Upgraded NFC could bring 8x faster speeds to future Galaxy devices

The NFC Forum, which oversees the development and standardization of near field communication (NFC) technology, has revealed its roadmap for 2026. It announced that NFC, which is widely used in smartphones and wearable devices, will receive a major speed upgrade this year.

The new roadmap outlines six development priorities for the next version of NFC. It is expected to deliver data transfer speeds up to eight times faster than the current version. This improvement will allow devices to perform multiple actions with a single tap. For example, one tap could enable a payment, apply a membership discount, and provide a digital receipt.

The upcoming version of NFC will also improve reader mode interoperability. New end-to-end interoperability testing is intended to ensure that applications perform reliably across all certified devices, significantly reducing failed taps. In addition, the NFC Forum plans to publish an NFC Controller Security Profile for the first time to address potential post-quantum computing threats and strengthen overall security.

The NFC Forum revealed plans to begin work on next-generation wireless charging powered by NFC. It is expected to deliver between 1 watt and 3 watts of power, which could be used to wirelessly charge small devices such as earbuds and smartwatches.

Digital keys powered by NFC will receive further upgrades as well. NFC will be integrated with technologies such as Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband (UWB) to enable new digital key experiences and support a broader range of industry requirements.

Samsung, which is a part of the working group and task force leadership at the NFC Forum, could adopt the new version of NFC in future Galaxy smartphones and smartwatches.