14 DAY TRIAL // The Qi wireless charging standard is already incredibly popular, and millions of devices out there, including phones and tablets, use it for the convenience that wireless charging can produce.
This week at CES, however, the Wireless Power Consortium, also known as WPC, announced the second generation of this standard. Called Qi2, the new charging technology is supposed to provide significant benefits to devices adopting it.
And here’s everything you need to know about Qi2 wireless charging.
First and foremost, if you’re familiar with Apple’s MagSafe, you should find the Qi2 wireless charging technology very similar. And it’s all because the Cupertino-based tech giant itself is the one that contributed to the development of Qi2.
As a member of the WPC, Apple had a major contribution to the development of Qi2.
“WPC member, Apple, provided the basis for the new Qi2 standard building on its MagSafe technology. Apple and other WPC members developed the new Magnetic Power Profile, which is at the core of Qi2. Qi2’s Magnetic Power Profile will ensure that phones or other rechargeable battery-powered mobile products are perfectly aligned with charging devices, thus providing improved energy efficiency and faster charging,” the Wireless Power Consortium announced in a press release this week.
As you can see, the purpose of Qi2 is to use the Magnetic Power Profile to make sure that the device is properly aligned with the charger. The benefits are more than obvious, as users can therefore get the best charging speeds and the maximum efficiency of the process.
Needless to say, the chargers will require new hardware, so you’ll have to buy new wireless chargers to benefit from Qi2.
The debut of the new technology is projected to take place at some point next year, with the first devices integrating Qi2 to hit the shelves later the same year. WPC says phones and chargers featuring the new standard are due in the 2023 holiday season.
“The Qi2 (pronounced ‘chee two’) standard will replace its predecessor, Qi, in a rapidly expanding market where about one billion devices – transmitters and receivers – will be sold worldwide in 2023. The launch of the Qi2 standard will further expand the wireless charging market by opening the market to new accessories that wouldn’t be chargeable using current flat surface-to-flat surface devices,” WPC explains.
In so many ways, the debut of Qi2 proves that Apple once again managed to be ahead of the industry when it debuted MagSafe. Available on the iPhone 12 and newer, MagSafe gave birth to a completely new category of accessories, all of which make use of the Magnetic Power Profile, therefore making sure the device is always properly aligned with the smartphone.
Paul Struhsaker, executive director of the Wireless Power Consortium, says one of the biggest benefits of Qi2 is the contribution that it brings in the fight against electronic waste, something that organizations worldwide, including the European Union, have been insisting on significantly in the last few years.
Earlier this year, the EU also announced new regulations that force device makers to equip their products with USB-C, once again in an attempt to reduce electronic waste and therefore make it easier for users to have more than just one device at the same time.
“Energy efficiency and sustainability are on everyone’s minds these days,” says Struhsaker. “Qi2’s perfect alignment improves energy efficiency by reducing the energy loss that can happen when the phone or the charger is not aligned. Just as important, Qi2 will greatly reduce the landfill waste associated with wired charger replacement due to plugs breaking and the stress placed on cords from daily connecting and disconnecting.”