It looks like Apple’s iOS 17.4 update has enabled unofficial support for the latest Qi2 wireless charging protocol at up to 15W on the iPhone 12 models.
Even though the company doesn’t mention this feature at all in the release notes for iOS 17.4, testing conducted by Macworld reveals that iOS 17.4 happens to unlock support for Qi2 charging speeds up to 15W on the iPhone 12 family.
Tests confirmed that an iPhone 12 on a Qi2-compatible charger will charge at 15W instead of 7.5W. To get twice the wireless charging with Qi2, be sure to update your iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max to iOS 17.4.
Testing 15W Qi2 wireless charging on iPhone 12
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.
You can test this yourself if you own Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Pad with Qi2. Belkin’s compatibility notes confirm that 2x faster wireless charging with Qi2 is now available for the iPhone 12 series.
Here’s how MacWorld tested this:
Apple’s MagSafe Charger was able to power up an empty iPhone 12 Pro Max to 30% in 38 minutes and to 50% in 70 minutes. With Anker’s Qi2 MagGo Wireless Charger, we powered up an iPhone 12 Pro Max to 30% in 33 minutes and to 50% in 64 minutes.
And:
While Qi2 narrowly beat MagSafe, in other tests using an iPhone 12 with a smaller battery than the 12 Pro Max, charging times were remarkably close between MagSafe and Qi2 (around 20 minutes to 30% and 45-50 to 50%).
The fact that Apple does not mention this support in the iOS 17.4 release notes could also indicate this is a bug. If so, expect the feature to be removed in the next iOS release now that MacWorld brought it to Apple’s attention.
We hope that won’t happen because the iPhone 12 family are the only remaining MagSafe-compatible iPhones without Qi2 support.
Why iPhone 12 lacks native Qi2 support
The Anker blog clarifies why the iPhone 12 Pro lacks native Qi2 support. “While the iPhone 12 Pro is equipped with MagSafe, which offers a similar alignment and efficiency improvement over traditional Qi charging, it was designed before the Qi2 standard was finalized and introduced,” Anker states.
“The iPhone 12 Pro’s wireless charging capabilities are built around the original Qi standard and the proprietary MagSafe technology, rather than Qi2,” it explains.
A staggered Qi2 rollout on iPhones
MagSafe is available from the iPhone 12 onward, but Qi2 support arrived in stages. While the iPhone 15 series had Qi2 support out of the box, it hit the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models with the release of iOS 17.2 in December 2023.
Without iOS 17.2 or later, any MagSafe-compatible iPhone will switch to a slower 7.5W charging even if used with 15W Qi2-compatible chargers.
Thanks to Apple, Qi2 brings MagSafe-like perks
Having debuted on the iPhone 12 series, MagSafe wirelessly charges your iPhone at up to 15W of peak power delivery. Apple also supports the Qi standard popularized by Android smartphones. As mentioned, iOS limits charging speed with Qi chargers to a maximum of 7.5W. Only Qi2 and MagSafe support 2x after charging.
The iPhone maker contributed MagSafe technology to the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which included it as the basis for Qi2.
As a result, the second-generation Qi2 is much more in line with MagSafe, as both now support 15W charging and magnetic alignment. In other words, Android users can also enjoy the benefits of a MagSafe-like charging experience.