Ironically, we at WIRED have been fans of wireless charging for a long time. It’s nice to not have to mess around with cables! Most modern wireless charging devices are Qi (pronounced chee) compliant, but it’s taken a while to catch on (and the user experience isn’t always great). The Wireless Power Consortium, which manages the charging protocol, announced the next version, called Qi2, in early 2023, and devices that support it are finally starting to appear. It promises perfect compatibility, and accessories could bridge the gap between Android and iPhone.
Unfortunately, Qi2 hasn’t taken off as quickly or widely this year as we hoped. As of August 2024, the only Android phone that’s Qi2 certified is the HMD Skyline (6/10, WIRED review), and we were disappointed to find that it doesn’t work with some older Qi chargers. Is Qi2 at a dead end?
Update August 2024: Added more details about Qi2 adoption, an explanation of the various certification options, and the unfortunate news that some Qi2 devices won’t charge with Qi chargers.
What is Qi2?
Photo: Simon Hill
Qi2 is a new open wireless charging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) that brings important upgrades to the original Qi standard, most notably the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP), which is based on Apple’s MagSafe technology (Apple was involved in developing the Qi2 standard), allowing Qi2-branded devices to add a ring of magnets to ensure perfect alignment with the charger for faster charging speeds.
There’s also another standard, the non-magnetic wireless charging Extended Power Profile (EPP), which is where the confusion comes in. According to WPC’s Paul Golden, EPP refers to devices that comply with the spec but aren’t officially Qi2, and therefore can’t use the logo or be called Qi2 devices. In an email to WIRED, Golden said such devices “must bear the Qi logo, not Qi2, and packaging and marketing materials must state that the device does not contain magnets. Any device labeled Qi2 must be MPP and contain magnets.”
Qi2 is fully backwards compatible, so you can charge older Qi Android phones and MagSafe iPhones with a Qi2 charger. I’ve tested a few and this seems to be true. I also expected that older Qi chargers would be able to charge Qi2 devices, but at a slower speed. However, this turns out to be incorrect. For example, the HMD Skyline didn’t work with some of the older Qi chargers I tested, but this seems to be to be expected. We’ll have to wait for more Qi2 phones, which may be a while as big companies like Google and Samsung haven’t adopted Qi2 in their latest flagship products.
Advantages of Qi2
Photo: Simon Hill
Qi2 wireless charging offers several advantages over the original Qi standard.
