Here’s how Google put wireless charging in the aluminum Pixel 5

Google Pixel 5 Google Store

The Pixel 5 was officially announced by Google during the Launch Night In event, along with other hardware like Nest Audio, Chromecast with Google TV, and Pixel 4a 5G.

The Pixel 5 is Google’s flagship smartphone this year and offers improvements over the 4a such as more RAM, a display with a high refresh rate, wireless charging and an aluminum construction. It’s the phone that many of us have been waiting for, especially in this Sorta Sage color.

Do not miss: Google Pixel 5 Buying Guide: All You Need To Know

But how exactly did Google pair wireless charging with an aluminum phone? For years, companies have been forced to use glass or polycarbonate for wireless charging because the charging signal cannot be passed through metal. While we liked the build quality of other aluminum phones like the Nexus 6P, wireless charging forced changes to the building materials.

Aluminum with “skin”

Google Pixel 5 water resistance

While Google technically uses aluminum for the Pixel 5’s hardware, there’s another layer right above it. Google calls this material bio-resin, which is a really quirky name for super-thin plastic. This is what you will feel when you hold the device, but the aluminum underneath gives structure to the Pixel 5.

This allowed Google to cut a physical hole in the Pixel 5’s aluminum case to place the wireless charging coil. Google says you shouldn’t be able to feel the coil as the resin appears to be very sturdy despite its thin design.

When we pushed Google about why this decision was made instead of just using glass or plastic, their response had to do with something I didn’t suspect: thinness.

Mo battery, mo problems

Release date of the Google Pixel 5 Pixel 4a 5g event

With the Pixel 5, Google uses the largest battery in a Pixel device to date with 4,080 mAh. While this is not much larger than other manufacturers, Google wanted to make sure it kept a small footprint that is in line with other devices in the Pixel family. By using an aluminum frame with this super-thin bio-resin “skin”, it was able to maintain the desired thickness while also making the phone look first class.

Personally, I’m looking forward to keeping the Pixel 5 to myself. Aluminum phones, on average, are much tougher than glass phones because they are nowhere near as easy to crack. How this bio-resin will withstand drops and cracks remains to be seen, but aluminum plus wireless charging seem like a winning combination.

Google Pixel 5 Google’s first 5G smartphone

The Google Pixel 5 might not be the high-end Pixel you expected, but it’s a pretty compelling mid-range option. Google is going back to basics with the Pixel 5 and foregoing high-end features like face recognition and the quirky Motion Sense gestures.

Are you looking forward to the Pixel 5? Let us know.

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