Magnetische Anbindung bei iPhones ist sehr attraktiv. Warum kann Android dies nicht nachholen?

Magnetic Charging

A Long and Arduous Road

When the clock has reached 2025, do you think the frequency of wirelessly charging your phone in your current life is higher than before?

I think for most people, the answer to this question is no. Although wireless charging technology, as a technology with a relatively low threshold, has been available on mobile phones for nearly 15 years, its popularity is far lower than that of features with higher thresholds, such as dual speakers and multiple cameras.

Image | OzMobiles

Is the path of wireless charging really wrong? The answer from the WPC to this question is also no.

Just yesterday, two years after announcing the Qi2 general protocol for wireless charging, the WPC (Wireless Power Consortium) updated a version of the protocol standard, Qi2 v2.2.1, simply referred to as Qi2 25W.

Image | WPC Official Website

According to the collation by ifanr, the main updates in the new 25W protocol this time include:

Increased charging power - from 15W in the previous Qi2 protocol to 25W, an increase of nearly 70%

Ecosystem expansion - in addition to iPhones, some "mainstream Android smartphones" will also join the Qi2 ecosystem for the first time, but none of the first batch of compliant phones support magnetic attraction.

Adherence to magnetic features - the Qi2 25W protocol once again emphasizes the magnetic function advocated in the initial version of the protocol, stating that "the magnetic protocol of Qi2 will be the cornerstone of faster and more efficient wireless charging."

A Neglected Charging Alliance

As an alliance - style initiative similar to the "Unified Push", the Qi2 protocol has not been well - known in the past few years; in fact, it has received little attention. There are very few products that use the magnetic positioning technology in the Qi2 protocol, which is derived from Apple's MagSafe technology.

However, paradoxically, this technology protocol in such a dismal situation is right next to a bustling market.

In October 2020, Apple launched the latest generation of iPhone 12 series models. In addition to the eye - catching straight - edged bezels that year, Apple also implemented a legendary charging technology on the iPhone - MagSafe.

Image | YouTube @Unbox Therapy

This name, which is very familiar to early MacBook users, has a new interpretation on the iPhone.

Different from the way of using magnets for alignment and contact charging on Macs, MagSafe on the iPhone is actually "wireless charging with the docking process optimized by magnets." The real innovation lies in using magnets to guide device alignment and fixing other accessories (such as card holders) besides charging.

And we all know what happened after that - Apple almost single - handedly reignited the topic of "wireless charging." Countless third - party manufacturers began to launch various accessories following this feature, and the magnetic ecosystem of mobile phones gradually became what we are familiar with today:

As a member of the WPC mentioned above, Apple even contributed part of the MagSafe technology when launching the Qi2 protocol in 2023, helping to promote "magnetic positioning" to become one of the technical standards under the Qi2 framework. Manufacturers can obtain relevant resources from the patent pool by paying licensing fees.

However, the narrative is fragmented from here: although the complete Qi2 protocol includes magnetic specifications and the market for third - party magnetic accessories is booming, there are very few actual products we have seen in the past two years.

So far, there are only two phones that can be considered comparable to the iPhone MagSafe in terms of charging functionality: the Nubia Z40 Pro Gravity Edition and the HMD Skyline. The latter is currently the only phone on the market that supports the complete Qi2 protocol:

The circular area on the back cover is the wireless charging coil containing magnets | GadgetGuy

The Physical Contradiction of Magical Charging

Since the general protocol is right there, why are there so few participating manufacturers?

Ifanr believes that there are two main reasons behind the dismal situation of the Qi2 protocol and the current lackluster Android magnetic charging function:

The progress pace and technical indicators of the Qi2 protocol are significantly behind the private high - power protocols of mobile phone manufacturers. From a commercial and product ecosystem perspective, mobile phone manufacturers will definitely choose to prioritize compatibility with their own standards.

The built - in magnets required by the Qi2 protocol cannot coexist with the extremely space - constrained phone bodies today. The cost of internal compatibility in the device is far greater than the cost of using accessories such as magnetic phone cases.

The first point is not difficult to understand: although the WPC was established in 2008 and launched the first - generation Qi protocol with a maximum power of 5W in 2010, the subsequent 15W Qi2 protocol was not officially launched until 2023 - it perfectly missed the decade of "technological explosion" of domestic brands.

The result is that when the WPC enthusiastically presented the Qi2 protocol with magnetic function to manufacturers, the few remaining high - end giants in the highly competitive mobile phone market already had their own mature high - power wireless charging protocols:

According to the WPC's progress rate, it is theoretically possible to reach 100W Qi wireless charging in 2039 | Phoenix Tech

Therefore, when mobile phone manufacturers face the newly introduced Qi2 protocol, considering the cost of dual - protocol compatibility and looking back at the established design specifications and accessory ecosystems of their product lines, they will undoubtedly choose the latter.

Moreover, in addition to the power lag, the density of mobile phone parts in recent years is also far different from that in the Qi era -

Different from the iPhone, which can embed magnets through the back cover support plate, mainstream Android manufacturers have a hard time even adding a wireless charging coil in order to accommodate large batteries and large cameras. It is really difficult to fit positioning magnets with an average thickness of 0.3mm.

Positioning magnets for the transmitting and receiving ends that meet the Qi2 standard | KingStar Electronics

The Nubia Z40 Pro mentioned above is an example. The battery capacity of the Gravity Edition is only 4600 mAh, 400 mAh less than that of the regular version without wireless charging - in the cost - conscious domestic market, the negative impact of a 400 - mAh reduction in capacity far outweighs the positive effect of supporting magnetic charging.

Moreover, "magnetic wireless charging" is never just the business of the WPC and mobile phone manufacturers. It also involves a large number of third - party accessory manufacturers. In the three years between Apple's launch of MagSafe and the announcement of the Qi2 protocol, the market for third - party and first - party magnetic accessories has matured at lightning speed, solving the positioning problem externally:

Image | Huawei Official Website

When the Qi2 protocol is unpopular in the domestic market, where it is actually technologically advanced, it also has a hard time overseas. Although Apple's MagSafe is compatible with the Qi2 protocol, Samsung, another giant in the overseas market, has taken a step back in its wireless charging protocol.

The reason behind this is most likely the magnets. At least in the past two years, the stylus on the S Ultra was still one of Samsung's main selling points. However, the passive technology used by the S - Pen relies on the electromagnetic resonance layer (EMR) under the screen to detect the pen tip. When the S24 Ultra was first released, some users reported that the positioning magnets in the phone case seriously interfered with the function of the S - Pen.

Image | Yahoo

However, the good news is that since Samsung has been weakening the function of the S - Pen in the past two years and completely removed the EMR layer under the screen on the Z Fold7, it is rumored that the S26 Ultra will even use an external active pen - by then, perhaps the complete Qi2 magnets can be added.

Generally speaking, it is a long and arduous road for the WPC to continue promoting the Qi2 protocol in today's era when phone sizes are becoming more and more space - constrained and private protocols are becoming more and more common.

But living in the world's most flexible and complete electronics market, we don't need to worry about this problem at all -

Huqiangbei will step in.