel 9 series, but it’s missing from the Pixel 10.

However, there’s a good reason for this, as DroidReader asked Google and was told that the array of magnets required for Qi2 magnetic wireless charging “creates a strong connection with the charger but presents a physical limitation for reverse wireless charging.”

So in other words, the addition of Qi2 magnetic wireless charging (which allows you to use the new Pixelsnap accessories) meant Google had to remove Battery Share.

For most people, we’d wager this is a good trade. Pixelsnap is a lot like MagSafe – it’s an ecosystem of wireless chargers and accessories like stands and grips that can attach to the back of your Pixel 10 with magnets.

It’s a handy feature, but not everyone is happy about this change, with a Reddit thread including comments like “this one hurts a lot”, and “Battery Share I found to be such a useful feature”.

Still, other comments mentioned hardly if ever using it, so it’s certainly not a universally loved feature. Hopefully, even those who did love Battery Share will come to appreciate Pixelsnap too – but if not, other brands like Samsung still offer similar reverse wireless charging capabilities.

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