Gadget Weekly
Join Namerah Saud Fatmi as she explores the cool, quirky, and typically downright odd world of smartphone equipment, devices, and different nerdy toys each week.
We are a number of weeks shy of the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 occasion, the place the S25 lineup is scheduled to make its debut. Ahead of the launch, the World Power Consortium (WPC) has all however confirmed what we had all been suspecting for months now. Samsung may be very doubtless going to be one of many first main Android telephone manufacturers to undertake the Qi2 spec, and I imagine it will play a pivotal position within the trade.
In mid-December, a number of rumors and leaks hinted that the Galaxy S25 will assist Qi2 wi-fi charging, however not in the best way you’d count on. Allegedly, Samsung will use a magnetic case to allow the magnetic side of Qi2 as an alternative of including magnets natively to the S25 collection. Based on the WPC’s CES 2025 announcement and the OnePlus 13 launch, we are able to assume that that is correct.
Samsung and the WPC made a joint assertion the place the Korean telephone maker stated the next:
You can count on to see Android gadgets supporting Qi2 from Samsung Galaxy gadgets in 2025.
Google additionally made an identical assertion beneath the identical press launch, however no guarantees have been fabricated from Pixel gadgets selecting up the usual. Instead, the Alphabet-owned tech big vowed to convey Qi2 to extra Android gadgets this 12 months.
While HMD Global’s HMD Skyline is technically the primary Qi2 Android telephone, it did not make any waves within the Android house. This is why I really feel that the Galaxy S25 coming with Qi2 assist — with or with out magnets — is what is going on to essentially get the Qi2 ball rolling. After all, Samsung sells extra smartphones than every other telephone producer on the planet and will simply affect the remaining to comply with go well with.
We have been ready for Qi2 to take off for almost two years now. The normal has formally been prepared since early 2023, however most gadgets that use it are both iPhones or equipment like energy banks and chargers. Both Samsung and Google have been anticipated to take the lead with the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 lineups final 12 months, however that did not occur.
Now that the OnePlus 13 has adopted magnetic charging (kind of), Samsung will look very unhealthy if it does not hop on board the Qi2 practice. Just just like the rumored S25 magnetic case, OnePlus additionally selected to depend on magnetic instances to convey Qi2-like charging to the OnePlus 13. Based on rumors, Samsung goes to do the identical with the S25 collection. Even then, this is a crucial step in the suitable path.
Major modifications within the telephone trade have by no means come about in a single day or transitioned easily. Just take a look at the headphone jack, for instance. People ridiculed the concept at first and have been offended as soon as the three.5mm port was eradicated from widespread Android telephones. But as soon as bigwigs like Samsung began ditching the audio jack, everybody else adopted go well with.
Sure, many manufacturers compensated customers with USB-C to audio jack converters at first, however the world ultimately tailored to the change. Wireless audio equipment are way more widespread now and the headphone jack is now not missed by most customers.
This is precisely why Qi2 adoption on the Galaxy S25 shall be so essential. When essentially the most outstanding Android model makes daring strikes, everybody else will certainly really feel the necessity to comply with the pattern, both to remain related or to be extra aggressive. There are hundreds of Qi2 equipment available, so the market is primed for the Qi2 revolution that Samsung is probably going about to kickstart when the Galaxy S25 launches.
