At the start of the year, the Wireless Power Consortium announced their brand new Qi2 wireless charging standard. Despite it having been announced for almost a year, we’ve yet to see smartphones or accessories that support it, but it looks like the wait is almost over.
The WPC has announced that they have approved the new charging standard and that they expect that it will launch in time for the holidays, meaning that we should be able to look forward to Qi2-certified charging accessories very soon.
If you’re learning about Qi2 for the first time and are wondering what is Qi2, it’s a new wireless charging standard that relies on magnets. This is similar to Apple’s MagSafe, which isn’t surprising given that Apple lent their MagSafe tech to help develop the new standard.
While magnetic charging isn’t new, the WPC has created a set of guidelines that companies will need to adhere to if they want their devices to be considered Qi2 certified. At the moment the iPhone 15 is a Qi2 compatible smartphone, but there are no accessories that have launched as many accessory makers are still testing their products and waiting for certification.
2024 should usher in more smartphones that support the technology, so if you’re an Android user but love the concept of MagSafe, then these accessories and smartphones should be something to look forward to.
Source: The Verge