NFC and Windows Phone
NFC and Windows Phone
The operating system of Windows Phones didn’t support NFC functionalities for quite a long time. However, the introduction of Windows Phone 8 came along with good news for Windows Phone users, because their phones finally supported NFC functionalities. The NFC special edition of Nokia Lumia 610 was NFC-enabled even before the introduction of Windows Phone 8.
Lumia 610 NFC – The first NFC-enabled Windows Phone
As NFC pioneer, Nokia always pushed the spread of the NFC technology forward. Nokia proved once again as NFC pioneer in April 2012 when a special edition of the Nokia entry-level model Lumia 610 was announced. Though the operating system of Lumia 610 wasn’t updated to Windows Phone 8, yet, it supported NFC functionalities.
Windows Phone 8 – NFC on Board
In 2012 Windows Phone 8 finally replaced the previous version of the operating system. The new version came along with full NFC integration and all new appearing Windows Phones were NFC-enabled. Additionally, Windows Phone 8 had a Wallet feature for contactless payments. Thus, Microsoft tried to compete with Google’s wallet app. Furthermore, Microsoft incorporated the app Tab+Send which is similar to Android Beam.
Tab+Send
Since Windows Phone 8, Microsoft also offers a possibility to share content between devices via NFC. To transfer data devices simply must be hold together. This concept is also part of the Android operating system as Android Beam.
The Wallet
Windows Phone 8 also offered users the possibility to pay via NFC in a simple way. Payment information like credit card data are stored on the smartphone and transmitted to a POS terminal via NFC. By using a wallet app, it becomes unnecessary to take an actual wallet with you, because you can pay with nothing more than your smartphone.
Windows 10 mobile
With the release of Windows 10, the smartphone variant has also been updated and renamed "Windows 10 mobile". With this release, the desktop operating system and the mobile variant move closer together; in fact, both variants are now based on the same operating system core. This also means that both the desktop version of Windows and the mobile variant can handle NFC natively.
Windows 10 mobile today
Since Microsoft entered the smartphone market quite late, the variety of available apps was much smaller than in the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. In 2016 it was therefore announced that Windows Phones will be discontinued. Since 2017, Microsoft has finally stopped the functional development of the Windows Mobile Phone 10 and in January 2020 the last security support was also discontinued, so that Microsoft itself indicates the switch to an Android or Apple Smartphone. Occasionally, rumors for a possible Windows Phone appear, especially in connection with the seamless connection to Android. It remains to be seen whether such rumors will come true in the future.
Further information
First published: 16.02.2017 / Updated: 30.04.2020 2017-02-16 2020-04-30