When standards related to smartphones level up, such as Bluetooth, USB Type-C, or UFS, we always anticipate new flagships coming with everything up to date. When paying as much as we pay for flagships these days, you’ll always want to have the very best on the spec sheet.
The Google Pixel 9 smartphones are the latest flagship phones in town and are less than a week old right now. The Qi2 standard has been available for quite some time and we hoped that Google would adopt it for its new phones. Yet, it didn’t. We know why, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of the answer.
Qi2 Wireless Charging Has Been Out For Some Time But Only One Android Device Has It
If you’ve lived in the Android space for quite some time, you should be more than familiar with the Qi (pronounced “Chi”) wireless charging standard. It is the most popular wireless charging standard and when you hear that a phone has 15W wireless charging, it is usually on the Qi standard. There are faster wireless chargers, but those use proprietary standards.
In late 2023, the Qi standard officially leveled up, and a new and improved version was introduced called Qi2. While the Qi standard could charge as high as 15W, Qi2 is always 15W. While the speed limit remained the same, that’s not what made people love Qi2. It was all about the magnetic wireless charging. Just like Apple’s MagSafe, Qi2-compatible devices have a magnetic ring that helps accessories and chargers snap to them.
Despite how long the Qi2 standard has been available, I only know of one Android phone that supports it. That’s the HMD Skyline, a very unlikely pioneer. Android manufacturers tend to be a lot quicker when it comes to imitating Apple, but for some reason, they simply aren’t eager in this regard — something consumers would actually value.
Google Believes Qi2 Doesn’t Have Any Actual Benefits At The Moment
A lot of people, including myself, expected the Google Pixel 9 series to come with Qi2 wireless charging. After all, Google’s Pixel phones are the poster children for its own operating system. It isn’t too much to expect them to proudly stay on the cutting edge of tech, especially when things like Qi2 likely don’t cost much to implement (especially if the HMD Skyline could manage it).
Android Authority asked Google why it chose not to implement Qi2 on its new phones. We don’t have a direct quote as Android Authority decided to paraphrase the response, but apparently Google felt that Qi is a lot more available and moving over to Qi2 has “no tangible benefits”. That’s crazy.
I See A Lot Of Benefits With Qi2, Just Like iPhone Users Do With MagSafe
Apple users love MagSafe. Whether it is to snap your phone onto a wireless charger, whether it is to put a little wireless charging power bank on the back of your phone and know it’ll stay in place, or whether it is for a cute accessory like a cardholder or a PopSocket; newer iPhone fans get benefits like these.
Every single one of these perks can apply to an Android user. That’s why a lot of companies are making MagSafe-compatible cases for Android devices — it opens up an entirely new world of accessories.
It’s why Google’s excuse holds no water to me. There are plenty of Qi2-compatible accessories and wireless chargers out there, and the “tangible benefits” are more than evident. All we need is one Android flagship to set the ball rolling, and I’m sure Google will change its tune.
