The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) held a technical conference at Xiaomi’s headquarters in Beijing with the aim of developing the upcoming Qi 50W wireless charging standard. Engineers from leading companies in the technology world such as Apple, Google, Huawei, Honor, Oppo and Vivo attended the event, which took place between June 22 and June 25.

The main purpose of the meeting was to determine technical specifications, prototype tests and interoperability needs for 50W wireless charging. WPC continues to gradually increase the power limits for the Qi standard.

Xiaomi signature in the new standard

Most of the discussions at the conference in Beijing focused on Xiaomi’s proposed hardware architecture for the Qi 50W standard. Xiaomi states that the coil design requirements in the current Qi2 standard are restrictive and cause heating problems, especially in foldable phones and automotive charging pads.

To solve this problem, the company worked on a low inductance and low voltage charging architecture for two years. This alternative design aims to reduce coil loss and improve heat dissipation, facilitating the integration of charging modules into modern devices.

Xiaomi submitted the proposal to the WPC in late 2024 and completed cross-vendor tests with 25W and 50W prototypes throughout 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, WPC officially included this architecture in the draft process of the Qi 50W standard.

Industry-wide compatibility tests

As part of the four-day event, more than 20 companies participated in a standard industrial testing process called Plugfest. During this process, different chips, coils and devices were tested against each other to identify compatibility issues.

Companies such as Anker, NXP and Southchip have tested prototype hardware to ensure that future 50W chargers work safely and stably on different brands of devices. For Chinese hardware manufacturers, integrating this low-inductance charging technology into the global Qi standard is a critical commercial necessity to maintain compatibility with international markets.

How do you think this new charging standard will change the future smartphone experience?