Curtains for the Qi2 standard? Google also calls time on it with the Pixel 9

The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) announced the Qi2 standard (pronounced «chee two») back in November 2023. January 2024 then saw the launch of the first Qi2 chargers.

Hopes for a uniform standard for wireless smartphone charging were high. After all, Apple and many major Android manufacturers such as Google and Samsung had joined forces in the consortium.

Disappointment: as yet no Qi2 in Google and Samsung devices

Eight months later, there’s deep-seated disillusionment. Admittely, Apple has delivered the current iPhone 15 series with Qi2, as well as added it to the iPhone 13 and 14 series via an update. But that was easy, as Qi2 is based on the company’s MagSafe standard. It’s a different story in the Android world. To date, only HMD Skyline supports Qi2 wireless charging.

Major manufacturers Samsung and Google, on the other hand, have refrained from equipping their top models that were launched in the last few weeks with the latest wireless standard. When asked, Google confirmed that the Pixel is only certified for Qi1.3 rather than Qi2.

What does that mean in practice? Standard Qi supports wireless charging to a maximum of 7.5 W. If the charger is compatible with EPP (Extended Power Profile), you can get as much as 12 W with the Pixel. However, it’s pretty onerous for users to find out which charger works with each smartphone and how it actually charges.

What’s more, it’s confusing that Google specifies wireless charging speeds of up to 15 W (Pixel 9) or even up to 23 W (Pixel 9 Pro XL). These only apply if you have a 2nd gen Google Pixel Stand i.e. the manufacturer’s own wireless charger. The thing is, this isn’t available everywhere. For instance, in Switzerland, you can’t even buy it directly from Google.

Why Qi2 makes sense

With Qi2, we’d have a standardised charging speed of 15 W across all certified chargers – and for all smartphones, be it iPhone or Android. The chargers are also clearly marked Qi2 so you can easily find them.

Google has already almost achieved the second feature of Qi2. What’s more, the charging standard optionally supports the magnetic holder that Apple introduced in the MagSafe standard and which all manufacturers can now use with Qi2. In fact, you can even find officially certified cases for the Pixel 9 series that support magnetic docking in the Google Store. Is this the first step before Google integrates the magnets directly into its devices?

Magsafe is so great that I even equipped my Android device with it – you can read exactly why here:

What’s the impact of these delays?

Is this the death knell for Qi2? Those in charge at the Wireless Power Consortium aren’t concerned. Marketing Director Paul Golden responded that: «Given the timing of the Qi v2.0 spec release and the lead time required to develop a new smartphone, it’d be highly unlikely, if not impossible, for a manufacturer to have already integrated Qi2 in that time.»

He added that the window of opportunity for Android manufacturers is now slowly opening and more Qi2 smartphones from the Android world are set to launch by the end of the year. In terms of Qi2 devices already in use worldwide, he cited a figure of over one billion. He’s referring to iPhones and chargers released by manufacturers who’ve quickly switched to the new standard.

This is all confusing and irksome for users. The new standard was widely announced and hundreds of Qi2 chargers were released, but the matching Android phones are still a long way off. This should’ve been coordinated better.

It’s also unclear whether smartphones from Samsung, Google and the like will use Qi2 with or without magnets – both are officially possible. Many chargers, on the other hand, can only be used effectively with them. As a result, it makes a mockery of the initial good idea of a uniform standard across all operating systems.