Google's Pixel Stand Is Smarter Breed of Wireless Charger

Unlike other wireless chargers, the Pixel Stand is smart (or at least smarter), so it can be differentiated between different Pixel phones. So after downloading the free Pixel Stand app, you can name your stand by your settings to your needs

If you're going to keep your hands on your hair, you're going to be able to get your hands on your hair when you're trying to sleep. In fact, if you want to be more specific, you can set the Pixel Stand to only turn on Do not Disturb between set times, so that you can still see notifications during the day, and still get uninterrupted silence at night. And if you get to have two Pixel Stands, you can customize them to best suit their location.

On top of the Pixel Stand's charging and notification duties, Google also created custom music and photo interfaces, so that when a Pixel 3 is sitting on the stand, you can easily view things like album art and song titles at a glance, with big buttons along the bottom so you can break and skip between tracks Pixel 3's powerful front-facing stereo speakers and the Pixel Stand's bespoke music interface, suddenly everything begins to make sense. These products were designed in tandem, and when combined, a Pixel 3 is Google Home Mini, except that unlike a Home Mini, it's much easier to take over your phone when you leave the room.

As for pictures, the device's dedicated gallery mode syncs with Google Photos and displays them on the Pixel 3's screen. You can set pictures from specific albums (in case you're worried about privacy) and it's going to be a good choice for you. So now, the Pixel Stand turns your phone into a digital picture frame too. But we're not done yet.

And for folks who have trouble getting up in the morning, the Pixel Stand also features what Google calls a Sunrise Alarm. The way it works is based on what you have, 15 minutes before any noises go off, the Pixel 3's screen turns on and goes slowly.

However, because the Sunrise Alarm is linking to the Pixel 3's screen for enlightenment, it does not get as bright as a dedicated wake-up light. But if you prefer to sleep in black light, the extra yellow light is still noticeable. And if you can not get enough of it, when your alarm finally goes off, the Pixel Stand's also include Snooze and Dismiss buttons so you can continue on (or not) with the rest of your day.

Also, like everything else Google makes these days, the Pixel Booth also features Google Assistant integration. That means you can start your day by getting a good time, or you need to have a good weather forecast.

The Pixel Stand has a tie-ins with security gadgets like Nest's Doorbell Video, so that it's the motion camera, it will automatically go to your phone, assuming it's sitting on a Pixel Stand. This article is not available for any of these devices, and while I have a chance to see this in action during the Pixel 3 launch event to actually test it out. Hopefully, Google can partner up with more companies.

Now, there are a few issues with the Pixel Stand. The most obvious of these non-pixel features, which is a real shame because of the many features of the software, one might think it would be . The other major problem is that while the Pixel Stand charges phones just fine in portrait or landscape mode.

I also had a few issues in my life. Configuring the Pixel Stand is also kind of annoying because everything is handled by the app, you can only access the Pixel Stands when the phone is actually sitting on the charger. And while the Pixel Stand boasts some relatively fast charging speeds, priced at $ 80, it is not cheap.

This approach is a new spin on the walled ecosystems that Apple, Microsoft, and more recently, Google have built, and it does not feel good. I'm sure it's a good place to be, but it's all about the smart capabilities of this stand, it seems like it should be smart enough to detect how much juice is flowing in and regulating things appropriately, without the need to hamstring chargers made by other companies. Samsung and Apple do not do this on their phones, and I wish Google would not.

But when compared to its less sophisticated brethren, the Pixel Stand has a reminder that wireless chargers can do more than just fill up your battery. And for anybody else, I'm going to buy a pixel, I'd argue that a Pixel It's one part smart picture, one part picture frame, and maybe someday, it will even be a portal into your home security. For $ 80, not only is the Pixel Stand an above average wireless charger, it makes an already smart phone just that much smarter.

README

• Each Pixel Stand has a unique ID so you can program your phone to behave
• Thanks to bespoke full-screen UI for displaying music and photos, Pixel Stand turns to Pixel 3 into mini smart speaker / digital photo frame.
• Currently, the Pixel Stand is home security video works only with the Nest Hello doorbell camera.
• You can load in both portrait and landscape modes.
• The Pixel Stand is Qi-compatible and charges up to 10-watts on the Pixel 3. Charging speeds for other phones may vary.