One of the highlighted new features of the Pixel 5 is reverse wireless charging which lets you use the devices as a wireless Qi charger. This means your wireless earbuds or another smartphone can also be charged when placed on top of the back of your device. Having to turn on the setting every time is of course not so convenient but now Google is changing something to make it a bit so. When your Pixel 5 is plugged into a USB-C port, Battery Share will automatically be turned on.

According to 9 to 5 Google, this new setting has been confirmed in a Google support page. Basically, what will happen to your Pixel 5 is that the Battery Share is automatically turned on as soon as you plug it in a USB-C port. This means you’ll be able to charge either your earbuds or other Qi-enabled smartphones, turning your device basically into a sort of Qi wireless charging pad “for a short period”.

The support page also emphasizes that Battery Share will automatically be turned off when your Pixel 5 detects that there is no other device that will be using its power. This is also better as you would not want your smartphone to unnecessarily overheat when you just want to charge it and do not have another device that wants to use it as a reverse wireless charging device. It did not specify though how long (or how short) it will be before it’s turned off.

It’s also worth noting that Battery Share is not like charging your device on a power bank. The power that flows through it is not as strong as a regular Qi charger but at least you still get some power for your other supported devices, which is especially useful when you’re on the go and you don’t have an extra battery or when you just need a quick juice up at the hotel when you’re on a trip.

If you want to use the Battery Share and your Pixel 5 is not plugged in, you can activate it through the settings menu of your device. There should also be a quick settings toggle that you can activate when you want to charge your earbuds or another smartphone.

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