I’m impressed that Google didn’t shy away from the Magsafe-Pixelsnap similarities

Amidst all the celebrity appearances and new hardware at yesterday’s Made by Google event, one of the most exciting announcements for me was the official debut of Pixelsnap on the new Pixel 10 series. I’ve been waiting for native, magnetic, Qi2 charging on a Pixel basically since Apple debuted this feature on iPhones a few years ago. But the biggest and best part of the announcement wasn’t the feature itself—it was how Google talked about it.

In a refreshingly mature and incredibly smart move, Google didn’t try to shy away from the obvious comparison to Apple’s MagSafe. Instead, they leaned right into it, and I respect the hell out of that decision.

No more tip-toeing around the elephant in the room

During the presentation, Google’s executives did something you rarely see in a tech keynote: they explicitly mentioned their biggest competitor by name. They didn’t just hint that Pixelsnap was like MagSafe; they made it abundantly clear that because both systems are built on the open Qi2 wireless charging standard, Pixelsnap and MagSafe accessories are fully interchangeable.

This is a massive departure from the usual tech playbook, where companies often create a slightly different, proprietary version of a popular feature and pretend it exists in a vacuum. Google took the opposite approach. They acknowledged that a massive, mature ecosystem of accessories already exists, and instead of trying to fight it, they embraced it.

A huge win for Pixel users

This decision is a huge win for everyone who buys a Pixel 10. From day one, Pixel 10 owners will be able to tap into the vast array of iPhone accessories that leverage MagSafe. All the wallets, car mounts, charging stands, grips, and battery packs that have been perfected over the past few years are now instantly available to Pixel users.

This instantly solves one of the biggest weak points of the Pixel ecosystem: the relative lack of high-quality, purpose-built accessories compared to the iPhone. By adopting the standard and being open about the cross-compatibility, Google has given its users a massive, immediate upgrade.

While Google is launching its own beautiful first-party accessories—including a Pixelsnap Charger, Ring, and Stand—the real story is the open door to everything else. It’s a confident, pro-consumer move that prioritizes user experience over proprietary lock-in, and it’s one of the smartest things Google did on stage yesterday.