Qi2 Wireless Charging Standard Announcement

For those who don’t know, Qi2 (by the way, pronounced ‘chee two’), is the new wireless charging standard announced by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) in January of 2023. Though it was announced so long ago, it is only set to launch a whole year later (read: very soon). Technically, we should start seeing Qi2 chargers this December.

What makes the next gen of Qi2 wireless chargers for Android exciting is that Apple (yes, thatApple) played a big part in making Qi2 happen. Tim Cook & Co did something bizarre – they decided to share Apple’s original MagSafe tech with the WPC (and therefore Android) openly and for free.

Even though I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be a hostage situation, Apple sharing… anything isn’t something we see every day, or ever. But this time the (i) message from cupertino is different. The MagSafe-capable Qi2 wireless charging standard for Android (and iPhone) is a win/win for everyone. The iPhone gained USB-C, and now Apple is (more or less) giving Android access to MagSafe, and everyone should be happy.

I’m here to tell Android users they should be excited, and that’s because MagSafe is low-key one of the best iPhone/Apple features in recent years. Android users will absolutely love it once phone-makers start adding magnets to the back of Android phones.

MagSafe Accessories and Compatibility

It’s up to Android phone-makers to add magnetic wireless charging to their phones now. It’s important to note that not all Qi2 chargers will be magnetic. There will be two types of Qi2 chargers – one of them will feature Apple’s Magnetic Power Profile (MPP), maxing out at 15W (that’s the MagSafe one). The second type of Qi2 chargers, based on “Extended Power Profile” (EPP) won’t support MagSafe but you’ll be gaining double the charging speeds, at 30W.

Improvements in Qi2 Wireless Charging

Thanks to the expertise and tech behind Apple’s MagSafe, the next generation of Qi2 wireless chargers for Android will bring improvements in two key areas/ways. The first one is related to wireless charging efficiency. In case you aren’t familiar, wireless charging isn’t only slower than wired charging but it’s also far less efficient, because the phone heats up more and oftentimes gets misaligned on the charger. This is why you sometimes wake up to see your phone is dead, when it was supposed to be fully (and wirelessly) charged.

As far as heat dissipation is concerned, while Qi2 (based on MagSafe) won’t necessarily keep your phone cooler when charging (compared to the current version of Qi), the magnetic nature of it means you can opt in for a magnetic charger with a built-in cooling fan. With the current version of Qi chargers, you can only do that with a static charger that sits on a table. In theory, cooler temperatures while charging should preserve the condition of your phone’s battery for longer.

MagSafe Accessories for Android Phones

Android phone-makers will need to add magnets to the back of their phones to be compatible with MagSafe charging. Once they do, a variety of MagSafe accessories will become available for Android phones, including battery packs, wallets, tripods, mounts, and more.

Conclusion

Is MagSafe coming to Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, and how long till Android phones start shipping with iPhone-like magnets on the back? It’s up to Android phone makers to start adding the other piece of the magnetic puzzle to the back of their phones, so Android users can start taking advantage of MagSafe as soon as possible.