According to Macworld's report on March 28th, iOS 17.4 brings the functionality of 15W wireless charging using the Qi2 standard for iPhone 12 users.
Qi2 is the next-gen wireless charging tech developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), building on the MagSafe technology. MagSafe debuted on the iPhone 12, offering charging speeds of up to 15W. However, third-party wireless chargers not certified by MagSafe could only deliver up to 7.5W, whereas Qi2 supports the full 15W power output.
Pulsestacks highlighted that last year, Apple introduced the capability for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 to charge at 15W using Qi2 wireless chargers through the iOS 17.2 update. The iPhone 15 series natively supported the Qi2 standard upon release. This left the iPhone 12 as the sole model supporting MagSafe but unable to enjoy faster charging speeds with Qi2 accessories.
Macworld, citing user feedback and their own testing, reported that after updating to iOS 17.4, the iPhone 12 could achieve 15W charging speeds using Qi2 wireless chargers. The device would display the same charging animation as seen with 15W charging, and tests using the Anker Qi2 MagGo wireless charger reached similar charging speeds to MagSafe.
Apple officially announced Qi2 support for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 with iOS 17.2 but made no similar statement regarding iOS 17.4 and the iPhone 12. This may be due to the iPhone 12's wireless charging technology being based on the original Qi standard and MagSafe design, at a time when the Qi2 standard had not yet been finalized.
