Apple wants to open up its previously proprietary MagSafe charging standard to other companies. In addition, the technology is to become part of the Qi standard of the Wireless Power Consortium in the future. That divided the WPC in one press release with.
MagSafe as the foundation of Qi2
“WPC member Apple provided the basis for the new Qi2 standard, which builds on its MagSafe technology,” it says. The iPhone manufacturer and other WPC members are developing a new “Magnetic Power Profile” that will form the core of Qi2. The new profile ensures that phones or other mobile products are “perfectly aligned with the chargers”. According to the WPC, this should improve energy efficiency and charging speed.
This should also mean an increase in MagSafe-compatible accessories. So far, this has been dominated by Apple and certified (and thus paying) peripheral providers – plus companies who make their devices MagSafe-compatible but do not have them certified, which can lead to problems. With Qi2, Apple opens MagSafe to all WPC members.
Definition MagSafe
MagSafe has different meanings at Apple. It was once used as the product name for magnetic notebook charging connectors before the company went completely to USB-C. Technology returned to the Mac in 2022 with the MacBook Pro M1 Max and M1 Pro and the MacBook Air M2. Since the iPhone 12 of 2020, MagSafe has (also) been the name of Apple’s wireless charging technology for the iPhone. This is a magnetic charging puck for the back of the smartphone. Exactly this should now form the basis for Qi2.
There are currently no specific technical details – such as wattage and design – for the Qi2. However, the first products should come onto the market quickly: The WPC expects the first certified mobile phones and chargers by the fourth quarter of 2023. “The introduction of the Qi2 standard will further expand the market for wireless charging,” according to the consortium. In the future, there will be new products that cannot currently be charged with Qi because they require flat surfaces.
(bsc)
