Yes, ‘Qi2’ requires magnets, as it always has

Ben Schoon | Dec 20 2024 - 12:00 pm PT

The Qi2 standard is slowly coming, and the big appeal has always been that is brings magnets that work the same as Apple’s MagSafe to other products, including Android phones. And yes, magnets are indeed required to have something say that is has “Qi2.”

The Wireless Power Consortium announced the Qi2 standard in early 2023 with a primary focus on the ring of magnets that open devices to better alignment and compatibility with accessories. The appeal of that is huge, even though it hasn’t seen any big adoption nearly two years later.

But does Qi2 really require those magnets?

Yes, yes it does.

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Confusion on this matter first popped up a few months ago when a “non-magnetic” page on the “Charge with Qi” website was highlighted and explained that there were two logos for Qi2 products. One for products with magnets. Another for products without.

The page, which was deleted days after it was brought to light (as you might notice, we never covered this story originally – this is why), was directly contrary to all previous announcements from the WPC. That deleted page was also the only place this was mentioned. When the Qi2 standard was finalized in November 2023 (around 9 months prior to when that page was highlighted), the WPC clearly explained:

The Qi v2.0 standard consists of two profiles, the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) which is based on MagSafe technology contributed by Apple to WPC and branded with the Qi2 logo, and an enhancement to the existing wireless charging Extended Power Profile (EPP) that does not include magnets but complies with the Qi v2.0 standard. New Qi v2.0 EPP products will be branded with the existing Qi logo consumers know and use today.

In other words, Qi2 comes in two main forms. There’s the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP), which is what is branded as “Qi2.” There’s also the Extended Power Profile (EPP), which is still branded as “Qi,” even though it’s version 2.0.0 (or higher) of the Qi standard.

If there was any remaining confusion left, though, an official WPC account has made it even more clear.

Qi2 products can only say they’re using “Qi2” if they include magnets.

Top comment by bull3964

Liked by 6 people

Thank you.

I've had this argument a bunch around wearables. "Qi2 is here now, watches should be using it!"

They can't. Watches are too small to line up with the magnet ring which is not only required, but very specific in radius via the standard. Watches might be able to use some from of Qi, but it's almost certainly going to be fraught with compatibility issues due to the low power draw and small coils on top of having a mating surface that isn't flat (see Galaxy Watches).

It was honestly dumb for WPC to NOT develop a mini Qi2 standard that was specifically for wearables, but here we are.

Reminder the WPC also doesn't enforce labeling conformance beyond BPP 5w allowing you to have a Qi label that doesn't really give you an indication of the quality or performance of a charger.

Oh, they will certify EPP up to 15w if you want them to, but certification is not required to advertise 10w or 15w. So a company can get their charger certified with 5w BPP, get the Qi branding, and then advertise 15w EPP support. It may be a BAD EPP implementation, it may not be EPP at all and instead PPDE! It could support both! It could overheat and kill your device!

It's all so terribly handled. There should be different brand marks for BPP and EPP and you should be required to submit for certification testing if you want to advertise greater than 5w. It should also be clear if the power profiles are using EPP or PPDE (and if PPDE, what manufacturer(s) specification of it.)

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The confirmation came in reply on Twitter/X to Chris Thomas of Android Police. As the WPC originally said, any devices using the Qi2 standard without the “Magnetic Power Profile” will still be referenced as using Qi, with the original Qi logo still in use. This includes the Galaxy Ring, which is using the Qi 2.0.0 standard, but lacks magnets, but it’s only advertised as using Qi in general, not “Qi2.”

The problem, of course, is that we’re still waiting on Qi2 to see any real adoption. There are tons of Qi2 accessories on the market, but iPhones with MagSafe remain the only devices certified for Qi2 outside of the HMD Skyline, the one and only Android phone that has adopted the standard.

2025 doesn’t seem like it will bring much of a change. The OnePlus 13 is confirmed to be ignoring the Qi2 standard – using Qi 1.3.3 – while the Galaxy S25 series is expected to add magnetic accessories, but only through a case.