The Samsung Galaxy S25 has been announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2025, and with it comes the news that all 3 phones will be supporting the Qi2 wireless charging standard — but with a not-so-great twist.
According to Samsung, the S25 is Qi2 in every way except one: it doesn’t have the trademark magnetic ring in the back of the phone. Instead those magnets live inside one of the official phone cases.
Wait, you thought Qi2 was all dependent on the magnets? So did I, until very recently. The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), who control the Qi and Qi2 standards, said as much last month — only to change their minds when CES 2025 came around. While full Qi2 comes with a magnetic ring, something called “Qi2 Ready” now exists. This is what Samsung seems to have employed in the Galaxy S25.
Apparently the magnets were affecting both the display and S Pen performance, so the decision was made to go without them.
The simple explanation of what this means is that a Qi2 Ready phone has all the upgrades afforded by Qi2 except the magnets. Instead magnetic support has to come via “specially approved cases." Those kinds of cases are nothing new; it just means that phone companies are joining the legions of third-party casemakers with their own official options. And these options are presumably given the seal of approval by the WPC.
Speaking to Tom’s Guide, Samsung said that the S25’s wireless charging has all the same technology as Qi2 — but no magnets. Apparently the magnets were affecting both the display and S Pen performance, so the decision was made to go without them.
So what do you get with Qi2?
So what does this mean for Galaxy S25 owners? It means that you get all the extra benefits Qi2 has to offer. That includes faster wireless charging speeds, with Qi2 chargers offering up to 15W speeds instead of 7.5-10W. That’s not particularly fast compared to the likes of the OnePlus 13, but it does mean you get faster wireless charging speeds without being locked to a (usually expensive) proprietary wireless charger.
Qi2 wireless chargers are also able to offer adaptive charging. Rather than offering a fixed power output like Qi1, the charger and your phone are able to communicate and control how much power is beamed through. Like wired adaptive charging, this means your phone can control how fast your phone recharges and avoid being stuck at 100% for extended periods. This feature can also slow down the charge rate and prevent excess heat building up.
Both of those things are important and should be available on Galaxy S25 regardless of whether you have a Qi2-approved magnetic case or not. What you won’t get without the case are the magnetic benefits. The most obvious of which is the ability to use magnetic accessories — like grips, mounts, tripods and more.
Magnets also ensure the charging coils in your phone and charger are perfectly aligned every time. Correct alignment means faster charging and better power efficiency, which is better for your phone and its battery. Without the magnets it needs to be done manually. Like Qi1, that doesn’t guarantee the optimal wireless charging experience every single time.
It isn’t ideal, and as someone that has championed Qi2 on Android at every available opportunity, I’m rather disappointed. If a budget phone-maker like HMD can make Qi2 work with magnets, I don’t really understand why flagship phone makers like Samsung can’t do it, too. But that is the way it is.
If you want the magnets you’ll need to buy the case, and those cases are available to purchase at the Samsung store. Officially the price is $30, which seems a lot for a phone case, but they’re currently on sale for half that price.
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