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Samsung keeps pretending Galaxy phones have Qi2 magnets with new accessories

Samsung insists its Galaxy phones work with magnetic accessories, or at least that’s the vibe you’ll get scrolling through the company’s store. Despite its latest release yet again skipping built-in Qi2 magnets, Samsung continues to release more magnetic accessories with the launch of some new stands.

Qi2 as a standard is essentially Apple’s MagSafe, just built out for everyone else who wants to use the magnetic array. It’s been a few years since the standard was ready, but adoption has been remarkably slow. Outside of Google’s Pixel 10 series, there’s only been one recent release with Qi2 magnets inside.

Samsung, instead of embracing this standard, has instead taken advantage of “Qi2 Ready,” a program that lets device makers offload the magnets to cases which can help align the phones with chargers and other accessories. As we mentioned earlier this year when Samsung yet again gave excuses for skipping Qi2 magnets in the Galaxy S26 series, it just ignores the bigger picture.

Fast forward to now, and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 series also skips out on Qi2, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from pushing magnetic accessories. There’s a whole host of magnetic first-party cases – and they’re expensive – as well as some new magnetic accessories. In particular, Samsung has released the “Dual Magnet Holder Slim,” a kickstand of sorts that magnetically attaches to Galaxy phone cases, while the “360 Stand Magnet” accomplishes a similar goal in a smaller footprint. The latter feels a lot like similar magnetic stands from third-party brand OhSnap.

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Samsung charges $35 and $50 for these accessories, respectively, which still require users to buy a case to get literally any value out of them. Galaxy phones simply cannot use these accessories on their own.

As we’ve mentioned, Samsung releasing first-party magnetic accessories shows that, clearly, the company understands the utility and consumer appeal of this setup. But apparently a vertical camera layout is more important.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.