This year, Qi2—pronounced "Chee Two"—the international wireless charging standard, receives a significant improvement. The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which is based on Apple's MagSafe technology, just presented the next generation worldwide wireless charging standard at CES 2023. The foundation of Qi2 is a new Magnetic Power Profile that aims to provide faster and more effective wireless charging. The arrival of Qi2 approved phones and chargers is anticipated for the 2023 Christmas season.
Although Apple's MagSafe charging technology is very interesting, it is only compatible with a small subset of Apple devices, and the response to it has been, at best, muted. By 2023, we could expect to see many more products supporting magnetic wireless charging, from Android smartphones to TWS headphones, as this technology is now a part of a more open and universal standard. More significantly, compared to Apple's MagSafe devices, Qi2 chargers ought to be less expensive.
The WPC only counts the California tech behemoth among its members, but it was their MagSafe technology that served as the foundation for the new Qi2 standard, the WPC said. The magnetic profile in Qi2 is supposed to supersede the Qi standard and enable novel charging methods that were previously impractical. This implies that, like Apple's MagSafe products and accessories, all Qi2 certified devices and accessories will be able to magnetically attach to one another.
Additionally, according to WPC, we may anticipate quicker wireless charging on some devices while keeping safety and product lifespan in mind thanks to Qi2's increased efficiency and compatibility.
A Qi2 compatible smartphone should work with any Qi2 wireless charger, however various devices may require different power profiles. Although Apple will probably continue to reserve some power profiles or technology for its own products only, the Qi2 standard should open the door to a larger and more affordable selection of gadgets and accessories.
