Qi 2’s speed boost could mean an adoption boost

When it comes to iOS versus Android, adoption of the Qi wireless charging standards has been a seesaw. Apple held out on Qi and then incorporated support for it in its MagSafe charging standard that added magnetic stability to the charging connection. Then MagSafe formed much of the basis for Qi2, but Android vendors have all but avoided supporting the new standard.

Meanwhile, while they have skipped on the magnetic attachment, Chinese phone vendors like OnePlus have pushed the envelope on high-wattage wireless (and wired) phone charging.

The next chapter in the saga brings many of these elements together with a 25-watt version of Qi2 (previous versions were limited to 15 watts). The speed bump was contributed to the standard by Google so there’s a good chance we will see it supported in the next round of Pixel phones.