What is Qi2 wireless charging? Everything you need to know

In January 2023, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) introduced us to Qi2 — a major update to the long-standing Qi wireless charging standard. A full decade has passed since wireless charging first began appearing on smartphones. And with Qi2, the WPC hopes to solve the technology’s biggest problems — from power efficiency to convenience — in one fell swoop.

Qi2 owes a lot of its existence to Apple. The company worked closely with the WPC to integrate the iPhone’s MagSafe technology into the new standard. This so-called “magnetic power profile” also opens the door to an entire future ecosystem of snap-on accessories. Of course, Qi2 has a lot more in store, so let’s go over all of the upgrades coming with Qi2, and when it might come to a smartphone near you.

What is Qi2? How is it an upgrade over regular wireless charging?

Qi2 is the latest wireless charging standard that most devices will adopt going forward. When it was first announced, we were most excited to hear about the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) where a ring of magnets surrounds the charging coil to ensure that your smartphone aligns perfectly with a wireless charger. However, we eventually learned that devices don’t need to adopt the magnetic profile to achieve Qi2 certification. To understand why the magnetic profile is so important, it’s worth talking about how wireless charging works in the first place.

Wireless charging relies on the law of electromagnetic induction. Inside every single wireless charger, you’ll find a coil of copper wire. When you plug it in, the electric current passing through this coil generates a magnetic field. Meanwhile, phones that support wireless charging include a coil under their back plastic or glass shells. And when you place your device on a charging pad, the magnetic field from the charger induces an electric current in the phone’s coil.

While the idea behind wireless charging is simple enough, the efficiency of power transfer drops as soon as you increase the distance between the coils. You may have noticed your phone stop charging pretty quickly once you lift it away from a wireless charger. The concept applies both vertically and horizontally — if the coils aren’t aligned, charging speeds will drop. The following graphic shows both cases:

As you may have guessed, Qi2’s magnetic profile solves this problem by aligning the transmitter and receiver coils almost perfectly. And since energy lost during wireless charging is typically converted into heat, your device won’t warm up as much either. This makes Qi2 a lot less destructive to your smartphone’s long-term battery health. We also hoped that Qi2’s magnetic ring will result in a flood of new quick-attach accessories on the market. We’ve already seen this happen in the iPhone world, after all, as you can buy many non-charging MagSafe accessories like tripods, wallets, and even cooling fans.

However, as I mentioned earlier, Qi2 devices aren’t required to include the magnetic ring at all. This means some devices like the Galaxy Ring proclaim Qi2 compatibility even though they lack support for the all-important Magnetic Power Profile. Instead, it only supports the Baseline Power Profile (BPP) and does not offer any material benefits over first-gen Qi charging.

See also: Does Qi2 mean MagSafe is coming to Android?

Qi vs Qi2: What’s the difference?

We’ve already discussed the magnetic aspect of Qi2, but there’s a lot more to the standard.

• Faster charging: The WPC says that Qi2’s magnetic coupling will allow for faster wireless charging. The standard will initially launch with the same 15W limit, but higher power profiles will follow as the standard matures. In an interview with Android Authority, the WPC’s Marketing Director said that a Qi2.1 revision will bring faster wireless charging sometime in mid-2024. The body is also looking to add support for smartwatches and tablets around that time. Initially, Qi2 will only target phones and wireless earbuds.
• Quality control and certification: Qi2 is a stricter standard. Manufacturers will have to undergo a certification process, and only certified products will bear the standard’s logo. This should ensure that counterfeit or unsafe products are less likely to make their way onto storefronts like Amazon. In astatement to The Verge, the WPC said it will also mandate the size and strength of magnets to ensure a strong connection. Overall, the body says it’s committed to enforcing these standards, as it doesn’t want to dilute the Qi branding.
• Third-party accessories: Ever since Apple released MagSafe, we’ve seen accessory makers come up with various use-cases for it. From pop sockets to wallets, expect to see a lot of non-charging accessories for Qi2 smartphones to appear on store shelves.

To note, the Qi2 standard requires an authentication handshake. This means that devices can refuse to draw power from non-compliant chargers. You’ll still be able to find third-party wireless chargers from brands like Belkin and Anker, but not $15 uncertified alternatives on sites like AliExpress.

Which phones and wireless chargers support Qi2?

The first smartphones to release with Qi2 support were the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. Only one Android device has launched with Qi2 charging so far and that’s the relatively niche HMD Skyline. This is perhaps not that surprising, given that smartphone development typically takes place over several years and the Qi2 standard was only finalized in early 2024.

We do know that the WPC has nearly 400 members, including most smartphone brands, so we should see the new standard become widely available later in 2024. Accessory makers like Anker, Mophie, and Belkin have already announced Qi2 charging products. But even though rumors indicated the Samsung would become the first to support the new wireless charging standard, Qi2 was conspicuously absent on the Galaxy S24 series early on in 2024.

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