Samsung is the only phone maker in the world that consistently sells more smartphones annually than its fierce rival Apple does, but if the latest rumours are to be believed, Samsung’s next flagship Android phones won’t have a feature most iPhones have had since 2020.

As spotted by 9to5Google, a new leak looks as though it confirms the Galaxy S26 phones will not have Qi2 magnets inside the handsets, meaning the phones will not have the equivalent of Apple’s MagSafe technology.

MagSafe debuted in 2020’s iPhone 12 range, and lets owners attach their phones to charger, mounts and other accessories. Qi2 (pronounced “chee-too”) is a universal standard for charging tech that Android phones can use, but very few phones have magnets that automatically align the correct part of the phone with the circular chargers. In fact, the only Android phones to have them are the Google Pixel 10 range.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 phones were Qi2 compatible, and even came with cases that had the circular magnets inside, allowing the phones to stick to chargers – but only with the cases.

Now, a report from Nieuwemobiel has alleged leaks of the S26’s case line up, with some cases see-through plastic and some others clearly with the ring of magnets in their design, just like the S25 cases Samsung produced.

If these leaks are accurate, it shows Samsung is once again offering cases with magnets like it did before, suggesting the S26 phones won’t have Qi2 magnets. This stops anyone who doesn’t want to use a case from quickly and easily aligning their phones with magnetic Qi2 chargers.

This backs up an earlier leak of a Samsung branded Qi2 charger that bears on its packaging the instructions: “For Galaxy phones, ensure you use this Charger with a Qi2-ready case to enable charging”.

It won’t be the end of the world if Samsung doesn’t have built-in wireless charging magnets in the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra, the rumoured names of its upcoming new phones, but it odd not leave this feature out considering how long the iPhone has had it, and the fact that the phones will almost certainly have Qi2 charging tech in them.

Adding magnets to the devices seems trivial to give Samsung users the benefit seen by iPhones users with MagSafe for more than half a decade. Samsung selling cases with the magnets built in is in itself an admission that the magnetic part of the tech is pretty handy!

Rumours point to a late February launch of the S26 range, which is later than usual. The S24 and S25 series were both launched in January of 2024 and 2025 respectively. We’ll have to wait and see if Samsung will in fact push to popularise MagSafe alternatives on Android, or if the Pixel 10 was ahead of the game by some distance in being the first Android phone to get with the program.