Industry Begins Qi 2.2 Wireless Charging Deployment

Announced and available to members of the Wireless Power Consortium since April 2025, the Qi 2.2 specification is now being implemented, and the first certified devices have been confirmed. Aiming to deliver even faster speeds and wider compatibility, the update to Qi2 results from industry requirements, largely inspired by Apple's MagSafe efficiency. It adds broad support for 25W and up to 50W power transfer and optimizes to the capabilities of modern USB-C power adapters.

The Wireless Power Consortium’s (WPC) next generation standard for wireless charging, Qi v2.0, will soon be delivering on its promise of magnetic attachment, faster charging, higher efficiency and greater convenience as the first Qi2 mobile devices complete certification testing. In addition to an enhanced user experience, Qi v2.0 unifies the industry under one global standard. CES 2024 will be the global launchpad for dozens of new Qi2 products.

Belkin, the consumer electronics brand specialized in Apple peripherals and accessories, announced the Soundform Connect audio adapter that turns any traditional stereo speaker into an Apple AirPlay 2-enabled speaker. This is increasingly important in most homes who already have great sound systems in place, and just need a way to connect them to the latest source devices, such as the iPhone, an iPad or a Mac computer, all of which stream high-quality audio over Apple’s recently updated AirPlay 2 protocol.

Belkin announced the SoundForm Freedom true wireless earbuds, one of the first ever accessories to work with Apple's new Find My network, feature - until now exclusively available on Apple devices. On the same week Apple debuted the feature that allows third-party devices to be tracked through the app on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, some of the first companies to take advantage of the feature include Belkin, VanMoof (electrical bikes), and Chipolo (tracking tags). The new SoundForm Freedom TWS earbuds will be launched in June 2021 for $99 US.

Qualcomm Technologies unveiled the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms, a successor to the company’s pioneering mesh networking solutions which are currently present in all modern Wi-Fi 6 Mesh routers. The new Qualcomm modular chip architecture is intended to power high-performance, cost-effective Wi-Fi 6E mesh deployments, designed to deliver wireless Gigabit speeds throughout the connected home, benefiting from the latest 6GHz technology introduced earlier in 2020.

Mobile accessories brand Belkin announced a new 3.5 mm Audio Cable with Lightning Connector which allows iPhone users to connect directly to the car stereo or home speakers with a single cable. The new cable converts digital signals to analog and is able to output high resolution audio. It is available in 3 ft / 6 ft lengths for listening to music in different environments, at home or in the car.

Apple’s announcement on October 27, 2016, of a new generation of MacBook Pro laptops will be remembered obviously for the company’s “courage” to disrupt the traditional function keys on the keyboard, and the introduction of a fully programmable touch-screen called the Touch Bar. But more importantly it was the first confirmation that Thunderbolt 3 - the USB-C That Does it All, as Intel calls it - will be the future. And that’s what the industry was waiting for.