The Accident
It all started with a deep clean. Buried in a tangle of old cables, I found a dusty wireless charger I’d completely forgotten about, a “Mi Wireless Charger”. I have no idea where it came from.
On a whim, I dropped my Google Pixel 6 onto it. To my surprise, the screen lit up: “Charging Wirelessly”. My power meter showed a solid 4W flowing into the phone, occasionally bumping up to 5W. Not exactly fast-charging, but for a forgotten gadget, it was above my expectations.
That got me curious. This old thing was using the Qi standard, something I’d known about for years but never really paid attention to. Had it gotten any better over time? And were there newer, faster options out there now?
The WPC
A quick dive into the standard revealed the orchestrator: the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). This isn’t a shadowy cabal, but an open alliance of hundreds of companies, from Apple to Xiaomi, that agreed on one crucial thing: ending the cord war.
Before Qi, wireless charging was a mess of incompatible pads and proprietary tech. The WPC’s mission was to create a single, global standard. Their success is the only reason that old, forgotten pad could still charge my relatively modern phone. It’s a rare and beautiful case of industry cooperation that actually benefited users.
The WPC hasn’t been idle, though. The standard evolved, and today Qi2, the next generation with magnetic alignment, is finally taking off.
Magnets
The big improvement in Qi2 isn’t just raw speed, it’s alignment. And now I understand why my old pad was so flaky, bouncing between 4W and 5W.
The new Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) borrows the best idea from Apple’s MagSafe: built‑in ring magnets. Suddenly, all the side effects of misalignment go away: the slight buzzing, the flickering light, the heat buildup as the charger tries and fails to lock on.
Magnets solve that. Perfect alignment means more efficient power transfer, so charging is not only faster, but also noticeably cooler.
A nice bonus: now that alignment is guaranteed, manufacturers are getting creative with angles. You can find magnetic chargers that hold your phone at 30° or 45°, turning your phone into a handy video screen while it powers up.
The Bridge to the Old World
The problem is, my Pixel 6 isn’t getting a Qi2 update cuz it’s a hardware limitation, not a software patch. The only way to upgrade is to buy a new phone, like a Pixel 10, and I’m not ready for that. I plan to keep using my Pixel 6 for another year, or at least until the battery gives out.
Even so, I think getting a Qi2 charger now is still a smart move. You can buy a phone case with a strong magnetic ring built in, which gives you most of the alignment benefits of Qi2 without needing a new phone. It’s a perfect bridge between the old standard and the new one.
Conclusion
Curiosity won. I ordered a Qi2 charger from Ugreen.
Qi was a great foundation, and Qi2 builds on it by finally fixing the frustrating user experience.
This all started with a dusty old Qi pad I’d completely forgotten about. That accidental find sent me down a rabbit hole that ended with a much better charging setup. It was a good reminder that sometimes the best tech upgrades aren’t about raw speed, but about a simple, satisfying snap that just makes everything work better.