iPhones and Android devices soon rechargeable with one magnetic charger
The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) is coming out with a new version of the Qi standard for wireless charging this year. This Qi2 standard is based on Apple's MagSafe technology, according to the WPC. The first Qi2 products are likely to come out by the end of this year. Read more about what this means for the future of wireless charging here soon!
Qi
Currently, Qi is the standard for wireless charging of phones, wireless earbuds and other electronic devices. As long as it says Qi on the packaging, you know the charger will work with any device. So now the group behind Qi, the aforementioned WPC, is working on its successor, building on Apple's 2020 MagSafe technology. With MagSafe, a wireless charger is combined with, as the name somewhat gives away, magnets. As a result, the wireless charger always sits exactly on the receiver inside the device. This allows the device to charge optimally: in fact, wireless charging is slower if the charger is not exactly in the middle and therefore consumes more energy.
Qi2
The new Qi2 is thus being developed in collaboration with Apple. It is therefore quite conceivable that the Qi2 charger will soon work with Android devices as well as iPhones, according to a WPC spokesperson. If the major smartphone manufacturers all support the Qi2 standard soon, many of the chargers will be interchangeable between different smartphones, which will be very convenient for consumers, especially for families with Android and Apple smartphones, for example.
Even faster wireless charging, but not until the end of 2023
The first version of the Qi2 is mainly intended for devices with a maximum charging power of 15W. Once this first version is complete, the WPC will move on to the next version with higher charging power. This standard may then be extended to electronic devices without a flat charging surface, such as smartwatches, according to the WPC. It is not yet clear whether existing iPhones with MagSafe will soon be able to use Qi2, and whether existing MagSafe accessories will be compatible with smartphones with Qi2. The first version of Qi2 would be completed sometime in the middle of this year, and the first smartphones and chargers with Qi2 should start appearing sometime "before the holidays".
Are you also looking forward to this new technology?
