Does the Samsung Galaxy S24 support Qi2?

Quick answer: No, Samsung did not include Qi2 magnetic wireless charging in any model of the Galaxy S24 series. It has the same first-gen Qi coils capable of up to 15W wireless charging, but a myriad of MagSafe cases for the S24 series are available to make up for it.

It’s been a year since Qi2 — known to most as “MagSafe for Android” — and a multitude of Samsung fans, iOS-to-Android converts, and tech enthusiasts like me all assumed that the first Android phone to bring on Qi2 support would be the Samsung Galaxy S24. We wanted to stop hassling with phones falling off chargers, residue from adhesive-backed phone grips, and the inferior old plates for magnetic chargers.

Qi2, built upon MagSafe and using the same magnetic alignment, would have allowed Galaxy S24 to immediately take advantage of tens of thousands of mounts, chargers, wallets, kickstands, grips, and battery packs — and for those who want it, this is still possible with MagSafe cases. But, alas, Samsung has too many problems to fix before they can bring Qi2 to Galaxy phones.

S-Pen sorrows: Why Qi2 was impossible for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

A purple Galaxy S24 Ultra with the S Pen pulled out.

When MagSafe cases for the Galaxy S23 Ultra arrived last year, we had sporadic instances of the S Pen being completely thrown off, most frequently while using MagSafe chargers. However, the selection of MagSafe cases was relatively small, and it wasn’t at the forefront of Android users’ minds the way it was after the launch of the first Qi2 products this fall. Now that the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s review units and first preorders have shipped — and the variety of MagSafe S24 Ultra cases has just about tripled — the issue is seeing much more attention.

The S-Pen and magnetic accessories have always been enemies, even before MagSafe. The digitizer in S-Pen-enabled Galaxy phones uses a magnetic field over your screen in order to register the pen without touching your screen, and anything that throws off that magnetic field obviously throws off S-Pen behavior.

Source:dbrand

So long as Samsung’s S-Pen works this way, there’s no way to use magnetic charging or accessories reliably without disrupting S-Pen performance. In dbrand’s reddit post explaining the situation and offering refunds/non-MagSafe versions for its otherwise flawless Galaxy S24 Ultra cases, they found that while a MagSafe case was installed but a MagSafe accessory was not attached, users saw “a negligible reduction in S-Pen accuracy.” However, once a MagSafe charger or mount was applied, magnetic interference left a very apparent dead zone, which then immediately vanished after taking it back off.

The quick and dirty solution is “just take off the MagSafe grip/charger/whatever while you need to use the S-Pen,” but that’s a serious compromise, and one most normal people wouldn’t tolerate. For Samsung to build Qi2 into the Galaxy S24 Ultra would’ve required a fundamental reworking of the S-Pen, and that, combined with the timing of Qi2’s launch and the S24 Ultra’s production schedule, just didn’t provide enough time for that issue to be rectified.

Even if they’d just brought it to the penless S24 and S24+, Qi2’s certification processes weren’t finalized until the fall, which would’ve made it impossible to guarantee a certifiable Qi2 phone before the S24 Ultra was put into mass production. And that’s disregarding all of the new wireless chargers Samsung would have to make for it, and all the cases series like Gadget, Strap, and Grip that would have to be entirely redone or discontinued with the need for a flat, magnetically-enhanced case back.

Why MagSafe is still a welcome upgrade to Galaxy S24 cases

As mentioned, the S24 and S24+ have no issues whatsoever with MagSafe cases, and even among Ultra users, the impact on S-Pen can be offset for some by the convenience of MagSafe charging, mounts, and wallets. After all, Qi2/MagSafe is the answer to a decade of phones slipping out of place on charging pads and dying overnight. It revolutionized portable charging by sticking the power bank securely to your phone in place and properly aligned, so you don’t have to hassle with wires or awkwardly full hands.

And best of all — well, for me as an accessory addict — MagSafe means kissing goodbye to slowly peeling adhesive kickstands and card slots, to losing wireless charging once you slap on a phone grip to save you from your repetitive stress injuries. No more swapping cases just to use a different accessory or to wireless charge overnight. I can switch from a PopSocket in bed to a Clickr kickstand at my desk to a magnetic power bank in the evening while I go watch Magic Kingdom fireworks on a nearly-dead S24. Dreams really do come true!

Qi2 using the same magnetic array as MagSafe also enables us to take advantage of MagSafe wireless chargers rather than being forced to pick from the tiny little starter pack of early Qi2 models. CES was the real kickoff for Qi2 accessories, so selection should improve by this summer.

So, while Qi2 may not be on S24 phones “officially,” that’s not stopping S24 users for even a second.