The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has announced that the Qi2 wireless charging standard is just about ready for prime time, starting with the iPhone 15.
In a press release issued yesterday, the WPC revealed that the first Qi2 mobile devices were ready to complete the certification process. The first Qi2 products – think third party chargers and cases with MagSafe-like magnetic attachment abilities – should be on the market “in time for the holiday season”. It’s stated that more than 100 Qi2 devices are in the certification pipeline.
If you haven’t been tracking the development of Qi2, then the identity of the very first Qi2-compatible phone might surprise you. Apple’s current iPhone 15 lineup earns that distinction.
We’ve already mentioned Apple’s MagSafe as a reference point for Qi2, and that’s for a very simple reason – Qi2 essentially is MagSafe. Apple has had a direct hand in shaping the Qi2 wireless standard, specifically the magnetic technology that aligns MagSafe chargers with its phones.
The iPhone 15 already has MagSafe, of course, but this Qi2 compatibility means that you’ll be able to buy a generic (and likely cheaper) 15W sticky-charger for your new phone this Christmas, and it’ll probably also work on any future Android flagship phones.
First USB-C, then this. Apple is opening up like a flower. Kind of.
As this suggests, no Android phones have officially been confirmed for the Qi2 standard, but you can expect the announcements to come as the first batch of 2024 flagships are announced over the next month or two.
One interesting point that The Verge dug out is a recent WPC announcement of a new board member – a certain Liyu Yang of Google. Yang’s current job is described as “leading the investigation and design of next-generation wireless charging platforms for future Pixel products.”
That’s pretty much indirect confirmation that the Pixel 9 will feature Qi2 in just under a year’s time.