MagSafe vs Qi2 vs Qi: what to specify in 2026

Standfirst

Three names get used as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides what your box may legally say, how fast the thing actually charges, and whether Apple's firmware will let it run at full power. Here is the version an importer needs.

Direct answer block — put this in a bordered box, high on the page

The short answer. *Qi* is the open wireless charging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium; its baseline profile delivers 5W and its extended profile up to 15W, with no magnets and no guaranteed alignment. *Qi2* is the WPC's newer standard, which adds a magnet ring and a Magnetic Power Profile — 15W in the first version, up to 25W in the 2025 revision — and is certified by the WPC, so any manufacturer can build it. *MagSafe* is Apple's proprietary implementation of the same idea; the name is licensed through Apple's MFi programme, and an uncertified magnetic charger is typically held to 7.5W on an iPhone regardless of what its own label claims. If you are writing a specification in 2026, the meaningful question is not "is it magnetic" but "is it Qi2 certified, and at which profile".

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The three things, in the order they arrived

Qi came first and is still what most of the market ships. It is a Wireless Power Consortium standard with two profiles: the Baseline Power Profile at 5W, and the Extended Power Profile at up to 15W. Both work in a low-frequency band, broadly 87–205 kHz — you will see "110–205 kHz" printed on a lot of Chinese spec sheets, including several of ours, and that is exactly what it means. Qi has no opinion about where the phone sits. Alignment is the buyer's problem, which is why flat pads run hot and why three-coil pads exist.

Qi2 is the WPC's answer to that. It borrows Apple's magnet ring, adds it to the standard, and defines a Magnetic Power Profile that runs in a much higher band, around 326–360 kHz. Version one of Qi2 topped out at 15W. In 2025 the WPC published a revision taking the magnetic profile to 25W. Because it is a WPC standard, anyone can certify to it. You do not need a relationship with Apple to build one, or to put "Qi2 certified" on the box — provided you actually certified it.

MagSafe is Apple's. It is a brand and a licensing programme, not a public standard: you cannot print the word on your packaging without going through Apple's MFi programme. Apple's firmware also treats uncertified magnetic accessories differently — in practice a generic magnetic charger is held to around 7.5W on an iPhone, a certified one is permitted 15W, and the newest iPhones reach 25W with Apple's own charger and a large enough adapter.

The numbers

Where these numbers are soft. The frequency bands and the uncertified-accessory power caps are implementation details Apple and the WPC have both adjusted between firmware and spec revisions. Treat them as ranges, and take the figure for your own build from the certification report — not from a datasheet, and not from this page.

Why "15W" on a box is almost never 15W into a battery

This is the part that costs importers money, and you can check it with arithmetic on any spec sheet you are holding.

Take a real one — our own X548, a folding three-in-one magnetic charger. The spec sheet says output 15W. It also says input 9V/1.67A, and it says charging efficiency ≥73%.

Nine volts times 1.67 amps is 15.03 watts. That is everything going *into* the charger. At 73% efficiency, the most that can come out of the coil and into the phone is about eleven watts. The "15W" is the transmitter's rated coil capability, not the power your customer's phone receives, and no honest supplier can make it mean anything else while the input is 15W.

Every wireless charger has this gap. Ours is no worse than anyone's — 73% is a normal number for a magnetic pad. What varies is whether the supplier explains it or lets you assume. So put it on the specification: input voltage and current, efficiency, and the measured power delivered to a named phone at 50% state of charge in a 25°C room. A supplier who can answer that has measured it. One who cannot has not.

What to actually write on your specification

Six lines, and they will filter out most of the suppliers who cannot build what you want.

1. The profile, by name. "Qi2 certified, Magnetic Power Profile, 15W" or "Qi EPP 15W". Not "fast wireless charging". 2. Certification numbers, not certification words. Ask for the WPC certificate number, the CE declaration with the harmonised standards it claims, the RoHS report, and for the US the FCC route — wireless power transfer normally goes under FCC Part 18, which your test lab should confirm for your exact configuration. 3. Input and output as voltage and current, both, in the same table. 4. Efficiency, with the test condition. A number without a condition is a marketing claim. 5. Magnet retention as a measured force. Typical pull-off force is around 8–12 newtons with the phone in a thin case — but what matters is that the supplier states theirs and says how they measured it. 6. Thermal behaviour. Surface temperature after 30 minutes of continuous charging, ambient stated. This is the single best predictor of return rates and nobody volunteers it.

The commercial consequence

Qi2 certification costs money and takes time, so a certified charger will never price like a generic magnetic puck. Whether that gap is worth paying depends entirely on your channel. If you sell into a retailer that reads the box, or into a market where "works properly with an iPhone" is the whole purchase decision, certify. If you are buying a branded corporate gift that will sit on a nightstand at 7.5W and never be thought about again, a good uncertified charger with honest specs and real protection circuits is the better commercial answer.

What you should never do is buy an uncertified charger and let your marketing describe it as MagSafe. That is the mistake that gets listings pulled.

Key takeaways — put in a bordered list

• Qi is the open 5W/15W standard with no magnets. Qi2 is the open magnetic standard,

15W in v1 and 25W since 2025. MagSafe is Apple's brand and needs an MFi licence.

• Uncertified magnetic chargers are typically capped near 7.5W on an iPhone no matter what the

box claims.

• Rated output is not delivered power. Multiply input volts by input amps, multiply by the

efficiency, and you have the real ceiling.

• Specify the profile by name, the certificate number, input and output as V and A,

efficiency with its test condition, magnet force, and surface temperature at 30 minutes.

• Only pay for Qi2 certification if someone in your sales channel will actually read it.

Three FAQs (mark these up as FAQPage schema)

Is Qi2 the same as MagSafe?

No. Qi2 is a Wireless Power Consortium standard any manufacturer can certify to, and it borrows the magnetic alignment idea Apple introduced with MagSafe. MagSafe is Apple's own proprietary brand, licensed through MFi. A Qi2-certified charger will attach to and fast-charge a recent iPhone properly, but it may not legally call itself MagSafe.

Will a standard Qi charger still work on a new phone?

Yes. Qi2 devices are backward compatible with Qi, so a Qi2 phone will charge on an old Qi pad and a Qi phone will charge on a Qi2 pad. It will charge at the lower of the two profiles the pair supports, and without the magnet ring it will charge at whatever alignment the user happens to achieve.

Can a factory build a Qi2 charger without an Apple licence?

Yes, for Qi2. It is certified by the Wireless Power Consortium at an authorised test lab, and Apple is not a gatekeeper. An MFi licence is only needed to use the MagSafe name and branding, or to build accessories that use Apple's proprietary interfaces.

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Sunning Tension has made wireless chargers in Shenzhen since 2013, with our own mould shop and our own PCBA line. Send us your specification — the real one, with the numbers above on it — and we will tell you what it costs and whether it needs new tooling.

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Five more article titles for the content plan

1. The 12 numbers that decide a wireless charger's cost — a line-by-line teardown of a BOM, from coil count and ferrite to the injection-moulded shell, and which of those numbers you can actually move. 2. Why your wireless charger runs hot, and what it costs you in returns — thermal design, coil placement, and the 30-minute surface temperature test every buyer should be running. 3. Tooling: PVC, ABS or metal? — what each mould really costs, what MOQ each one forces on you, and how to decide before you have spent USD 1,600. 4. A wireless charger's certification checklist for the EU, UK and US — CE, UKCA, FCC, RoHS and REACH, which apply to what, and the documents to ask for by name. 5. Trading company or factory? Nine questions that tell you in one email — including the three that a reseller cannot answer without forwarding your message to someone else.

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