MagSafe vs. Qi & Qi2
Comparing 2 standards across 14 specifications. 14 key differences identified.
Apple MagSafe is a proprietary wireless charging and magnetic accessory attachment standard introduced on iPhone 12. Combining an array of 16 rare-earth neodymium magnets, an alignment magnet, a 15W inductive charging coil, a single-turn NFC antenna, and a magnetometer, it delivers precision self-aligning power and accessory identification.
Qi (pronounced 'chee') is the global open standard for inductive wireless power transfer developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). Operating at 110–205 kHz, it encompasses Baseline Power Profile (BPP, 5W), Extended Power Profile (EPP, 15W), and Qi2 Magnetic Power Profile (MPP, 15W) with ring-magnet alignment.
Specification Comparison Table
14 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Proprietary Standard
|
Apple Inc. MagSafe Wireless Architecture | — |
|
Power Delivery (Wattage)
|
15 W (up to 25W on iPhone 16 series with 30W adapter) | — |
|
Magnetic Ring Array
|
18-magnet circular array (16 orientation magnets + 1 alignment magnet + 1 shielding ring) | — |
|
Coil Physics
|
Multi-strand Litz wire planar inductive coil | — |
|
Accessory Identification Radio
|
13.56 MHz Single-Turn NFC Loop (ISO 14443-A based) | — |
|
Alignment Detection
|
Internal solid-state Magnetometer / Hall effect sensor | — |
|
Standard Qi Fallback
|
Charges non-MagSafe Qi devices at standard 7.5W BPP | — |
|
Governing Body
|
— | Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) |
|
Specification Versions
|
— | Qi v1.0 (2010), Qi v1.2/v1.3 (EPP), Qi v2.0 (Qi2 MPP, 2023) |
|
Operating Frequency Range
|
— | 110 kHz to 205 kHz (Inductive magnetic coupling) |
|
Power Profiles
|
— | BPP (Baseline: 5W), EPP (Extended: 15W), MPP (Magnetic: 15W), Ki Cordless (up to 2.2 kW for kitchen appliances) |
|
Power Transmission Physics
|
— | Near-field electromagnetic induction via planar copper wire coils |
|
Communications Channel
|
— | In-band digital backscatter modulation (2 kbps ASK packets modulated onto power carrier) |
|
Safety Protections
|
— | Foreign Object Detection (FOD), thermal throttling, over-voltage/current clamping |