The Google Pixel 5 still supports wireless charging even with an aluminium back?

When glass phones were all the rage — and they still are in some circles — we were told one of the reasons why was to allow for wireless charging and that having a metal body prevents the wireless charge from working. The new Pixel 5 though, has an aluminium backing and supports wireless charging. It seems there’s a fairly simple reason for it.

Bioresin. The rear of the Pixel 5 has an ultra-thin plastic coating on it — but don’t call it plastic, its official name is bioresin (but it’s a plastic). Underneath said coating is the aluminium shell and what we were told is correct — aluminium does prevent Qi charging from hitting the charging coils in the phone.

This year the bioresin (read: plastic) is apparently is “very strong”, so much so that it is strong enough not to bend or compress and thus can be used to shield what is underneath. So what Google did is cut a physical hole in their aluminium backing — just big enough for Qi charging coils to be placed in. Now there is no aluminium between the charging coils and the charger. The bioresin is strong enough that a user cannot feel the charging coils underneath.

The bioresin coating has allowed Google to keep the Pixel 5 thin while maintaining its strength and Qi charging thanks to the aluminium, its hole and the bioresin coating on top. This has allowed it to use a bigger battery in the phone as well due to the outer coating not taking up as much room.

The end result is hopefully a phone that is more durable than those glass behemoths because so many of us have learned all to well just how easy it is to crack that glass. The new Pixel 5 can be pre-ordered now and will be available on October 15. We are looking forward to checking out how Google does with this new tier of smartphone for them. Are you?