Qi2 wireless chargers with magnetic mount will be available this year

Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) announced about the readiness of the new wireless charging standard Qi2 (aka Qi v2.0) for the commercial market. This standard adds support for a universal magnetic mount for fast and accurate connections. It was first announced at the beginning of the year at CES 2023, but the first gadgets will go on sale only now.

Thanks to magnets, it was possible to implement Magnetic Power Profile (MPP), a technology based on Apple's MagSafe, which provides faster charging with minimal losses. The power will be the same as MagSafe: 15 W. It requires a magnet on the smartphone itself, or on a case or a special magnetic sticker.

There was some confusion. It is noted that MPP technology may not be supported in all devices with Qi2: some gadgets may use magnets for more convenient mounting, but this will not provide faster charging. Also, devices without magnets at all can pass Qi2 certification.

MPP support is worth checking on the product page or packaging if the fastest wireless charging is important to you. To make life easier for customers, the new logo with a two will only be applied to the packaging of devices with MPP, while Qi2-compatible gadgets without magnets or fast charging will use the old one logo.

The first devices with Qi2 support will go on sale by the winter holidays. Currently, more than 100 gadgets are already at the production and certification stage, and manufacturers like Belkin, Anker, Mophie and Aircharge are preliminary announced charging accessories with Qi2.

It is noteworthy that the consortium includes the iPhone 15 - that is, MagSafe - on the list of compatible devices officially compliant with the Qi2 standard (which is not surprising given that Apple provided this WPC technology). Owners of Android smartphones will have to use special cases and stickers for now. It is still unclear whether the charger will work with the iPhone 14 and older models.