Until some time ago only top of the range smartphones integrated an NFC chip.Now, however, it is also possible to find it integrated into medium-high-end mobile devices.But what is NFC and what is it for?
NFC, an acronym for Near-Field Communication, is a technology that provides short-range wireless connectivity (10 centimeters) and which was developed jointly by Philips, LG, Sony, Samsung and Nokia.
If it is a proximity communication as happens in the case of Bluetooth, which comes with a lower coverage radius, what advantages does NFC brings with it?
Let's start by saying that NFC does not arise from nothing but it is the evolution of the well -known identification and communication technology of contactless RFID.The latter was and is mainly used in the industrial field as an electronic label, to provide information on objects and animals.While RFID works "one -way", NFC allows you to establish a bidirectional data exchange.
Tramite NFC si possono quindi sincronizzare velocemente i dati tra due dispositivi, anche completamente differenti l'uno dall'altro (viene stabilita una rete peer to peer).By using your NFC compatible mobile device you can manage contactless payments with extreme ease: the smartphone turns into a sort of electric bag and - after installing a special app - it is possible to make a transaction simply by approaching the phone to the POS of theoperator.
Payments via NFC devices are becoming increasingly popular also thanks to the launch of services in Italy such as Google Pay (Google Pay in Italy: what it is and how it works, Apple Pay (Apple Pay debut in Italy: the smartphone turns into aElectronic Borsellino) and Samsung Pay.
L'app installata nel dispositivo mobile che sovrintende i pagamenti effettuati via NFC può essere abbinata a diverse modalità di pagamento: carte di credito, carte di debito e in alcuni casi anche PayPal (come permette ad esempio di fare Google Pay). In questo modo il pagamento può essere effettuato avvicinando il proprio dispositivo al POS, al distributore automatico, al registratore di cassa, senza mai estrarre portafogli e carte e senza che il negoziante o il circuito bancario possano conoscere i dati delle proprie carte di credito o gli account PayPal utilizzati.A notebook equipped with NFC chip can enable contactless payments in the same identical way.
NFC against Bluetooth
Many ask for the reason for the existence of NFC when the Bluetooth technology has already existed for some time.
There are multiple reasons that justify the birth of NFC and that demonstrate how Bluetooth is not the best choice in some application fields.
First of all, with Bluetooth it is essential that the devices have already activated a communication, they must be previously coupled with each other and necessarily be fed.Extra requirements that complicate things when it is essential to establish a data exchange, fast and safe.
NFC also requires that the two devices are physically positioned at a very short distance: thus it is possible to significantly reduce energy consumption and make sure that the data are transmitted by and a device positioned in the immediate vicinity.Think of the case of electronic payments: with NFC the paying user smartphone must be in front of the POS otherwise the transaction and the consequent charge will not be able to be successful.For safety reasons, the distance to which they must find the two devices is usually reduced to less than 4 centimeters.
Bluetooth transmits the data on the 2.4 GHz band which is, as is known, now very crowded: think of wifi, cordless phones, baby monitor and many other electronic devices.
To avoid any communication problem, NFC uses an area of the much less crowded spectrum (13.56 MHz) and uses some technical tricks to avoid any negative effect caused by any interference.
How to check if the smartphone supports NFC
The best way to check if your smartphone has an integrated NFC chip is to control its specifications.
However, on the Android devices it is enough to access the operating system settings therefore type NFC in the search box at the top.
Usually, however, the references to NFC are found in the wireless and networks or network and internet section.
To activate the NFC chip, just touch the corresponding option: "Allow data exchange when the phone touches another device".
What NFC technology is for
As we mentioned previously, NFC certainly does not offer Bluetooth performance - let alone those of the Wi Fi - during data exchange: it can in fact send and receive information with a maximum transmission speed of 424 Kbps.
It is therefore great to make payments with the smartphone because the quantity of data exchanged is minimal.
The use of NFC chips is taking hold on U2F Fido2 tokens: they allow you to use a key as a tool to safely authenticate on the main online services (see authentication of two factors: what happens if you lose a U2F Fido2 key).
Although there are also Fido2 Bluetooth sticks, the trend is to orient themselves exclusively on the use of USB and NFC.
Yubico, a leading company in the design, production and marketing of U2F Fido2 sticks, has repeatedly supported how products based on the use of Bluetooth technology do not offer sufficient guarantees in terms of safety.Yubico had initially evaluated the possibility of placing Bluetooth sticks on the market (BLE), preferring to refrain from doing it for security, usability and durability issues.
The company then criticized Google and its Titan Key which, despite integrating an NFC chip for the moment, uses only Bluetooth.See, in this regard, the Italian project only Key: two -factor authentication: only is the first opensource security key Fido2.
Yubico does not maintain, evidently, that NFC is intrinsically safer than Bluetooth.Since both communications via NFC and those via Bluetooth can be monitored and "spy", a first reassurance comes from the very small coverage range of NFC (a few centimeters) and the contained RF powers at stake.
As it is well explained in this study, it is then the use of applications that adopt encryption as well as the adequate security measures to offer the best guarantees.
NFC chips are increasingly used on multimedia devices: think of a NFC compatible bluetooth speaker.In this case, the transfer of data (therefore the streaming of the musical songs) takes place via bluetooth but the actual connection procedure can be made via NFC.
Thus the connection between speaker and smartphones will take place instantaneously without having to manually intervene on the Bluetooth configuration.
NFC, however, can certainly be used also to exchange files between devices but the data transfer speed will not be convincing.
In the case of Android, to use NFC to transfer files between smartphones and other compatible devices, just activate Android Beam: the exchange of data will take place instantly by simply touching the two devices together.
More information in this support document.
Finally, there are small devices, called NFC tags, which are inspired by "RFID philosophy" and which allow you to send for example a smartphone useful information such as web addresses, telephone numbers, GPS positions, identification data or automating certain operations.
Some NFC tags, available on Amazon at a really affordable price, can be scheduled to allow quick login on the main online services, to activate or deactivate WiFi and Bluetooth on the phone, to send reminders or insert events in the calendar, to make phone calls or send SMS ( They can therefore also be configured as tools to instantly send requests for help), as "business cards", in the context of promotional initiatives to offer coupons and vouchers, to regular volumes and lighting levels, to activate Bluetooth in the car and a lot even more.