IPhone 15 wireless charging is finally about to open up, but it's still being scumbaled by Android?

Apple has always tended towards the former between "Dulele" and "Zhonglele", which can be seen from its strict level of certification for accessories.

But in order to once again 'dominate' the market and establish mainstream rules, Apple has to loosen its standards.

On the eve of the release of the iPhone 15 series, technology media ChargerLAB exposed a piece of news related to it. It is said that Apple will support Qi2 and MagSafe wireless charging protocols on the new iPhone, while also opening up the MFi standard.

(Image source: Apple official website)

At present, iPhone wireless charging is divided into two specifications: 7.5W and 15W. The former only needs to be compatible with Qi wireless charging protocol, while the latter requires accessory manufacturers to join the "MFi Alliance", and the chargers produced also need to obtain the "MadeForMagSafe" certification. Now, Apple plans to open up this agreement, which means more accessory manufacturers will join this camp to produce 15W wireless chargers for iPhones.

As is well known, "MFi" has always been one of Apple's most profitable peripheral projects, and the iPhone's reluctance to switch to the USB-C interface is somewhat related to this protocol. Nowadays, Apple's generosity in 'opening up' to accessory manufacturers is quite puzzling.

Push for 'Qi2', Apple Restates Market Rules

At this year's CES 2023 exhibition, the Wireless Charging Alliance introduced the new generation Qi wireless charging standard - Qi2.

The Wireless Power Consortium, established in 2008, is a collaborative organization composed of multiple independent brands with the main purpose of promoting the "Qi" wireless charging protocol. As of now, the membership of the organization has reached 289 brands, including electronics giants such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Nokia.

Qi2 "is a new generation wireless charging protocol promoted by the Wireless Charging Alliance. Compared with the previous generation, its biggest change is to determine the position of the wireless charging module in the device and include magnetic attraction function.

Does this sound very familiar?

(Image source: iFixit)

That's right, the new standard of "Qi2" is an upgrade from the Wireless Charging Alliance that has adopted the MagneticPowerProfile (Magnetic Power Profile) submitted by Apple as the core, and its overall design concept is built around MagSafe wireless charging technology. From this perspective, Apple's vigorous promotion of the "Qi2" standard is essentially aimed at making MagSafe "king" in the field of wireless charging.

MagSafe first made its debut on smartphones in 2020, with unique winding coils distributed under the iPhone 12 series super magnetic crystal glass panel, capturing magnetic flux through the nanocrystalline panel to achieve rapid charging.

At the same time, MagSafe's advantage lies in the integration of a dense array of magnets around its wireless receiving coil, which can "automatically" align wireless chargers or accessories with magnetic attraction characteristics. In this way, wireless chargers can reduce potential energy loss caused by device misalignment and improve energy efficiency.

In terms of practicality, MagSafe actually has no major issues except for a slightly slower charging speed, but why has it not always been recognized by the market?

(Image source: MacRumors)

According to sources, Apple has forced accessory manufacturers to obtain certification for "MadeForMagSafe" in order to ensure the "professionalism" of MagSafe accessories, and the wholesale price of this certification module is as high as $16 (approximately 113 yuan). Such high production costs are not conducive to the development of the MagSafe accessory market.

Of course, Apple has chosen to loosen certification standards in order to attract accessory manufacturers and expand the MagSafe accessory market by reducing production costs; On the other hand, being no longer subject to strict authentication restrictions can also drive the development of the "Qi2" protocol.

The "Qi2" protocol has developed well enough, and the MagSafe accessory family can continue to grow, making Apple's accessory ecosystem more diverse. This wave is a win-win situation.

Building the MagSafe ecosystem

Since MagSafe debuted on the iPhone 12 series, its accessory ecosystem has significantly improved in the past three years. In addition to the magnetic wireless charger, Apple has also carefully prepared MagSafe battery, magnetic card bag and other accessories for the iPhone, although they are often roast about as "a bit chicken ribs".

As we mentioned earlier, promoting the "Qi2" protocol is actually promoting MagSafe, and in a sense, the two can share benefits. It can be foreseen that after the successful deployment of the "Qi2" protocol in more products, the iPhone can also seize the opportunity to gain a broader accessory market.

For Apple, it's actually just a loss of some "MFM" certification fee profits, but in exchange for a more complete MagSafe accessory ecosystem, why not?

More importantly, "Qi2" has been vigorously promoted, and Apple can also enjoy the same benefits as the Android camp.

(Image source: AirPower)

In fact, before the release of the "Qi2" standard, many manufacturers had already attempted similar solutions, but they couldn't make much noise at the moment, after all, a brand that fights alone has relatively small influence.

In 2021, realme launched the world's first Android camp's MagDart magnetic wireless charging technology. Centering around MagDart, realme has also created the world's first smartphone to offer magnetic wireless charging - realmeFlash, as well as accessories such as magnetic card packs, magnetic fill lights, magnetic wireless flash charging mobile power supplies, and more.

In addition to realme, manufacturers such as Nubia, Red Devils, and Xiaomi have all launched technologies and products related to magnetic charging. This indicates that in fact, the Android camp is not indifferent to "magnetism", but rather the helplessness in a small size.

On the other hand, many manufacturers in the Android camp have actually launched excellent magnetic accessories, such as the Red Magic Heat Sink 4Pro Magnetic Edition, which is very suitable for the iPhone, especially in high load scenarios such as games and videos, which can help the iPhone better cool down. If accessories like this are only designed for iPhone, the market is still relatively narrow.

But if all mobile phones on the market can use the unified "Qi2" standard, then third-party brands can launch more accessories that cater to the market, without worrying about slow sales due to a narrow audience.

In the foreseeable future, 'Qi2' will be a new wave in the smartphone accessory market.

Disdainful of 'fast charging', but still able to cheer for 'Qi2'

From a practical perspective, few manufacturers in the Android camp can match the "fast charging" brought by "Qi2", but "magnetic suction" is indeed a good thing.

At present, the vast majority of high-end and flagship smartphones are equipped with wireless charging function. Although they all support the "Qi" wireless charging protocol, they mainly develop unique charging standards according to their own needs. For example, Xiaomi's "surging second charging" and OPPO's "AIRBOOC". These protocols make their charging power much higher than the standards set by 'Qi'.

(Image source: CNN)

Compared to this, the wireless charging power of the iPhone is very impressive. From iPhone 8 to iPhone 11, Apple only provided them with a maximum wireless charging power of 7.5W. Starting with the iPhone 12 series, due to the addition of MagSafe, it was increased to 15W. Taking Xiaomi 13Ultra as an example, with the support of "surging second charging", it can already achieve a fast charging of 50W.

According to the "Qi2" wireless charging protocol standard released by the Wireless Charging Alliance, even in this generation, its power is still 15W.Friends who expect iPhone to support higher power wireless charging may be disappointed.

Not only is the charging power poor, but since MagSafe chargers do almost no heat dissipation measures, the probability of wireless charging function overheating on iPhones is greatly increased. However, high body temperature brings many problems, such as battery health loss.

The Android camp has private wireless charging protocols that have been developed to this day, and the technology has long tended to mature. OPPO's "AIROOC" wireless charging technology uses a dual cell solution to reduce heating issues during the charging process, while Xiaomi's "surge second charging" has chosen a semiconductor cooling solution. Overall, Android manufacturers have long excelled in wireless charging technology, both fast and stable.

Therefore, for Android manufacturers, the significance of the arrival of "Qi2" and Apple's release of "MadeForMagSafe" lies in the upcoming arrival of more "magnetic suction" accessories.

From closed to open

Since the iPhone 15 series was confirmed to use the USB-C interface, Apple's attitude towards the accessory market has undergone a complete transformation.

Push for 'Qi2', Apple throws an olive branch towards the Android camp, and both sides work together to improve the 'magnetic suction' accessory market. On the other hand, Apple is bowing to third-party brands and selling related modules at lower prices to enhance manufacturers' profit margins.

(Image source: Apple official website)

With a sufficient variety of accessories and mature technology, Apple can also start transitioning towards "no hole", such as removing the wired interface of the iPhone and relying solely on MagSafe for charging, data transmission, or expanding and extending more functions.

This is a big game that Apple is playing, and 'Qi2' is just the beginning step.