Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
- The Wireless Power Consortium has announced the new Qi2 standard for wireless charging of devices, replacing the current Qi standard.
- Apple’s MagSafe wireless tech will be the basis for the new Qi2 standard.
- Smartphones and other devices utilizing the Qi2 standard will launch by the end of 2023.
The Qi wireless charging standard has been around for supporting smartphones and other devices for 15 years, launching in 2008. Today, as part of CES 2023, the Wireless Power Consortium announced that Qi would be going away, replaced by the new Qi2 standard.
In its press release, Paul Struhsaker, executive director of the Wireless Power Consortium, stated that consumers and retailers were both confused about the current Qi standard. Specifically, some didn’t know the difference between a device that was truly Qi Certified and one that was not but claimed to work with Qi devices. He stated that will change with Qi2, saying, “Qi2 will be the global standard for wireless charging and provide consumers and retailers with that assurance.”