Normally when you think of NFC, you think of mobile payments. Thanks to a specification that was approved this week, though, NFC might also make you think of wireless charging.
The NFC Forum revealed this week that it has approved and adopted the Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) that makes it possible to charge small devices over NFC (via 9to5Google). This specification is meant to enable you to charge small devices — think wireless earbuds or a smartwatch — using your smartphone or other NFC charging device.
Plus, the WLC enables a single antenna in an NFC-enabled device to manage both communications and charging.
One important thing to keep in mind is that with this NFC wireless charging spec, your power transfer rate will top out at 1W. So it's not going to be super-fast wireless charging, which is probably why the NFC Forum intends for it to be used for smaller devices.
It's also worth noting that the NFC Forum is just now adopting this wireless charging specification, and so it'll take some for it to begin appearing in new products.
Most devices charge using Qi technology, and because this NFC wireless charging only goes up to 1W speeds, it's unlikely that NFC is going to overtake Qi for wireless charging. Having another option for wireless charging in small devices will still be good for companies that make them, though, helping them to keep costs down since one NFC antenna can handle communications and charging. It's also kind of neat to see NFC gaining wireless charging capabilities after years of being known for things like mobile payments.
