Wireless charging is now faster and better for Apple’s iPhone 12.
Macworld reports that iOS update 17.4 brought Qi2 wireless charging support to the iPhone 12 series, though Apple hasn’t officially said anything about this change in the release notes. Qi2 is a wireless charging technology designed by the Wireless Power Consortium and partially based around MagSafe, bringing upwards of 15W charging speeds. (Apple was involved in designing Qi2.)
Qi2 works by magnetically aligning a phone to a charge, enabling a more accurate and efficient charging method.
It’s worth noting Apple limits the charging speed of third-party wireless chargers without MagSafe certification to 7.5W, but wireless chargers with the Qi2 spec can hit the full 15W speeds. Macworld tested the new wireless charging on the iPhone 12 and reported the charging speeds match Apple-certified MagSafe chargers, while a charging animation specific to 15W charging also appeared.
Macworld also compared two charging methods for the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Apple MagSafe Charger and the Anker Qi2 MagGo Wireless Charger. It found that the MagGo charged the 12 Pro Max from zero to 50 percent in 64 minutes, six minutes faster than the MagSage charger. In another test with an iPhone 12, which has a smaller battery, the charging speeds of the Qi2 and MagSafe were nearly identical.
The iPhone 15 launched with Qi2 support, while the iPhone 13 and 14 received Qi2 with iOS 17.2. The iPhone 12 is the last Apple iPhone model with MagSafe to receive Qi2.
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