There was a surprise upgrade for some in iOS 17.4: tests reveal that it enabled iPhone 12 Qi2 charging, at the full 15W speed.
Support for 15W Qi2 charging was first announced for the iPhone 15, and then extended to the iPhone 13 and 14 through the iOS 17.2 update back in December of last year – and is now available for the iPhone 12 too …
Qi2 charging
Qi2 is effectively an open standard which replicates the functionality of MagSafe. This was done with Apple’s approval and involvement through the Wireless Power Consortium behind the original Qi standard. Essentially, Apple told the industry group that it thought its own approach was the way to go for the second-gen, and gave permission to use its specs.
MagSafe offered two benefits over other wireless chargers: a magnetic connection to the phone, to accurately position the phone against the charging coils, and a faster charging speed of 15W. Qi2 brings these same benefits to other chargers, usually at a slightly lower price as there is no Apple certification required.
iPhone 12 Qi2 charging now available
iPhone 12 owners reported to Macworld that they were getting 15W charging after the iOS 17.4 update, and although Apple hasn’t officially confirmed it, it has been verified in testing by the site.
Since iOS 17.4, Macworld tests have shown that clamped on to Qi2 chargers the iPhone 12 matches the charging speed of fully Apple-certified MagSafe chargers and even shows up the 15W-only charging animation […]
In our tests, we first used an Apple MagSafe Charger, which was able to power up an empty iPhone 12 Pro Max to 30 percent in 38 minutes and to 50 percent in 70 minutes. Using the Anker Qi2 MagGo Wireless Charger, we powered up an iPhone 12 Pro Max to 30 percent in 33 minutes and to 50 percent in 64 minutes.
You could always use a Qi2 charger with older phones, as it’s backward-compatible with Qi, but you only get 7.5W unless your phone supports Qi2.
Photo by Loïc Lassence on Unsplash
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