The way that you could pay for your shopped items like groceries, clothing, etc by just one tap on a mini electronic device to another would have seemed like science fiction 5 or 6 years ago. But now the technology is increasing day by day this is why physical comfort is also increasing. It’s all made possible with near-field communication (NFC) technology and the smart tags that work with NFC. And don’t worry we have curated a list of the best NFC tag reader apps for the iPhone.
What is NFC?
NFC isn’t an innovative technology like Bluetooth and WiFi, it’s a wireless radio communications pendant. In the wireless world, NFC’s can be related as a child of RFID (radio frequency identification). Nowadays retailers and parcel shipping companies like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra use RFID as a way to keep tabs on inventory supplies and shipments. Not only do retailers and sellers use it but also you may have an RFID-enabled identification badge that you tap when you get to work.
NFC allows you to pay for things you shopped. For example, a smart tag could be embedded into a political template. You just have to tap the tag on your device, and you will be redirected to a website showing a bunch of candidates’ credentials. Meanwhile, you also receive a short-tempered biography in the form of a text file and image.
Let’s understand it better by taking a real-life example when you are searching for some tasty food at your favorite restaurant, you just touch your phone screen to an NFC-tagged menu, and voila! — You get the entire menu filled with mouth-watering dishes and foods along with price and nutritional information you could also pay for items without entering credit card details if you linked to a payment system such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.
After releasing of iPhone 6, Apple launched NFC as standard hardware for new models of iPhone. Apple kept NFC functionality locked to Apple Pay for the iPhone 6 and 6s generations. That changed for iPhone 7 and newer with the introduction of iOS 11 in 2017 which opened up NFC tag reading through a supporting app.
NFC tags are also known as smart tags, info tags, but their designation is similar to RFID tags as these tags are considered as a sub-category of RFID tags. They both have a bit of storage memory, also a radio chip attached to an antenna. There are many NFC tags apps also available.
The only difference is that NFC tags are invented to be used with NFC systems. And they’re of enough small size and cheap to integrate into all sorts of products: posters promoting, stickers, business cards, etc.
NFC tags literally draw power from the device that reads them. When a reader gets in touch with a tag, it energizes it and transfers data from that tag.
Now, if you are looking for apps to read NFC tags? Stay tuned with us.
1. NFC Tags Reader Apps- Most Technically Sophisticated: NXP – NFC Tag Info:
NXP is one of the trusted inventors of NFC technology and manufactures NFC chips for the iPhone models. NFC Tag Info takes a deep technical approach when it comes to reading NFC tags. It is one of the best NFC tag reader apps.
Rather than simply directing end-users to the related content, NFC Tag Info presents the raw information encoded to the NFC tag being scanned, in front of the user. This can be helpful for simply checking that a tag is encoded properly or not.
2. NFC Tags Reader Apps- Best Virtual Closet / Authentication: Sneaker Con:
Sneaker Con is unique in that they support NFC to connect their app experience to physical shoes enabled with their “Legit” tag. Sneaker Con’s app is best known for buying and selling collectible sneakers. This app uses NFC tags to know about the item’s authentic identification. It is one of the best free NFC tags app available in the market
Legit tags attached an NFC tag with them that allows owners and prospective buyers to check authenticity by just one tap, creating an easy way to verify a sneaker is in fact legit. Additionally, this app can measure your kicks or feet steps.
3. NFC Tags Reader Apps- NFC Scanner:
NFC Scanner features:
– It can show you the history of those tags that were scanned by you.
– Optional automatic scanning for quick tag reading.
– Allows multi-tag records.
– User interface optimized for one-hand use
– Can read all the tags embedded with NFC tags.
4. NFC Tags Reader Apps-Best Overall: Decode – NFC Scanner:
Decode subsumes industry-leading ease of use, scanning ability, and data security. Users can scan the NFC tags from both within the app and the quick launch menu. You can add it to your Home screen for fast tap and pay.
As opposed to other NFC apps, Decode launches scans within your native browser, which means you can control your history, cookies, and privacy settings.
This is important because other apps use such data as a charge for a “free” download service.
Decode is not only an NFC tag reader but also provides you the secure product authentication. With just one tap Decode-NFC Scanner can verify an NFC tag’s identity and authenticate a product.
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