Qi2 25W Wireless Charging Arrives on iPhone, Android Phones Catch Up
A new era of wireless charging is here—with magnets, more power, and long-overdue support from Android's biggest players.
After years of fragmented standards and underwhelming speeds, wireless charging is starting to feel less like a convenience and more like a credible alternative to cables. This week, the Wireless Power Consortium officially launched Qi2 25W wireless charging, and the early signs point to a rare moment of agreement between Apple and the Android world.
While Apple’s iPhones already support MagSafe’s version of 25W charging, the Qi2 rollout makes that speed more broadly accessible. Accessory makers like Aukey, Anker, and Ugreen have been preparing for this shift, with certified 25W power banks and pads already hitting the market. The catch? Until now, most Android phones were sitting on the sidelines.
That may be about to change.
The WPC says “major Android smartphones” will join the Qi2 ecosystem, finally adopting the magnet-aligned standard. That detail matters. Unlike traditional Qi or even the so-called “Qi2 Ready” phones—think recent Galaxy Fold or Flip models—true Qi2 devices have the magnetic alignment baked in. It’s the difference between an accessory that just works and one that requires a magnetic case to function properly.
To date, only one Android phone, the HMD Skyline, has offered full Qi2 support out of the box. The rest have leaned on workarounds or skipped magnetic alignment altogether, stalling the user experience just as the tech started catching on.
It’s not just about speed. Qi2 25W Wireless Charging promises better efficiency, less heat, and fewer misaligned charges. The magnets do more than snap your phone into place—they ensure that the coil is correctly aligned every time, which is key to delivering consistent 25W output. According to the WPC, that’s nearly 70% more power than the original Qi2 (15W) implementation.
Apple, as usual, has a head start. The iPhone 16 series already supports 15W Qi2 and 25W via MagSafe, and it’s likely a software update could unlock full Qi2 25W support. The iPhone 17 series, expected later this year, will almost certainly come ready for the full feature set.
What’s unclear is whether Android makers will go all in or continue with half-measures. Samsung’s current foldables, for instance, are technically Qi2 Ready, but the lack of built-in magnets means users have to buy a case to unlock 15W speeds.
The success of Qi2 may depend less on wattage and more on how seamlessly it integrates. If Android makers follow Apple’s lead and commit to full hardware support, this could mark the beginning of a simpler, faster wireless standard, finally free of the caveats.
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Interesting to see Android finally catching up with full Qi2 support. If done right, this could finally make wireless charging feel truly effortless across all devices.