Last week saw certification of the first next-gen wireless chargers, and the latest standard has now been officially launched, as Qi2 25W. The new name will help ensure we can see for sure that we’re buying the more powerful models. The iPhone was the first to support the standard, with Android smartphones now following, but anyone planning to buy an iPhone 17 may want to hold off for now … A quick catch-up on Qi chargers Early wireless phone chargers were based on the original Qi standard, overseen by the industry trade group Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). This was an important development, meaning you could buy any Qi-certified charger and know that it would work with almost any phone on the market – including iPhones. However, it maxed out at 7.5W, so wasn’t particularly fast. The Qi2 standard was a major improvement, not least because Apple contributed to it by open-sourcing its MagSafe magnetic attachment system. Qi2 chargers also doubled power output to 15W. Qi 2 25W is the latest update to the standard, further boosting power to 25W. Qi2 25W officially launched The WPC originally referred to the latest standard as Qi 2.2, but has now decided that it’s clearer to include the power rating in the name. It is now officially called Qi2 25W. The WPC says that faster speed was the number one request from wireless charger users, and that there will be plenty of choice for consumers. Consumers will be delighted when they experience Qi2 25W as it delivers nearly 70% more power than the original Qi2. The number of devices in the Qi2 25W certification queue for launch is unprecedented, as is the quality and breadth of our members product designs. But Apple may go one better As we noted last week, however, there is at least a possibility that Apple may go one better with the iPhone 17. A regulatory listing spotted last month indicated Apple may be working on a MagSafe charger than supports 45W, rather than the 25W maximum of the Qi2 25W standard. No current iPhone supports this speed, but it may be that the iPhone 17 line-up does. If so, that speed won’t be supported by Qi2 25W chargers – it would require a new Apple charger. This move wouldn’t surprise me: Apple has been generous in effectively giving away MagSafe to third-party charger brands, but it might well still hold back an exclusive feature for its own chargers. Highlighted accessories Photo by Oakywood on Unsplash