The Wireless Power Consortium Qi standard is the dominant industry standard for wireless charging and is included in most smart phones on sale today. The WPC has announced an upcoming major update to Qi, known as Qi2. The new revision introduces several enhancements but has one fundamental change over the existing (Qi V1.3) specification, it includes magnetic alignment based on Apple’s MagSafe technology.
Alignment has often been a primary challenge for inductive wireless charging, with many charger manufacturers using multi-coil designs to overcome this. Qi2 adoption of magnetic alignment is a natural progression to align with leading mobile phone manufacturers, but also brings several benefits. This new version of Qi will allow not only more efficient charging but also new options for accessories and peripherals as well as potentially making the technology more appealing for use in other products such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. This development will likely impact the decision of coil topologies employed by product manufacturers, with alignment no longer being an issue it is likely that multi-coil designs will be phased out.
SAR covers analysis of the market for Qi based products and technology as a part of its wider Wireless Power and Charging Technologies service, including power ratings and coil topology.
