Google’s new Extreme Charging on the Pixel 11 Pro XL has a heat problem

Getting the new Pixel 11 Pro XL to fast charge as quickly as Google claims is no easy feat. First, you need to grab yourself a 45W USB PD PPS charger that supports 21V for this specific protocol. Not a hugely tall order, but it might require buying a new charger, even if you have a relatively new PPS model that only supports 11V. Secondly, there’s a new option to toggle Google’s Extreme Charging capability, which promises to shave up to five minutes off your charging needs, but you’ll need some good fortune to get it to work.

In a classic Google move, Extreme Charging isn’t available right out of the box. I still haven’t figured out the exact spell required to spring into life. In my experience, the Extreme Charging settings option appeared after charging the Pixel 11 Pro XL from empty to full twice and then simply waiting for it to show up. In any case, with the feature finally unlocked, I’ve been able to test the pros and cons of the latest Pixel’s boosted charging capabilities.

Testing Extreme Charging on the Pixel 11 Pro XL

Let’s start with a direct head-to-head with Extreme Charging on and off. What is immediately obvious is that peak power stays the same in both modes; the phone pulls around 41W maximum, it’s just that this power level is sustained for longer with the extreme setting enabled, around 16 minutes in my test, compared to 10 minutes for the standard charging mode. Furthermore, the phone spends longer hovering around 35W before the power level drops once the battery is over 70% full.

The good news is that the extreme mode matches up to Google’s claims. My Pixel 11 Pro XL reached 75% charge in 28 minutes (Google advertises 30 minutes from empty), beating the standard mode to this level by seven minutes. Likewise, obtaining a 50% charge took 18 minutes, compared to 21 minutes before, while a full charge took 64 minutes, compared to 69 minutes before. A few minutes here or there is not necessarily a game-changing level of performance, but every minute matters when you’re rushing out the door. 5% or so extra battery after just 15 minutes on the plug over a lightning breakfast is much appreciated when you’re in a hurry.

The trade-off is, of course, temperature. Standard charging mode has a sensible temperature cap of about 39°C, keeping it below the generally recognized 40°C threshold that induces extra stress on the battery. Extreme mode exceeds this limit, reaching 42.9°C and remaining above it for about 20 minutes. As a result, the average temperature for the entire charge cycle increases to 38.3°C, up from 35.4°C.

While this higher peak isn’t super hot, keeping the battery at that temperature for so long is a concern. Used regularly, this feature could certainly contribute to long-term battery capacity degradation. This is obviously the reason why Google makes this an optional feature rather than the default charging profile. Still, I’d rather have the option than not. Just use it with caution for a slightly faster top-up when needed, rather than relying on Extreme Charging to fix the Pixel 11 Pro XL’s otherwise mediocre fast-charging capabilities on every use.

Is Extreme Charging actually competitive?

Extreme Charging is a handy feature when looking at the Pixel 11 Pro XL in isolation, but is it an indicator that Google may finally be closing the charging gap on its flagship rivals? To test, I grabbed the newly minted 60W Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the classically speedy 80W OnePlus 15 for a comparison. The results aren’t brilliant for the Pixel.

Obviously, the 45W Pixel 11 Pro XL was going to struggle to compete with its more powerful rivals. Its total charge time of 64 minutes with Extreme Charging enabled is still a long way behind the 42 minutes it takes these rival phones to fill up. This is all the more embarrassing when we consider that the OnePlus 15 has a colossal 7,150mAh silicon-carbon cell to power up compared to the Pixel’s 5,115mAh battery. That said, I don’t think these brands are quite calculating the time to full as accurately as Google does, as power levels are still well above 5W by the time the phones claim to hit 100%.

Regardless, the comparison is equally unfavorable to Google after just 10 minutes on the plug for a super-quick top-up. The OnePlus 15 and Galaxy S26 Ultra reach around 37% capacity, while Google’s regular charging mode puts the phone at about 27%, with the extreme option boosting it to 31%.

Looking at the graph, Google’s Extreme Charging helps the Pixel 11 Pro XL move a bit closer to rivals for shorter top-ups, but it still has some way to go to close the gap completely. However, there doesn’t appear to be much more headroom for Google to spend on speeding up its charging capabilities.

A closer look at average power and temperature comparisons between these phones is very revealing. Rival handsets deliver higher peak and average power, which helps them top up so quickly, but they also do so at temperatures much more in line with Google’s standard charging profile than with its new extreme mode. Neither OnePlus nor Samsung exceeds the 40°C threshold, with average charging temperatures closer to 34°C, indicating far more robust battery cooling layouts than the Pixel. We know that OnePlus, in particular, has invested heavily in efficient charging circuitry and split-cell battery designs to balance heat, and this clearly continues to pay dividends compared with simply chucking more power at the problem, both in terms of charge times and battery longevity.

Calling the Pixel 11 Pro series’ new charging feature ‘extreme’ is a bad joke compared to the competition. While it might make Google’s middling charge times feel less like waiting for paint to dry, its latest phones are still considerably slower than the competition and charge hotter with this feature enabled to boot. You really should view Extreme Charging as a last-resort top-up tool rather than a new fast-charging capability you’ll use every day.

Fast charging a battery while preserving its long-term health is a delicate balance of chemistry, electronics, and heat dissipation. Failing to invest adequately in any of those areas creates a bottleneck that can’t simply be resolved by doubling down on power. Google appears to have reached the temperature limits of its current setup with Extreme Charging.