iOS 11 Release Date Features: NFC Chip Will Be Used For More Than Just Apple Pay

With the upcoming iOS 11 update, the NFC (Near Field Communication) chip in your iPhone could tell you the ingredients and other information about a product when you’re shopping, according to a MacRumors report.

Apple announced at WWDC 2017 its Core NFC, which allows apps to detect NFC tags. Apple said it was opening its NFC chip to developers, which means it will expand the technology’s capabilities that is currently used only for Apple Pay.

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How The iPhone’s Core NFC Will Work

Like Apple Pay, users will see a “Read to Scan” box when holding their iPhone near an object with an NFC tag. When the product is detected, the screen displays a checkmark, like when an Apple Pay transaction is approved. The iPhone’s Core NFC then shows users information about the product they just scanned. For example, if a user is grocery shopping, he or she will be able to get nutritional information, price history, recipe ideas or other information when scanning an item. If the user is at a museum, detailed information about an exhibit will be displayed.

WISEKey, a cybersecurity IoT company, announced Friday its CapSeal NFC smart tag will support iPhones. The tags are used for authentication, tracking, and anti-counterfeiting on items. The CapSeal smart tags will be able to link iOS 11 iPhones and Android smartphones with objects such as luxury goods, wearables, wine & spirits bottles, or cosmetics and perfume boxes.

For example, if the user scans a bottle

“WISeKey has long been recognized as a leader in providing luxury and other good makers with reliable means to protect their brands against counterfeiting,” said WISEKey CEO Carlos Moreira. “With the additional support of Apple iPhones by our chips and WISeAuthentic platform, we have the opportunity to provide our clients with a powerful way to directly reach each of their consumers.”

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WISEKey explained how the process would work using the Core NFC chip:

“When placed on a bottle of spirit or a bottle of lubricant oil, for instance, and tapped by an NFC phone, the chip is able to securely authenticate and track the bottle like an ePassport does. It offers the same certified security level. It also allows the brand to broadcast personalized messages to the phone-holder detecting whether the bottle has been open or not.”

iOS 11 Features

iOS 11 will come with other interesting features, including a boost in Siri. The Maps app on iOS 11 will allow users to see see floor plans, let you browse floors, view directories and search when shopping at select malls. Users will also be able to make person-to-person payments with Apple Pay through iMessage using their Touch ID. iOS 11, which will be released this fall, will come with a Do Not Disturb While Driving feature and will save storage by compressing video with high-efficiency video coding, offering up to two times better compression.