Qi2 (pronounced chee two) is the latest generation wireless charging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). It was announced at this year’s CES 2023 and is capable of delivering up to 15W charging speeds. Apple’s iPhone 15 series is currently the only officially announced smartphone series compatible with the new standard but this is set to change soon. The Cupertino-based tech giant is ready to extend the official Qi2 support to older iPhone models.
Qi2 Wireless Charging Coming to Older iPhones Soon
Apple recently pushed the iOS 17.2 Release Candidate (RC) build to beta testers around the world. Its changelog mentioned important changes coming to supported devices and one of those changes has caught everyone’s attention. It is Qi2 wireless charging support for iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 models.
The changelog mentions, “Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models.” This makes it clear the new iOS 17.2 will make older iPhone models compatible with the latest Qi2 wireless charging standard. An iOS RC build is usually released right before the stable version is pushed. It means the iOS 17.2 public build release is just around the corner.
Before this change, the current-generation iPhone 15 series was the only officially announced smartphone lineup to support new Qi2 wireless chargers. This is undoubtedly good news for iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 users who had no choice but to either use slower 7.5 Qi wireless chargers or spend a lot on MagSafe wireless chargers to get faster speeds.
The new Qi2 wireless charging standard is MagSafe for the masses. It utilizes the power of magnets just like MagSafe. It can deliver up to 15W wireless charging speeds to compatible smartphones. The new standard also promises better power efficiency and easier alignment similar to MagSafe. Apple worked closely with WPC on the Qi2 wireless charging standard development.
As of now, there are no Qi2 wireless chargers available in the market but this is set to change soon. WPC recently confirmed first wave of Qi2 wireless chargers will hit the market by the end of the year. Since we are already in December, it should happen anytime soon. It revealed there are over 100 devices that are currently under testing or in the certification queue.
Since Qi wireless charging is used by almost all smartphones regardless of the platform, we should see Qi2 arrive on Android devices too. There have been rumours of Google adopting Qi2 wireless charging for next-gen Pixel smartphones. The change will not only help users in terms of quicker charging times and better efficiency but also in saving money spent on wireless chargers.
