Samsung omits Qi2, likely in favour of S-Pen support

South Korea-based tech giant Samsung’s latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, offers a range of impressive features, but the one thing it lacks is Qi2 support.

Qi2 is essentially the Android version of Apple’s MagSafe. It uses magnets to connect your phone to the charger and allows for various accessories to magnetically attach to the phone.

A logical guess before the release of the S24 Ultra would have been that the phone would support Qi2, opening a range of possibilities for wireless charging and accessories. Further, since Qi2 is compatible with Apple’s MagSafe, S24 Ultra users would have been able to take advantage of existing MagSafe chargers, mounts, wallets, and other accessories available in the market.

However, many were left disappointed that Samsung did not include Qi2 in the S24 lineup.

The S Pen is likely the reason why Samsung decided to omit Qi2. As reported earlier, if you use a Qi2 case or accessory with your S24 Ultra, the magnets in it interfere with the S Pen’s signal. This can cause the S Pen to glitch, or stop working altogether.

The S-Pen is one of the main selling points of the Galaxy Ultra series. Including Qi2 in favour of the S-Pen wouldn’t have been a great decision for Apple, and redesigning the S-Pen would have been a lengthy and costly process.

Samsung could have included Qi2 in the base S24 and S24+, but then it wouldn’t make sense to leave out the top-of-the-line flagship model and create inconsistency and confusion.

Samsung will likely introduce Qi2 support in its future smartphones. It’s unclear if that will happen later this year with the tech giant’s foldables or next year with the S25 series.

Samsung offers its own wireless charging pads and stands that work with the S24 series, but they’re not Qi2-compatible. You can check them out here.

Via: Android Police