What is Qi2? Samsung's updated wireless charging standard explained

Samsung Galaxy phones have had wireless charging for many years now. The company made a significant upgrade to this capability last year with the Galaxy S25 series, which was the first to adopt the Qi2 wireless charging standard.

What exactly is Qi2? How is it better than earlier iterations of wireless charging? Let's cut through the confusion and understand this vital change.

Earlier Samsung phones had Qi wireless charging support. They only supported up to 15W charging speeds when placed on a compatible wireless charger.

Qi2 support was introduced with the Galaxy S25 series. While the charging speed was kept at 15W, it brought support for but added support for Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) accessories.

This year's Galaxy S26 Ultra also supports Qi2 and is capable of wirelessly charging at 25W with a compatible charger. This is a significant upgrade, given that only a few years back this used to be the maximum wired charging speed for Samsung's top phones. Magnetic accessories are also supported.

Samsung is likely going to embrace faster speeds in the future as the Qi standard evolves. It's completely within the realm of possibility that within a few years we may see Qi2-powered wireless charging speeds as high as 50W on Samsung's flagship phones.

This would make wireless charging a viable alternative to wired charging, as the speed tradeoff would be largely a thing of the past.