NFC Forum, the global standards body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has announced NFC Release 15, supporting the latest advancements in NFC Forum-certified technologies.
NFC Release 15 will extend the range of certified compliant NFC contactless connections up to 2cm – 4x greater than the current range of 0.5cm, supporting faster, more reliable contactless interactions across a growing number of use cases such as wireless charging, kitchen appliances, wearables, and digital keys.
Led by its Board members, including representatives from Apple, Google, Huawei, Identiv, Infineon, NXP, Sony, and STMicroelectronics, NFC Forum empowers organisations to deliver seamless, secure contactless interactions to users around the globe, with conformance to the Forum’s specifications helping to ensure intuitive, reliable and consistent experiences.
NFC Release 15 will extend the range – also known as the operating volume – of NFC contactless interactions. This innovation means that connections will start sooner and require less precise device alignment, making NFC quicker, more reliable and easier to use than ever. Contactless connections will be more seamless, while retaining the critical need for user intent.
“Extending the range of NFC contactless connections was one of the key priorities outlined in the NFC Forum Five-Year Roadmap, to meet changing market needs and deliver faster, easier transactions across all NFC enabled devices – including smaller form factors such as wearables or smartphones,” comments Mike McCamon, Executive Director of NFC Forum. “Many markets are set to benefit from extended range, with consumers set to gain the most through an enhanced user experience. Redefining the baseline for contactless connections, NFC Release 15 is also expected to advance new and exciting use cases, such as using your mobile phone as a payment terminal, as well as optimize NFC usability across a variety of sectors, including automotive, transit and access control.”
NFC Release 15 also marks the latest step in NFC Forum’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, as one of its other core focuses is support for the NFC Digital Product Passport Standard. The standard gives brand and product teams a flexible, data agnostic framework to allow a single NFC tag embedded in a product to store and transmit both standard and extended DPP data using common NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) records. NFC Release 15 will therefore help to ensure reliability, interoperability, and compatibility across all NFC devices used for the DPP, throughout a product’s entire lifecycle.
“NFC technology makes our lives more convenient, secure and connected every single day. NFC Release 15 will continue to extend contactless simplicity into an ever-expanding list of use cases – including sustainability – and redefine the baseline for performance standards,” continues McCamon. “NFC Forum is committed to helping organizations deliver secure, reliable and convenient proximity-based connections, driven by user intent. Through NFC Release 15, we are proud to enable these NFC interactions as the technology, its applications and ability to drive a more connected, sustainable future show no signs of slowing.”
NFC Forum Associate, Principal, and Sponsor-level member companies can download the Technical Specifications included in NFC Release 15 today. Adopter-level members and the public can access and begin certifying compliance to NFC Release 15 from Fall 2025.
To learn more about NFC Release 15 and how it will enable extended range, the circular economy and expansion of use cases, register to attend an upcoming webinar on Wednesday 9th July.
