Android users aren't typically too envious of the iPhone experience, but I think it's safe to say that MagSafe is a notable exception. Since Apple introduced the magnetic connection and wireless charging standard with the iPhone 12 series, MagSafe has grown into what is easily the largest accessory ecosystem on the planet. It gets everything right, from simplicity to functionality to compatibility. An accessory you bought for the long-retired iPhone 12 mini will work with the brand-new iPhone 15 Pro Max with no problem.
Luckily, the MagSafe experience is imminent on the best Android phones, and that's thanks to the Qi2 standard. We don't know which mainstream phone will be the first to launch with Qi2, but it'll likely come sometime this year. Many were disappointed that Samsung didn't include Qi2 in the Galaxy S24 series that launched in January.
If you don't want to wait, the Peak Design ecosystem brings the MagSafe experience to Android phones today. As a longtime MagSafe user, I spent a few weeks using magnetic accessories provided by Peak Design on my iPhones and Android smartphones. With as little as one Peak Design phone case, your phone can tap into the expansive MagSafe ecosystem of accessories. If this is what the future of Qi2 on Android holds, I'm excited about it.
What the future of accessory compatibility holds
Late in 2023, the Wireless Power Consortium announced that the Qi2 standard was ready to be included on new devices. There are a handful of benefits to the Qi2 standard, like 15W wireless charging as opposed to 5W speeds using regular Qi. And since devices must be certified by the WPC in order to use the Qi2 name and branding, you'll be certain that chargers and accessories will work with your phone.
However, the bigger part of Qi2 has little to do with charging. The standard includes support for the Magnetic Power Profile, and this is partially derived from Apple's own MagSafe tech. Qi2 includes a ring of magnets that'll help your phone align perfectly with a wireless charger's coils, which increases charging efficiency. More importantly, the Qi2 standard's magnet ring is interoperable with MagSafe. A future is shaping up where you'll be able to buy Qi2 or MagSafe accessories and use them with basically any new phone you can find.
The Peak Design ecosystem is a solution for today
There are a surprising number of ways to get MagSafe to work with your Android phone in 2024. Some cases include built-in MagSafe rings, or you can slap a MagSafe ring sticker on any phone or case of your choosing. To me, using a Peak Design Everyday Case is one of the better options. There are Everyday Case options for all the biggest Android phone models, and they have more features than just MagSafe compatibility. In fact, Peak Design includes its own SlimLink connection standard as an alternative to MagSafe on the Everyday Case.
What separates Peak Design's ecosystem from all the other ways of getting MagSafe on Android is that it feels official. Things like magnetic sticker rings and cheap MagSafe phone cases often feel like hacky solutions rather than polished ones. By comparison, it's impossible to see that the Everyday Case supports MagSafe just by looking at it. Aside from the SlimLink mounting point, the Everyday Case looks just like any other premium case with a canvas exterior and plastic frame.
Completing the experience is a wide variety of first-party accessories that compare with Apple's own official MagSafe accessories. For example, the Peak Design Mobile Wallet is like an Apple MagSafe Wallet, but better. I'm on my third leather MagSafe Wallet from Apple, and I have had two replaced under warranty because they literally fell apart. So far, the Mobile Wallet seems better than the MagSafe Wallet in a number of ways. It also matches the Everyday Case in the same way that a leather MagSafe wallet matches Apple's official leather iPhone case.
However, the best part of using the Peak Design Everyday Case is that you can use it with non-Peak Design accessories. I've used my Mobile Wallet with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which I use without a case. I've also used an official Apple MagSafe charger with a Pixel 7a through an Everyday Case. With these accessories, you can use the same great products with iPhones and Android phones. Considering that accessory makers consistently put more effort into creating products for iPhones, interoperability is a huge win for Android users.
It's only going to get better with Qi2
By simply putting a Peak Design case on my Android phone, I've been able to replicate the MagSafe experience. However, even a case won't be required for this kind of functionality in the not-so-distant future. When Android phones start shipping with Qi2, the accessory market will gain some much-needed parity between the iPhone and Android markets. If my time using Peak Design accessories is any indication, the future of smartphones with Qi2 looks bright.
