It’s been 84 years old, but the Pixel 10 could really launch “Magsafe on Android”

I am an Android and a fan of pixels which announces Magsafe as the improvement of accessories for the coolest and most useful smartphones from the sliced ​​bread – or USB -C to stay in the metaphor. Thus, when Qi2 was announced with a hint of compatibility behind Magsafe, I was in Paradise Nerd. Finally – Finally! – I would be able to dive into a large ecosystem of accessories and use them on my pixel phones.

But the announcement of Qi2 came and came, and the weeks, months and years have passed to us without any Android phone does not add the management of the standard. Then came the HMD horizon, the first phone with the load and the compatibility of integrated Qi2 magnets, which had little impact in addition to claiming the title of “first to market”. Google published its Pixel 9 series with a good former first generation IQ, leaving 2024 to drive in 2025 with me Twidddding My Thumbs while waiting for the big “Finally!” Of Qi2. moment.

At the beginning of 2025, did not change much. I thought that the Samsung Galaxy S25 series would take us above the bump and announce the age of Qi2, and although the phones are ready for Qi2, they do not have the compatibility of the integrated magnet that I really want. Instead, you need to buy a magnetic case, which solves the problem without really solving it (I will arrive at “why” later). Similarly, the OnePlus 13 uses a magnetic case to trigger its Wireless Loading Ecosystem Airvooc, and the Oppo Find X8 series followed with the same strategy.

It is easy to lose hope in this context. I was starting to think that 2025 is made for and that I should wait until 2026 to see the great moment of Qi2 on Android materialize. But now, Google, the brand less likely to innovate on the material specifications, potentially prepares an unexpected surprise: Qi2 on the Pixel 10. And if it turns out true, you will find me the same Shia Labeouf by applauding in real life for a few minutes. Here is why.

Android brands are competing for small margins on specific sheets for years, and no one wants to be left behind. If OnePlus goes to the last processor, Samsung will follow, and if Xiaomi accelerates its charge, Oppo will go faster. It took centuries to obtain the first sub-divided fingerprint scanner, but now almost all Android phones have it; The same thing has happened with higher adaptive refresh rates on screens, periscope cameras, etc. It only takes a small snowball to create an avalanche, but waiting for the snowball is the most difficult part.

We now see this change with silicon-carbon batteries, and I hope we will see it soon for Qi2. If Google, the face of Android and the brand with part of the most important public relations exhibition (especially in the American market), have really added a complete compatibility of Qi2 and created an ecosystem of “pixelsnap” accessories adapted to magnets, then it will definitely make the online conversation around Qi2, magsafe and “Magsafe on Android”. Critics, YouTube videos, podcasts, advertisements – everything will mention Pixelsnap, and he will be on everyone to follow.

This should put pressure on all other brands to include Qi2 in their next lighthouse, even by accelerating their plans if Qi2 was not already one of them. This was once a “pleasant to have” feature in the specification sheet would become a real chip under the drawbacks in the event of a lack. And no brand wants additional drawbacks and reasons for people not to buy your phones.

What we are looking at with Pixel 10 is the snowball that starts the avalanche, and I’m all there for that.

I am awkward and I am the first to put a case on all my phones, so why am I so firmly against the idea of ​​ready-made phones for Qi2 with a loving compatibility brought by cases? Well, this is a question of perception in my opinion.

When the metal table used by the magnets is not integrated into the phone, Qi2 becomes a supplement: it is not taken seriously by the manufacturers of accessories who believe (rightly) that not all users will be interested in magnetic accessories because they probably do not know that their phones are compatible.

As we saw with the Galaxy S25 series, where the majority of S25 case manufacturers opted for non -magnetic cases and only offered one or two magnetic options. Meanwhile, most Magsafe accessories are always designed and marketed in iPhone users, even if they are also compatible with the Galaxy S25 and its ready -made certification for Qi2. You and I, geeks who understand technology, know that we can buy a Magsafe charger or hold it and use it with a magnetic case on our ultra galaxy S25, but not everyone will. And I think this is harmful both for the accessory ecosystem and the perception of Android among users.

When the compatibility of the magnet is integrated into the phone, it is an integral part of it. The announcements will mention it, the buyers will be aware of it, and the functionality becomes a fact, not a supplement. Case manufacturers will ensure that most of their models offer it to reproduce the configuration of the phone, and you and I, we will have a larger choice in terms of compatible and price cases. In addition, this opens up a whole world for accessory manufacturers to adopt their accessories for Android, create special phones for different phones or include Android phones compatible in their product images and marketing. Basically, look at the first years of Magsafe on the iPhone and copy and paste in Android, but perhaps on a smaller scale. (It is a well -known fact that iPhone buyers pay more for accessories than the owners of Android, so accessory companies respond more.)

It is without mentioning, obviously, the small proportion of users who prefer to transport their phone without a case and could only benefit from the full Qi2 features that if the magnetic configuration was integrated.

This is why I think that simple and ready certification for Qi2 is not enough. It is fundamentally the same thing as gifying a cheap metal ring on a phone and calling this Magsafe; It’s not the same thing.

And why the magnets? Well, because they align a Qi2 wireless charger to load the most efficient way possible, and also because the simplicity of Snap-on and Snap-Off to add an accessory to your phone is unprecedented. No clogging, no cut, no tightening, no maintenance; Just magnets. Portfolios, tripods and stands, cast iron promotions, external camera lamps, microphones and an entire ecosystem of compatible accessories with unified magnets exist, and this Magsafe compatible metal network and specific Qi2 opens the door. I want this for my pixel phones, and I want it for all Android phones.

Bring the magnets, I say, or to quote Jesse Pinkman …