The iPhone’s faster MagSafe-style charging is coming to Android

Magnetic wireless charging on Android phones under the Qi2 standard should be available by the end of 2023
iPhone with MagSafe charger
The MagSafe charger for iPhones has been around since 2020
Maple Von/Unsplash
Alan Martin4 January 2023

One of the neatest features of recent iPhones could be coming to an Android phone near you by the end of the year.

The Wireless Power Consortium – of which Apple is a member – has unveiled the Qi2 wireless charging standard, which prominently features something that looks a lot like MagSafe charging.

MagSafe is proprietary Apple tech that has been included on numbered iPhones since the iPhone 12 in 2020. It’s a magnetic ring that clips to various accessories from car mounts to credit card holders.

Its most handy function, however, is as a wireless charger. Here, the built-in magnets ensure that the iPhone always lines up with the charging coils, saving you the hassle of awkwardly lining it up – or finding out hours later that your phone hasn’t charged.

Soon, wireless charging Android handsets will benefit from something that sounds remarkably similar, known as Magnetic Power Profile, which will conform to the Qi2 standard. This will not only make wireless charging easier but also potentially boost charging speeds on some devices due to “improved efficiency and interoperability” and lead to more speed increases in future.

So, does this mean you’ll be able to use MagSafe accessories with Android phones in future, and vice versa? You actually already can.

A number of third-party MagSafe accessories exist for iPhone (though the quality varies greatly, as does the strength of the magnets) and you can modify your wireless charging Android phone to make it MagSafe compatible with a cheap magnetic ring, should you feel like a little DIY. There are even some cases that pinch Apple’s technology for Android phones, too.

Qi2 should formalise the arrangement without modification. However, as The Verge points out, that’s not guaranteed because Qi2 also requires authentication, which means that Samsung, Apple and others could hobble performance with third-party accessories.

Even if manufacturers do maintain a walled garden with accessories, it’s a positive step for those who want the convenience of MagSafe charging on their Android handsets. However, the first Qi2-certified phones and chargers aren’t expected until “the 2023 holiday season” so the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S23 family won’t benefit.

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