OnePlus, which just launched its first folding phone, is set to release the OnePlus 12 in a few months. Now, the latest rumor suggests that it will fix one of the biggest mistakes of the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Open: the lack of wireless charging.
According to reliable leaker Max Jambor on X (formerly Twitter), OnePlus 12 will revive wireless charging. It will not only bring back wireless charging, but it will also charge wirelessly at 50-watt speeds to boot. This wireless charging rumor is also being promoted by Digital Chat Station on Chinese social network Weibo.
There’s a little history behind OnePlus and wireless charging. For years, the brand said it was hesitant to include wireless charging because it was too slow. But when it released the OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 10 Pro with wireless charging at 50-watt speeds, it impressed many. However, when the OnePlus 11 came out, wireless charging was mysteriously absent. OnePlus often makes the point that fast charging via cable is more useful because you can use your phone while it’s charging.
OnePlus also recently released its first foldable, the OnePlus Open, which is priced at $1,700. But even its most expensive phone doesn’t have wireless charging, even though its competitors, the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, do.
At some point earlier this year, OnePlus said it was considering adding wireless charging in a future release, but never said when that would happen.
But as we get closer to the OnePlus 12 launch late this year or early next year, it’s likely we’ll see it return sooner rather than later. This would make the OnePlus 12 a likely candidate to be one of the first Android phones equipped with Qi2 wireless charging, a technology built on Apple’s MagSafe standard that was introduced at CES 2023.
