Samsung Galaxy S25 just tipped to feature Qi2 — this could be a game-changer for Android

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Qi2 wireless charging hasn’t taken off yet, but Samsung could take it mainstream

Samsung galaxy s24 review
(Image credit: Future)

Nearly two years ago, a breakthrough in wireless charging technology was promised, when the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) unveiled the (then) upcoming Qi2 wireless charging standard.

With Apple’s blessing, this essentially introduced MagSafe-style charging technology to Android phones, if manufacturers decided to make them compatible.

That felt like a watershed moment: if Google — the custodian of the Android operating system — doesn’t see the point in Qi2, then why would any manufacturer bother?

An Android game changer

My MagSafe charging solution and Apple accessories, minus the iPhone 14 Pro which had to take the photo.

(Image credit: Alan Martin)

As long-time Tom’s Guide readers may remember, after 13 years of Android, I made the switch back to iOS in 2022 with a (then) shiny iPhone 14 Pro. I’m still using it today, and although I said I wasn’t planning on getting any accessories, this photo clearly shows that I am, ultimately, quite a weak person.

The picture shows the corner of my desk where a Belkin 3-in-1 MagSafe Charger lives, with spots for an Apple Watch, AirPods and the aforementioned iPhone. My iPhone magically levitates above the base thanks to the MagSafe magnets.

I love this charger, and I love MagSafe as a feature. I’d used wireless charging before, of course, but found it a fairly miserable experience. After awkwardly shuffling my phone millimeter by millimeter until it charged, I’d come back later to find it had just stopped working at some point, leaving my handset half charged.

This hasn’t been a problem with MagSafe. As a freelancer who spends at least a few hours per day at this desk, I don’t even keep a charger by my bed anymore. I just dock the phone while I’m working, safe in the knowledge that it’ll have hit 100% by the time I’m done. I can even put it in landscape mode, so it displays a neat clock thanks to StandBy Mode introduced in iOS 17.

Android users are missing out on this little pleasure and plenty more. As our UK phones editor, Tom Prichard, points out, the magnets aren’t just good for charging: Qi2 could bring about a golden age of useful accessories, like car phone mounts and tripods.

Hopefully, this rumor is correct and Samsung will be the first big phone maker to introduce Qi2 to a flagship phone. If the company is, it could well open the floodgates to the kind of user-friendly change that the WPC promised nearly two years ago.

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Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.