Latest iOS 11 Developer Tool Kit Grants Access to NFC Chip to Third-Party App Developers

In early June, Apple’s iOS 11 Beta added support for Core NFC to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. In the document, the Core NFC framework is described as a function to detect NFC tags and read messages that contain NDEF data.

Only iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Support NFC Reader Mode

When iPhone 6 and 6 Plus first launched with an NFC chip included, the only app allowed access to it was Apple Pay. Now, Apple’s developer framework document for iOS 11 states that the only iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will support reader mode (not writer mode, even though the hardware should be able to support it), which can interact passively with an NFC tag. This means that developers can leverage the phone’s NFC chip to detect NFC tags and read messages that contain NDEF data, which will give more information about a user’s physical environment and the real-world objects in it. For example, Apple also included new NFC usage features in its watchOS 4, including the ability to send fitness data—for example, the number of calories burned and heart rate—to gym equipment. To date, Apple has guardedly restricted access to the iPhone’s NFC functionality, not allowing bank or payment apps other than Apple Pay to use it. It is unclear whether Apple will push full NFC functionality to older iPhone models, but at this moment, it seems unlikely.

Source: Techinsights/ifixit/Fung Global Retail & Technology

NFC Applications in Retail

In our report Deep Dive: Building Customer Engagement Through NFC Technology, we discussed the potential of different NFC applications. We believe NFC tags can help retailers to build better customer engagement by creating a more interactive and personal shopping experience for shoppers visiting the store. In our view, the immediate impact of Apple opening up more opportunities for NFC applications will be minimum, due to the relatively small user base of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. This new feature should be seen as a long-term strategic move, as full NFC functionality could open up opportunities for businesses to interact with iOS users in the future, something Android users have been doing for several years already.