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NFC laptop explainer: What is NFC on laptops for?
Near Field Communication on laptops explained
Updated: Oct 25, 2023 2:21 pm
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NFC laptop tech has existed for a short while now but it’s still quite a rare sight. We are, gradually, seeing the technology adopted by more and more people though within different products, so it’s likely to become a more prevalent part of our every day lives, including in the world of laptops.
Read below for everything you need to know about laptop NFC tech, and also have a look at our best laptop under $1,000 guide if you’re in the market to pick up one of these new machines, or check out our Black Friday laptop deals page for some great offers this November.
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What is NFC?
The short answer: NFC tech is the same thing that lets you make contactless payments with your debit/credit card or phone.
Going slightly more in-depth: Near Field Communication (NFC) is a method of data transference that uses magnetic induction to transmit over very short distances – no more than around 4-inches but often shorter, sometimes with the two devices at either end of the communication having to touch. It involves the ‘reading’ device transmitting radio waves which themselves power the thing they are reading (the NFC ‘tag’) when in close enough proximity, charging the tag and transferring the data across to the reader.
There are a multitude of uses of NFCs that basically all maximise convenience by enabling data transfer with one simple movement, and these commonly involve the use of your smartphone to say swipe against a person’s business card and automatically load their contact info, or swipe against a pre-programmed tag by your bed stand to load up a particular bedtime playlist on your connected sound system.
Do any laptops have NFC?
There have been a few rare laptops over the last couple of years that incorporated NFC tech, like the Dell Latitude 5580, though primarily it’s been limited to tablet devices and 2-in-1 laptops like the Huawei MateBook 13. Recently however MSI announced that their upcoming Commercial 14 business laptop would have at least an NFC reader included – though we’re not sure if this will also function as a NFC writer.
What is the point of NFC on a laptop?
An NFC reader on a laptop would essentially allow you to do the same stuff as you would with a phone using NFC technology, though would obviously be a lot more inconvenient when it comes to say paying for something in a shop by whipping out your laptop.
It would however allow you to potentially pay with your card when web browsing by tapping it to your laptop. Also you could instantaneously transfer data from a pre-programmed NFC tag that someone may have given you – allowing for quick image file transfer / contact details transfer / a link to a web page or something similar.
An NFC writer on a laptop would however give a lot more functionality – allowing you to program your own NFC tags to use how you like (e.g. setting up a business card or token which could take people to your Linktree/Instagram/LinkedIn account, or ones that you could place around your home to instantaneously set your smart devices to how you’d like them with a swipe of your phone).
NFC on laptop devices: Final Word
You should now be fully up to speed regarding NFC laptop technology. Do also take a gander at our other laptop and gaming laptop pieces whilst you’re here, including our best laptop for students and best laptop for working from home, to make sure you’re fully up to date.
