Qi2 Ready announced: standard for wireless charging is changing for the better… and worse

At first it sounded like a success story – now it’s sinking into chaos. Just over a year ago, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) launched a standard for wireless charging in Qi2, widely supported by the industry. Apple was on board, as were Samsung, Google and all the other major accessory manufacturers.

The logic is simple: Qi2 chargers work with all certified smartphones and charge them wirelessly at 15 watts. A magnetic holder ensures optimum power transfer and enables the use of a wide range of accessories.

Android manufacturers slacking

The technical basis of Qi2 comes from Apple’s MagSafe standard, which is why the US manufacturer was able to quickly convert to Qi2. Thanks to software updates, this was even possible retroactively for all models up to the iPhone 12. But Android manufacturers? They didn’t do jack. Only one smartphone with Qi2 was launched in 2024: the HMD Skyline. Was it too short a notice period for the other manufacturers, were the technical changes too complicated or were their own charging concepts more important after all? We don’t know.

Will everything get better in 2025? Not really. Two statements from the major manufacturers in the WPC’s press release for the CES tech fair are, at best, extremely vague. While Samsung is at least promising to bring Galaxy phones with Qi2 to market this year, Google is keeping its head down. It merely states that Google is committed to the standard and is working on the development of Qi2.2, which should enable even faster charging.

Pissing off consumers with Qi2 Ready

And how is the Wireless Power Consortium reacting to the fact that Android manufacturers have largely ignored Qi2 so far? Simple: by introducing a new label, Qi2 Ready. In short, it certifies smartphones that support Qi2 charging speeds but don’t have built-in magnets. A magnetic holder can then be retrofitted with a Qi2 Ready case.

This isn’t actually new, since magnets were optional in the original Qi2 standard – but still useful. After all, a magnetic holder offers true added value.

So, instead of strengthening the Qi2 standard, the WPC waters it down and annoys consumers. In many cases, a Qi2 Ready device can’t even be used with a Qi2 charger, since magnets are required to attach the smartphone in the first place.

What’s next for Qi2?

Really, the Wireless Power Consortium should’ve just waited to introduce the standard until all important manufacturers are ready for it. Alternatively, it could’ve limited Qi2 to just the charging speed and technical specifications instead of including magnetic mounts.

Even better, the certification should’ve been clearly linked to certain conditions: if you want to advertise Qi2, you should support all the details of the standard. This would’ve been a consumer-friendly solution, even if the range of Qi2 smartphones remained very limited for another year.

However, now there’s a risk that numerous smartphones with the Qi2 Ready label will come to market and not work with many chargers since they’re missing an additional case. Only leading to frustration among many buyers.

The Wireless Power Consortium has to make improvements next year at the latest. If the Qi2 standard is further developed for faster charging speeds, this should be combined with a standardisation of requirements. It’s the only way a standard makes sense – singular rules, clearly defined for everyone.