Companies increasingly seek ways to improve customer experience and seamless device interaction. In an attempt to bring more efficiency and faster performance, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has officially rolled out the Qi2 wireless charging standard, which is meant to bring faster and better wireless charging capabilities to a wider range of devices. With the help of the new charging standard, users would be able to get charging speeds up to 25W, which is a massive upgrade from the Qi standard, offering 7.5W-15W speeds.
Wireless charging gets a major upgrade as Qi2 brings 25W speeds to iPhone and major Android phones
We have long been hearing about the Qi2 wireless charging support, bringing some significant improvements in terms of speed and surpassing the 15W limit of the previous charging standard. Now, the Wireless Power Consortium has finally announced the new standard that would be branded as the Qi2 25W. Before this, the more efficient version was known as Qi2.2, but the new name seems more explanatory in terms of what the upgrade would bring about: faster and more efficient wireless charging.
Anker, Baseus, and Ugreen are some of the first accessory companies to adapt to the new charging standard, which has allowed them to access early certifications and even start unveiling chargers and power banks that extend the upgraded support. WPC also confirmed that iPhones will be bringing the latest wireless charging support, although it is not certain which models will adopt the new technology.
Since Qi2's magnetic design is partly similar to Apple's own MagSafe system, there is a chance that the iPhone 16 lineup could get a software update to enable the full 25W Qi2 charging speeds. Although the devices receiving the new version are kept under wraps, it would be safe to assume that the iPhone 17 series could come with support for Qi2 25W right out of the box.
The WPC further mentioned that major Android smartphones would adapt to the Qi2 ecosystem, but the specific models are still in the air. If we look at Android phones extending this kind of support, only HMD Skyline falls under it, and some of Samsung's foldable phones, such as Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, are labeled as Qi2 Ready. While the latter must sound confusing, what it really means is that it would be offering charging speed up to 15W using Qi2 but would have the built-in magnetic ring that allows for the complete charging experience.
Nonetheless, the overall wireless charging upgrade is a significant milestone and could even help streamline Android and Apple's ecosystems, resulting in overall efficiency and speed.
