Nothing blames Apple for wireless charging magnet problems

Years and years after smartphones first started supporting it, wireless charging is having a moment. And it’s all Apple’s Qi2’s fault. At least, while we’ve been able to drop phones on charging mats for ages, the convenience and efficiency of magnet-aligned wireless charging has only really taken off with the introduction of MagSafe accessories — and now with the arrival of Qi2 25W, Android devices are finally starting to get in on the action.

While that’s great to see happening, what the heck has taken so long, and why does it feel like pulling teeth to convince phone manufacturers to build us phones with all those handy little magnets baked right in, rather than requiring us to add a magnet-enhanced case? We’ve heard plenty of theories along the way, and now we’ve got an explanation straight from the horse’s mouth, as Nothing offers some long-overdue insight.

We’re actually revisiting a video we looked at before, when Nothing mocked up a dream phone for YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss. In the middle of that project, we get a quick little aside about the sad state of magnets and wireless charging, with Nothing blaming the whole thing on “legal red tape, industry politics, and a whole load of bullshit.” Jump ahead to the 2:30 mark to see for yourself:

Rob from the Nothing Content Team goes on to explain:

Even though Qi2 is a wireless standard that anyone can use, the magnet configurations that optimally support Apple-compatible wireless chargers are patented and restricted. The only way to get around this is to develop your own magnetic wireless charger to work with your device, but because the magnets in your device are not the exact same configuration as Apple’s MagSafe, there’s a good chance the coils may not be perfectly aligned, and you won’t get the optimized charge speed, and you’ll generate more heat.

According to Nothing, a company cooking up their own system like that would end up spending a 7-figure sum.  That’s a not-insignificant chunk of change, and for a feature that many owners might never actually end up using, could represent an unjustifiable expense for many brands. So as a result, they just don’t bother.

Admittedly, we’re not lawyers, but something about that explanation doesn’t sound quite right to our ears. After all, patented or not, standards are designed to be accessible, and surely a licensing fee would be a lot less than the cost of developing a whole new compatible system. Then again, Nothing is definitely in a position to know what it’s talking about, so we should probably just defer to its experience here.

Do you care at all about wireless charging support when making your own phone purchasing decisions? Is it more of a tie-breaker consideration, or something you increasingly look for earlier in your search? Let us know in the comments.