Qi2 wireless charging compatibility doesn’t necessarily involve magnets

It has emerged that for a device to attain Qi2 wireless charging compatibility, it doesn’t necessarily require magnets.

The new Qi2 wireless charging standard was announced by the Wireless Power Consortium in January 2023, seemingly bringing an Apple MagSafe-like magnetised charging system to Android (and indeed other non-Apple tech).

However, it has now emerged that magnets don’t inherently form part of the Qi2 standard. You might end up buying an Android phone with Qi2 compatibility that doesn’t feature a sticky fastening system at all.

Journalist and Android tipster Mishaal Rahman has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal just this revelation. Leading with the claim that “The most important thing you thought you knew about Qi2 is wrong”, Rahman reveals that there are actually two tiers to Qi2 certification.

Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) is the ‘MagSafe-for-everyone’ tier that we all thought Qi2 represented. Products with this sticky-charging ability will be awarded a logo with the Qi2 symbol surrounded by a ring.

However, there’s also Extended Power Profile (EPP), which will be awarded to products that technically support the Qi2 charging standard, but without the magnetised element. These products will display the same Qi2 symbol, but without the ring surrounding it.

Rahman points out that this distinction between MPP and EPP was technically mentioned by the WPC in a press release back in November, though at the time they seemed intent on using the old Qi logo to represent EPP products.

The post claims that most initial Qi2 products will indeed support the full MPP standard, but the fact that some will not – and don’t need to – will mean that we all have to check yet more of the small print before we buy our smart products. Or, you know, just wait for our reviews.