Wireless Android charging is getting a big upgrade with Qi2 25W
TL;DR The WPC has now formally branded its new high-speed wireless charging system as Qi2 25W.
We just saw some of the first 25W-supporting accessories get their certifications.
The WPC says that 'major Android smartphones' will be using the standard, but we're still waiting to hear who will be involved.
Wireless charging on Android, for lack of a better word, is messy. Even though Android was early to the wireless charging party, Apple has since swooped in to show everyone how to do things with its effortless MagSafe system. Meanwhile, on the Android side of the fence we're often stuck using add-on MagSafe cases or adapters, and while some manufacturers do offer their own high-speed wireless solutions, those tend to be proprietary and awkward to use in their own right. Surely there's a better approach to be made?
Today we get a glimmer of hope along that line, as the Wireless Power Consortium shares word of its latest charging standard: Qi2 25W.
Formally this is Qi v2.2.1, but as you can probably tell from the chosen branding, the name of the game here is support for 25W charging. Qi initially only supported an insipid 5W. Qi2 bumped that up to a more workable 15W, but we were promised that even faster performance was coming down the pike. Now Qi2 25W is arriving to make good on just that.
Perhaps most critically, the WPC says that 'major Android smartphones' are on board for the standard. The group mentions that certification for compatible hardware has already begun, which we knew about after seeing accessories like the UGREEN MagFlow Magnetic Power Bank begin to promote their Qi 2.2 support. But while we've spotted quite a few chargers picking up their certification, what about the actual phones?
That's the tricky bit, and really, we're asking two different questions here: When will we see the release of Android phones that support Qi2 25W charging? And will that hardware natively support magnetic attachment, or will Android users once again find themselves shopping for the right cases just to charge their phones?
We might start getting some answers sooner than you'd think, as we already reported that Google's working on new 'Pixelsnap' accessories for the upcoming Pixel 10 series. These would be magnetic and support Qi 2.2, so they might be the perfect platform to introduce Qi2 25W support to an Android audience. That said, don't be shocked if we only get a 15W solution.
Whether it's from Google and the Pixel 10 series, or any of our other favorite Android manufacturers, we eagerly look forward to trying out Qi2 25W in action for ourselves.
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