Samsung was among the first smartphone brands to offer Qi wireless charging, and it consistently provides 15W fast wireless charging. However, it missed a beat by not offering the Qi2 wireless charging standard with the Galaxy S24. We thought Samsung wouldn't adopt the new wireless charging standard soon, as Apple originally developed it. However, Samsung has already launched its first Qi2-certified product.
Galaxy Ring is Samsung's first Qi2-certified wireless charging product
The Galaxy Ring is the South Korean firm's first product to receive the Qi2 certification for wireless charging. It is listed in the WPC database, and some digging by George Economo (via Android Authority) revealed that it has the 2.0.0 version of Qi. However, that doesn't automatically mean that it features magnetic wireless charging. Yes, it likely doesn't have a MagSafe-like magnetic mechanism.
Apparently, while Qi2 incorporated Apple's MagSafe system and termed it Magnetic Power Profile, the feature isn't necessary to get the Qi2 certification. So, there will be Qi2-certified devices that don't have a MagSafe-like magnetic holding mechanism while they are being charged.
The story continues after our Galaxy Ring hands-on video below.
The Galaxy Ring's Qi2 certification document reveals that it (Galaxy Ring's charging case) can take a maximum input power of 5W. That is much less than most smartphones with wireless charging, but 5W of charging is still powerful enough, especially considering it is a wearable device with a tiny battery.
The Galaxy Ring's wireless charging case can charge the ring up to 1.5 times. The Galaxy Ring itself can last 5-7 days on a single charge (read more about it in our review), and with the charging case, you would be good enough for 2-3 weeks. However, recently, Galaxy Ring users have started complaining about very low battery life of just 3-4 days. Hopefully, it is a software issue and Samsung solves it with a new update.