Next-Generation Qi2 Wireless Charging Standard Embraces Apple's MagSafe for Universal Compatibility

[zorinlynx]

I don't understand this sentence. What does this mean?

Yeah, this confuses me too. Are they saying newer devices might not charge on existing Qi chargers? That would be frustrating as there's a lot of furniture and other charging infrastructure in the wild with the existing Qi standard. They should make all devices backwards compatible with older chargers.

 

[Jeven Stobs]

*cough*

Apple was Granted Two Major Patents Today that came to Life with the iPhone 12: MagSafe Charging and Ceramic Shield

Wow! What are the chances of writing two granted patent reports in the early morning and have them come to market later that same morning. How about a billion to one. Today Apple introduced a MagSafe wireless charging puck and iPhone accessories. Apple also introduced...

www.patentlyapple.com

Apple has been granted 7 Design Patents for the MagSafe Duo Charger in Hong Kong and the U.S. Trademark 'Ceramic Shield'

Earlier this month the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's trademark application for Ceramic Shield. In addition, the Hong Kong IP Office granted Apple a series of design patents covering the MagSafe Duo Charger.

www.patentlyapple.com

“Patent” as in rounded corners patent.
If they really had a monopoly on this technology and its every form, I suspect it wouldn’t become a standard.
It would literally just be Apple selling the rights to use their patent. Not a standard.

 

[Macintosh Quadra 840av]

This might have been why Apple scrapped the AirPad.

 

[Coffee50]

You don't like Magsafe compatible cases? They exist.

That's true. I also think we'll start to see even more, but there's a nice variety of MagSafe case options available.

 

[Lcgiv]

Maybe this was part of the agreement Apple got with consortiums and regulators to finally go USB-C 🤔

 

[munpip214]

I hope that manufacturers have to fully adhere to a common spec for both magnets and power and it isn’t just a strong suggestion. My car has a “Qi” charger but it isn’t standard so doesn’t actually charge any iPhones, even at low speeds.

 

[xpxp2002]

Interesting indeed. I'll be patiently waiting for the speed to be at least close to wired 25W while the heat greatly diminished. IIRC, less heat means less power loss and more efficient energy, thus greener.

Not to mention that less heat means less battery degradation. The loss of a couple watts to heat at 5V is effectively nothing. The energy use and waste generated charging a phone is a teardrop in the ocean compared to heating and cooling our homes and businesses, and driving motor vehicles.

On the other hand, the degradation I've seen on my iPhones where I used Qi and MagSafe compared to only wired charging has been significant. If we can make wireless charging generate less heat, that will help lengthen the total life of rechargeable batteries, meaning fewer replacements will need to be performed. That helps the environment and saves people money.

 

[elbowrm]

If it's of interest, here's an article about the early days of wireless phone charging, along with the original magnetically-aligned Touchstone charger that was introduced by Palm for the Pre phone https://www.eyerys.com/articles/timeline/palm-pre-first-commercialized-wireless-charger-phones/

 

[oneMadRssn]

FFS, Palm was doing this in 2009. How is it that, 14 years later, and Qi is just now getting around to being almost as good as Palm.

 

[t0rqx]

Implemented in iPhone 19. One feature a year. Milk dem Apples.

 

[foobarbaz]

MagSafe Charger - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

If the recommended 20W charger, charges at 15W, that's 75% efficient. That's up there with basic power supplies. I imagine this new Qi2 ups that efficienty further, 80-90% maybe.

Except for Qi, you also need the power supply, so you need to compare it to the cable, not the power supply.

Efficiency is a red herring, though. Phones use so ridiculous little energy that the losses are a rounding error. You couldn’t drive 2 miles in a Tesla with the electricity lost by Qi charging for a whole year. Most devices waste more energy with standby.

 

[lkrupp]

Unless, of course, EU bureaucrats ban it.

 

[NewProduct]

Until the efficiency and speed of wireless charging is comparable with wired charging it is a no go for me.

The wireless chargers are not a replacement for wired, you always have that option. What wireless offers more than anything is a possible lifestyle improvement. You can put the MagSafe Duo Charger beside your bed or on your work desk and it just looks better and is very natural to use. Again, you always have the cable for those time's you're in a jam.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I was waiting for when this would happen after Apple was said to provide it to Qi.

 

[cosmogfd]

It is difficult to get excited about magnetic charging when it so rarely works well with protective cases. For me, that is the fatal flaw. I'm not going to keep my $1200 USD iPhone 13 Pro Max in a flimsy case, much less in no case at all! So anything related to magnets in a no go for me...

My otterbox case is definitely not flimsy and has MagSafe

 

[CarAnalogy]

Is the case a MagSafe case?

To be fair most MagSafe cases are not very protective. The Apple cases for example are for looks and texture, not for protection.

Ask me and my scuffed iPhone how I know.

Edit: yeah I should have got an Otterbox I guess but I didn’t realize just how little protection these Apple cases offer

 

[msackey]

FFS, Palm was doing this in 2009. How is it that, 14 years later, and Qi is just now getting around to being almost as good as Palm.

Wow! I did not know that history.

So how is it that when Qi came out as a standard that it didn't also define a standard for easily connecting charger base to device, for example, such as the use of magnets? It seems like so clearly obvious now that they should have made a standard for that, right? I wonder what the history behind that lack is...

By the way, I remember buying some kind of Qi charger when I was using an iPhone Xs and it was just a little finicky as to how you needed to place the phone for the charging to occur. It wasn't too bad, but finicky enough for me to notice.

 

[msackey]

To be fair most MagSafe cases are not very protective. The Apple cases for example are for looks and texture, not for protection.

Ask me and my scuffed iPhone how I know.

Edit: yeah I should have got an Otterbox I guess but I didn’t realize just how little protection these Apple cases offer

I couldn't disagree. Indeed, the Apple-made cases are not as protective as some. Where they do shine for me, though, is that they are just protective enough for folks who are pretty careful with their devices (e.g., me and my partner ;-) We are generally pretty much the meticulous and careful kind, so just a slim non-bulky case is what we like. But yes, I hear ya.

I also looked it up and am glad to see that Otterbox does make Magsafe-compatible cases. They sell rugged phone cases, right?

Edit: This reminds me that the number of times I've brought in one of our Apple products either for battery change, repair, or trade-in, the Apple specialists often remark how pristine our devices are after so many years. Yes sirree! ;-)

 

[jz0309]

Until the efficiency and speed of wireless charging is comparable with wired charging it is a no go for me.

In other words, you will never use wireless charging

 

[hagjohn]

I think we all know that the USB port on the phone will disappear at some point but I would rather not have to drag around a puck attached to a cable.

 

[Pianoplayah]

It is difficult to get excited about magnetic charging when it so rarely works well with protective cases. For me, that is the fatal flaw. I'm not going to keep my $1200 USD iPhone 13 Pro Max in a flimsy case, much less in no case at all! So anything related to magnets in a no go for me...

That’s just the tradeoff with wireless charging in general. The magnets don’t have anything to do with it do they?

 

[Michael Scrip]

I think we all know that the USB port on the phone will disappear at some point but I would rather not have to drag around a puck attached to a cable.

Exactly.

I finally have a laptop that can charge with a tiny charger and common USB-C cable. And many other things can use that same cable, too.

So I don't want another cable with a puck(!) to charge my phone.

😟

 

[Unami]

Looks like they learned their lesson from the usb-c/lightning debacle.

 

[Macropanda]

Does Apple hold any patents on this tech? and if so, are they waving licensing fees?

That’s what they should have done with lightning. Physically, it’s a much better port than usb-c. I still want a usb-c phone though.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I couldn't disagree. Indeed, the Apple-made cases are not as protective as some. Where they do shine for me, though, is that they are just protective enough for folks who are pretty careful with their devices (e.g., me and my partner ;-) We are generally pretty much the meticulous and careful kind, so just a slim non-bulky case is what we like. But yes, I hear ya.

I also looked it up and am glad to see that Otterbox does make Magsafe-compatible cases. They sell rugged phone cases, right?

Edit: This reminds me that the number of times I've brought in one of our Apple products either for battery change, repair, or trade-in, the Apple specialists often remark how pristine our devices are after so many years. Yes sirree! ;-)

It wasn’t actually me that dropped it.

I haven’t tried the otterboxes for a long time but theirs are supposed to be the most rugged.