Apple on Tuesday seeded its iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 release candidates to its developer community, the update offering Qi2 wireless charging support for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 handsets.
The release notes accompanying the release candidate lists all of the changes included as part of iOS 17.2, including one relating to wireless charging. Buried under the “improvements and bug fix” section, Apple says it adds Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models.
Qi2 chargers have been released throughout 2023, and the expectation is that the Wireless Power Consortium will approve the Qi2 wireless charging spec before the year ends.
Qi2 is an upgrade to Qi, the previous wireless charging standard used by modern smartphones. Qi2 adds in MagSafe to the Magnetic Power Profile and enhancements to the existing Extended Power Profile.
While MagSafe is meant as an Apple-specific technology, the ring of magnets used in Qi2 is intended to be universal and works with both iPhone and Android devices.
Wherein Apple limited the original Qi wireless charging standard to 7.5W, the MagSafe version allows up to 15W. However, MagSafe devices that don’t support Qi2 will charge at Qi rates when used with a Qi2 charger.
Apple recently included Qi2 support in the iPhone 15 family. With the iOS 17.2 update, older smartphones will be able to charge at a faster Qi2 rate when used with supported chargers.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider