What Comes After Qi2?

Qi2 solved a big annoyance: getting your phone lined up so it actually charges. Magnets helped reliability, accessories feel more consistent, and 15W is now fairly dependable. But Qi2 is still contact charging. The next milestone isn’t “faster on a puck”—it’s spatial freedom: power that works anywhere on a desk, or even across a room. Here’s what that future likely looks like, without the hype.

Where Qi2 Leaves Off

Qi2 tightens alignment and interoperability, but range is basically unchanged. Coil-to-coil coupling falls off quickly with distance, and any extra misalignment shows up as heat or slow speeds. Cases, metal accessories, and crowded multi-device pads still create compromises. In short: great for desks and stands, not a path to “charge anywhere.”

Two Ways to Add Distance

1) Magnetic resonance (desk-scale freedom)

Think of this as a looser, more forgiving cousin to today’s inductive pads. A resonant transmitter embedded in a desk or mat can energize receivers a few centimeters away with less fuss about exact coil placement. That opens the door to free-position surfaces: drop your phone, earbuds, or watch roughly anywhere in a zone and they charge. It’s also friendlier to thicker materials between the transmitter and the device, so power can come through a desk inlays or console trim. The trade-offs are familiar—efficiency and heat still matter—but at surface distances resonance is the most plausible upgrade to our day-to-day experience.

2) Far-field power (room-scale trickle)

Far-field systems (RF, infrared, ultrasound) can send energy over meters. That’s exciting for tiny loads—sensors, badges, ultra-low-power wearables—because even milliwatts delivered continuously can keep them alive. For phones and tablets, though, physics and safety limits keep usable power modest. IR may need line-of-sight; RF runs into strict exposure and interference rules. This is less “charge your phone in mid-air,” more “quiet background top-ups for small devices.”

The Physics Wall: Efficiency and Heat

Power at a distance isn’t free. With resonance, coupling weakens as you lift a device off the surface; with far-field, intensity drops as you step away from the transmitter. Every conversion step—transmit electronics, the air or material path, receive electronics, battery charging—introduces loss. Those losses become heat, and small enclosures have limited room to shed it. That’s why truly desk-scale charging (watts to tens of watts) looks achievable first, while room-scale power (milliwatts to hundreds of milliwatts) targets tiny devices.

Safety and the Rulebook

Continuous wireless power lives under a different microscope than a short radio burst. Regulators care about exposure limits (SAR/MPE), electromagnetic compatibility near other electronics, and interactions with medical devices. On top of that are standards bodies—Wireless Power Consortium (Qi) and AirFuel Alliance—pushing for interoperability and testable claims. Expect progress to be steady rather than splashy; approvals take time, and real-world limits matter more than demo-stage theatrics.

Timelines That Pass the Smell Test

Over the next year, Qi2 will simply become normal on phones and accessories. In the 1–3 year window, expect certified resonant surfaces that make desks and car consoles genuinely drop-anywhere for multiple devices. In parallel, enterprise pilots will use far-field trickle to keep sensors or e-labels topped up. Three to five years out, consumer room-scale trickle for wearables and smart home sensors is plausible in some markets—again, small loads first, governed by safety and efficiency.

Where It’ll Help First

Desks and furniture are the obvious wins: a clean surface where you can set devices without thinking and still get useful power. Automotive cabins benefit for the same reason—no fiddling with exact placement while moving. Workplaces and retail will lean on far-field systems to keep low-power devices alive without swapping batteries. Wearables and AR accessories stand to gain the most from room-scale trickle, stretching time between “real” charges.

Standards to Watch

Interoperability is the make-or-break. Can a resonant desk safely and efficiently serve today’s Qi2 phones? Will a single transmitter handle mixed devices without weird behavior or hot spots? Clearer labeling would help: not just peak transmitter wattage, but delivered power at a stated distance and temperature. When those numbers become common on spec sheets, you’ll know the category is maturing.

A Simple Reader’s Checklist

Use this to sanity-check any long-range claim you see:

• Certification: Qi/AirFuel plus local regulatory approval.

• Delivered power at distance: real watts to the battery at a stated gap or range.

• Thermals: steady-state device temperature after ~30 minutes.

• Multi-device behavior: does power split gracefully or collapse?

• Idle draw: how many watts the transmitter burns doing nothing.

Bottom Line

“Wireless power anywhere” isn’t a single leap; it’s two tracks. Resonance is the near-term step that makes desks and consoles truly convenient. Far-field is the quiet background stream that keeps tiny devices alive. Phones will still touch down on something for meaningful charging, but you’ll think less about placement—and some of your smaller gadgets may simply never die between charges. That’s the real future: fewer rituals, more ambient power, and specs that finally match everyday life.