This is the only Qi2 3-in-1 charger I’d buy for my Pixel 10 on Black Friday

When the Pixel 10 series launched with Qi2 built in, I rushed to grab as many new desk chargers, pads, and power banks for my new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL to test them for Android Authority. Although my experience has been filled with more frustrations than I can count here, there have been a few outstanding winners in my book. One of those is a super compact power bank from Baseus, and the other is this UGREEN 3-in-1 desk charger, which happens to be discounted for Black Friday. It’s down to $44.99 from $59.99 on Amazon.

I would pick this charger over Google’s official Pixelsnap Charger with Stand any day, and as a matter of fact, it’s the one charger I’ve decided to keep in my office at all times because of many reasons, the most crucial of which being that it can charge my Pixel 10 Pro XL with its primary Qi2 25W magnetic pad, my Pixel Buds 2a or Pro 2 with a secondary 5W charging pad, and it offers a 5W USB-C port that lets me plug in my Pixel Watch 4’s cable.

Although UGREEN calls this a “2-in-1” charger because of the lack of a dedicated smartwatch pad, this is the most universal 3-in-1 charger I’ve ever come across because it doesn’t restrict me to an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch for the smartwatch part. A USB-C port is as futureproof as it gets, so I can plug in whichever watch or fitness band charger I buy or test in the future. Sure, it doesn’t look as “clean” with the extra watch cable there, but I’m tired of Google changing the Pixel Watch’s charger every year, forcing me to wait for accessory brands to make a new compatible 3-in-1, invest in them, only for the charging mechanism to change the year after. (It took me three years to find a perfect 3-in-1 charger for my Pixel ecosystem, but now that one’s a bit obsolete because it only has a Pixel Watch 3 charger built into it.)

Anyway, back to the UGREEN model. Here’s what else I love about it. It’s super compact and foldable, basically packing into a small cube when it’s not in use. Perfect for a clean look on my desk or for throwing in my backpack for long trips and short weekend getaways. The base is solid and hefty, and I can pick up my phone one-handed from it, but it will still lift a bit during the process. The primary charging pad is also entirely adjustable to any angle I want, unlike Google’s Pixelsnap Charger with Stand, which only has one angle.

I still can’t understand why Google opted for that design for its official desk charger, nor can I get over the fact that the cable isn’t removable there. With this UGREEN charger, though, I get a regular USB-C input port at the back so I can choose exactly which type and length of cable I need to plug it in. A shorter one for less visual mess on my desk, or a longer one if the wall outlet is too far.

Charging-wise, the primary Qi2 25W pad performs just as well as the Pixelsnap Charger with Stand and other Qi2 chargers with my Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL (read: it’s mediocre), but as I’m slowly discovering with all of my Qi2 tests, this seems to be an issue with the phone itself, not with these certified chargers.

The Pixel 10 Pro, which supports Qi2 15W, draws around 12-13W for a few minutes, then drops down to 8-9W no matter which Qi2 charger I put it on — Google’s or a third-party. The Pixel 10 Pro XL, which is certified for Qi2 25W, only manages to eke out 20W for a few minutes, then goes down to 9-10W, too. This means both phones take over two hours (around 135 minutes) to fill up completely on both the UGREEN 3-in-1 desk charger and the official Pixelsnap charger. I had expected so much more speed and efficiency from Qi2 25W on my Pixel 10 Pro XL, but Google seems to be hamstringing it. I hope the Pixel 11 will handle wireless charging better.

At $59.99, this UGREEN 3-in-1 was already a better deal than Google’s $70 official Pixelsnap, but for $45.99 for Black Friday, it’s a very easy recommendation. Get it if you need to charge a Pixel 10 series phone and a pair of earbuds, all while retaining freedom over which watch you connect to it.