The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) is currently working on pursuing the Qi wireless charging standard, and in a nice change of pace, Apple is helping by sharing its MagSafe technology.
It is well known that Apple does not always play nice with others as it seems to prefer complete control over its environment and not share it, discontent of others. But now, the tech giant is willingly allowing WPC to use MagSafe as the basis for Qi2, as it’s called, in order to create a “world standard” for wireless charging.
According to the advertisement (Opens in a new tab)The organization hopes to clear up any confusion “regarding Qi-certified devices and those that claim to work with Qi but are not Qi-certified.” WPC goes on to say that “this confusion can lead to poor user experience and even safety issues.”
educated guesses
At this time, the full capacity of Qi2 is unknown. The standard is still so far away that smartphones and chargers that support it won’t be released until the 2023 holiday season.
However, WPC reveals that at the center of Qi2 is the magnetic energy profile, which it claims “ensures that phones or other portable products powered by rechargeable batteries are fully compatible with chargers.” As a result, users will experience higher energy efficiency and faster charging speeds. There’s also hope that wireless charging will expand to devices, such as smartwatches, that don’t work on regular flat-top chargers.
Despite the lack of information currently available, we can still make some educated guesses. Given Qi2’s use of MagSafe technology, it’s likely that upcoming chargers will use magnets to grip smartphones, feature charging speeds of up to 15W, and come with foreign object detection. The latter is especially important because it allows MagSafe chargers to detect if a metal object has been placed on the pad and automatically shut it off. If this does not happen, the metal will overheat to a dangerous degree.
Other reports It states that “every Qi2 transmitter requires authentication” which means that future phones may only ship with the standard. We’ve reached out to WPC for clarification on device authentication as well as how the magnetic energy profile and other features of the standard work. This story will be updated if we hear back.
Be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of The best wireless chargers of 2023. Every one we mention is compatible with the current Qi standard plus you’ll find chargers that work with smaller devices like smartwatches.