Gadget Weekly
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We are a few weeks shy of the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event, where the S25 lineup is scheduled to make its debut. Ahead of the launch, the World Power Consortium (WPC) has all but confirmed what we had all been suspecting for months now. Samsung is very likely going to be one of the first major Android phone brands to adopt the Qi2 spec, and I believe this will play a pivotal role in the industry.
In mid-December, several rumors and leaks hinted that the Galaxy S25 will support Qi2 wireless charging, but not in the way you’d expect. Allegedly, Samsung will use a magnetic case to enable the magnetic aspect of Qi2 instead of adding magnets natively to the S25 series. Based on the WPC’s CES 2025 announcement and the OnePlus 13 release, we can assume that this is accurate.
Samsung and the WPC made a joint statement where the Korean phone maker said the following:
You can expect to see Android devices supporting Qi2 from Samsung Galaxy devices in 2025.
Google also made a similar statement under the same press release, but no promises were made of Pixel devices picking up the standard. Instead, the Alphabet-owned tech giant vowed to bring Qi2 to more Android devices this year.
While HMD Global’s HMD Skyline is technically the first Qi2 Android phone, it didn’t make any waves in the Android space. Instead, Qi2 support on the OnePlus 13 is a much bigger deal because OnePlus is a mainstream brand and a much bigger player.
But even if OnePlus is popular, I still feel that the Galaxy S25 coming with Qi2 support — with or without magnets — is what’s going to really get the Qi2 ball rolling. After all, Samsung sells more smartphones than any other phone manufacturer in the world.
We have been waiting for Qi2 to take off for nearly two years now. The standard has officially been ready since early 2023, but most devices that use it are either iPhones or accessories like power banks and chargers. Both Samsung and Google were expected to take the lead with the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 9 lineups last year, but that didn’t happen.
Now that the OnePlus 13 has adopted Qi2, Samsung will look very bad if it doesn’t hop on board the Qi2 train. Just like the rumored S25 magnetic case, OnePlus also chose to rely on magnetic cases to bring the magnetic aspect of the Qi2 standard to the OnePlus 13. Based on rumors, Samsung is going to do the same with the S25 series. Even then, this is an important step in the right direction.
Major changes in the phone industry have never come about overnight or transitioned smoothly. Just look at the headphone jack, for example. People ridiculed the idea at first and were angry once the 3.5mm port was eliminated from popular Android phones. But once bigwigs like Samsung started ditching the audio jack, everyone else followed suit.
Sure, many brands compensated users with USB-C to audio jack converters at first, but the world eventually adapted to the change. Wireless audio accessories are far more popular now and the headphone jack is no longer missed by most users.
This is exactly why Qi2 adoption on the Galaxy S25 will be so important. When the most prominent Android brand makes bold moves, everyone else will surely feel the need to follow the trend, either to stay relevant or to be more competitive. There are thousands of Qi2 accessories readily available, so the market is primed for the Qi2 revolution that Samsung is likely about to kickstart when the Galaxy S25 launches.