A brand new report hints that Apple could possibly be about to up its wi-fi charging recreation, doubtlessly supporting wi-fi charging speeds of as much as 50 watts on this 12 months’s iPhone 17 fashions, because of what seems to be help for the newest Qi 2.2 normal.
Whereas we gained’t know for certain what Apple is as much as till it publicizes the iPhone 17, the parents at 91mobiles have noticed two new MagSafe chargers in a Taiwanese regulatory database with Qi 2.2 help. That normal permits for as much as 50W charging, nevertheless it doesn’t assure that Apple will help that prime pace, and historical past offers us motive to be a bit skeptical.
Whereas the iPhone has hardly ever supplied the quickest wi-fi charging speeds available on the market, the corporate’s determination to embrace the Qi2 normal in 2023 not less than put it on par with most Android flagships — supplied you had the best charger.
Apple first introduced wi-fi charging to the iPhone in 2018, with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X all supporting the Qi wi-fi charging normal. Contemplating that Samsung had been providing proprietary wi-fi charging for not less than a few of its telephones since 2011 and adopted the Qi normal throughout its flagship lineup in 2015, Apple was comparatively late to the sport, and lots of had been disillusioned by its comparatively paltry 5-watt charging speeds at a time when many others supported the 15W Qi normal.
The Wi-fi Energy Consortium’s Baseline Energy Profile (BPP) for the Qi normal allowed a most of 5 watts, however Apple quickly unlocked 7.5-watt charging underneath the Wi-fi Energy Consortium’s Prolonged Energy Profile (EPP) spec in iOS 11.2. Nonetheless, that remained the utmost charging pace till 2020, when MagSafe expertise opened the door to 15-watt speeds within the iPhone 12.
Nonetheless, these quicker speeds got here with an necessary caveat. MagSafe was a proprietary expertise, which meant you wanted a MagSafe charger — one made by or licensed by Apple — to get 15W speeds. It wasn’t sufficient for a charger to magnetically connect to the iPhone; if it didn’t embrace a chip provided by Apple to sign that it supported MagSafe 15W charging, you’d nonetheless be restricted to 7.5W speeds.
This created a complicated mess as many accent makers took benefit of the magnetic ring on the brand new iPhone fashions to create normal Qi chargers that might latch onto an iPhone. Most respected firms had been cautious to differentiate between “MagSafe” chargers and “magnetic” chargers of their labeling, however that’s a delicate distinction that many iPhone customers could not have picked up on.
To be truthful, there was a way to Apple’s seeming insanity that went past the standard cynical take that it was merely being a grasping company. Wi-fi charging is shockingly inefficient in comparison with charging with a wire. It makes use of virtually 50 p.c extra vitality in comparison with plugging in, and it will get worse if the coils aren’t completely aligned.
Whereas these inefficiencies gained’t make a noticeable dent in your vitality invoice — they’re about the identical as leaving an LED mild on for a number of hours — the wasted vitality is dissipated as warmth, which could be a way more major problem. Extra warmth isn’t good to your iPhone and is particularly dangerous for its battery well being.
Assessments have proven that setting your iPhone down even barely off-center on a Qi altering pad can use as much as 80 p.c extra energy. Since this wasted vitality is transformed to warmth, the much less environment friendly the charging, the larger the warmth. Since 15W wi-fi charging can generate twice as a lot warmth as 7.5W charging, Apple wished to make sure that the coils had been all the time correctly aligned when utilizing quicker charging speeds. Therefore, MagSafe.
Nonetheless, Apple by no means supposed to maintain MagSafe all to itself. In 2023, we realized the corporate had been working with the Wi-fi Energy Consortium to develop a brand new Magnetic Energy Profile (MPP) as a part of model 2.0 of the Qi normal, colloquially often known as Qi2. In a January 2023 announcement, the WPC credited Apple with successfully open-sourcing its MagSafe expertise:
WPC member, Apple, supplied the premise for the brand new Qi2 normal constructing on its MagSafe expertise. Apple® and different WPC members developed the brand new Magnetic Energy Profile, which is on the core of Qi2. Qi2’s Magnetic Energy Profile will be certain that telephones or different rechargeable battery-powered cellular merchandise are completely aligned with charging gadgets, thus offering improved vitality effectivity and quicker charging.
Apple launched Qi2 charging help within the iPhone 15 lineup later that 12 months. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 gained Qi2 help in an iOS 17.2 replace in December 2023, and Apple even introduced it to the iPhone 12 in Could 2024 with iOS 17.4.
At that time, all of Apple’s MagSafe-capable iPhone fashions had gained compatibility with open-standard Qi2 chargers, eliminating the necessity for proprietary (and usually costlier) MagSafe-branded chargers. Abruptly, every thing was on an equal taking part in subject — till the iPhone 16 lineup got here alongside and upped the MagSafe speeds to 25 watts, supplied you got Apple’s newest MagSafe charger. Qi2 speeds on the iPhone 16 fashions remained on the similar 15W as prior iPhones.
If Apple embraced Qi 2.2 this 12 months, it’d have the ability to enhance charging speeds on the iPhone 16 to 25W for non-MagSafe chargers that help that normal, very like it did with Qi2 for different iPhone fashions. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely we’ll see the iPhone 15 and older fashions transfer past 15W.
Software program updates for Qi2 had been doable for the iPhone 12 via iPhone 14, as these iPhones already supported 15W charging. Qi2 was merely a extra open model of MagSafe, so all Apple wanted to do was broaden the MagSafe detection so as to add no matter handshake identifies a Qi2 charger.
Nonetheless, even when the iPhone 17 lineup features 50W charging, that’s prone to be restricted to solely these and future fashions. A pace enhance like that requires inside {hardware} enhancements that prior iPhones gained’t have, together with applicable coils, charging circuitry, and extra superior energy administration chips.
Along with quicker charging, the Qi 2.2 normal guarantees improved magnetic alignment, leading to higher effectivity. It additionally stays backward appropriate, so Apple’s new Qi 2.2 MagSafe chargers will nonetheless work with older gadgets, together with these with out MagSafe, the place they’ll be supported as an ordinary Qi charger. 91mobiles studies that the brand new chargers have been examined with the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 11.
Like all rumors, this one ought to nonetheless be taken with a grain of salt. Whereas the proof these new MagSafe chargers exist is fairly stable, there’s no assure that Apple will use the capabilities to extend the wi-fi charging speeds on this 12 months’s iPhone fashions. This could possibly be nothing greater than opening up the 25W charging it already added on final 12 months’s iPhone 16 to work with non-MagSafe chargers, or Apple may select to undertake barely quicker charging with out pushing issues all the best way to the 50W most.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]