Gadget Weekly
Be part of 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’re a couple of weeks shy of the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 occasion, the place the S25 lineup is scheduled to make its debut. Forward of the launch, the World Energy Consortium (WPC) has all however confirmed what we had all been suspecting for months now. Samsung may be very seemingly going to be one of many first main Android telephone manufacturers to undertake the Qi2 spec, and I consider this can play a pivotal position within the business.
In mid-December, a number of rumors and leaks hinted that the Galaxy S25 will assist Qi2 wi-fi charging, however not in the way in which you’d anticipate. Allegedly, Samsung will use a magnetic case to allow the magnetic side of Qi2 as a substitute of including magnets natively to the S25 collection. Primarily based on the WPC’s CES 2025 announcement and the OnePlus 13 launch, we will assume that that is correct.
Samsung and the WPC made a joint assertion the place the Korean telephone maker mentioned the next:
You possibly can anticipate to see Android units supporting Qi2 from Samsung Galaxy units in 2025.
Google additionally made an analogous assertion underneath the identical press launch, however no guarantees had been product of Pixel units selecting up the usual. As a substitute, the Alphabet-owned tech big vowed to carry Qi2 to extra Android units this 12 months.
Whereas HMD World’s HMD Skyline is technically the primary Qi2 Android telephone, it did not make any waves within the Android area. That is why I really feel that the Galaxy S25 coming with Qi2 assist — with or with out magnets — is what is going on to actually get the Qi2 ball rolling. In spite of everything, Samsung sells extra smartphones than every other telephone producer on the planet and will simply affect the remainder to comply with swimsuit.
We now have been ready for Qi2 to take off for almost two years now. The usual has formally been prepared since early 2023, however most units that use it are both iPhones or equipment like energy banks and chargers. Each Samsung and Google had 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 would not hop on board the Qi2 prepare. Identical to the rumored S25 magnetic case, OnePlus additionally selected to depend on magnetic circumstances to carry Qi2-like charging to the OnePlus 13. Primarily based on rumors, Samsung goes to do the identical with the S25 collection. Even then, this is a crucial step in the fitting route.
Main adjustments within the telephone business have by no means come about in a single day or transitioned easily. Simply take a look at the headphone jack, for instance. Individuals ridiculed the thought at first and had been indignant as soon as the three.5mm port was eradicated from common Android telephones. However as soon as bigwigs like Samsung began ditching the audio jack, everybody else adopted swimsuit.
Positive, many manufacturers compensated customers with USB-C to audio jack converters at first, however the world finally tailored to the change. Wi-fi audio equipment are much more common now and the headphone jack is not missed by most customers.
That is precisely why Qi2 adoption on the Galaxy S25 shall be so essential. When probably the most outstanding Android model makes daring strikes, everybody else will certainly really feel the necessity to comply with the development, both to remain related or to be extra aggressive. There are millions 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.