Four things we want to see at CES 2022

The CES (Consumer Technology Association) Trade Show is one of the most influential technology events and is making its return in January of 2022.

Like you, the NFC Forum is awaiting this event and looking forward to all the new products and solutions on display. Specifically, we hope to see four things at CES and they are:

• IoT devices, like airpods, being wirelessly charged using a smartphone.

• Universal Stylus Initiative-enabled active styluses using NFC wireless charging.

• The NFC Wayfinding mark in use on the show floor.

• Smartphones with NFC being used as digital car keys.

Why these four things?

Using your smartphone to wirelessly charge things like airpods is convenient — and just plain cool.

In October of this year, the NFC Forum released  Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) 2.0. WLC 2.0 will make it easier for consumers to charge low power devices like wireless earbuds, smart watches, digital stylus pens, headsets, fitness trackers and other smartphone consumer products with their smartphone.

According to NFC Forum Executive Director Mike McCamon, “It is part of a global trend toward the creation and proliferation of smaller, rechargeable devices and will allow the majority of smart phones and other NFC-enabled devices to communicate with and charge these products.”

Already in the works, one of the first IoT devices onboard with wireless charging will be the Universal Stylus Initiative-enabled active stylus. The stylus is a standard feature on Chromebooks and is sure to be featured in a number of trade show booths at CES.

NFC Wayfinding Mark and CES?

The NFC Forum just launched its new global identifier to increase interoperability and user experience through a new Wayfinding Mark System. Will we see it in use at CES? Probably!

NFC is centered upon user intent, meaning the user has to intentionally tap to enable the NFC device to work. The creation of the new Wayfinding Mark is to help consumers more easily use NFC technology. The NFC Forum has opened up its Wayfinding Trademark License Agreement, which allows companies to start using it right away.

Wayfinding Mark

Finally, in 2022, digital car keys are going to become even more popular and the role NFC plays in the solution is growing rapidly.

With NFC even when your phone is dead, you can still use it as a digital key to get into your car. You can’t do this today with any other technology. Industry analysts forecast that the automotive digital key market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.53% between 2019-2023 worldwide, making CES 2022 the perfect place for this NFC-enabled technology to be displayed.

Those are the four things we are going to be looking for at CES. What are you looking forward to seeing at CES? Let us know at rschade@virtualinc.com