Up to last week, NFC tag was only read by Android system, but during the last opening keynote at the Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference event, Apple reveals that the iOS 11 system, which is set to arrive in the fall of 2017 will have features allowing the iPhone to read any NFC tag, for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and Apple Watch.
This spring GCL Technologies, the Technological Research Center of Guala Closures Group, in partnership with NXP Semiconductors have presented the industry’s first fully integrated NFC tamper evident closure solution dedicated to the wine and spirits industry. The new solution is part of Guala Closures’ Internet-of-Closures (IoC) smart family products which feature Near Field Communication-based (NFC) to protect brands and enable advanced anti-counterfeiting and track and trace within the supply chain, in the meantime a fantastic opportunity for consumer engagement : brand owners can have direct engagement with consumers – with a simple tap, consumers can learn more about the beverage in question, such as its provenance, a cocktail recipe or reviews, and after opening can extend the dialogue to access exclusive VIP offers, loyalty rewards and more.
The demand for smart, IoT connected consumer products increases dynamically. By 2026, at least 5.5 billion wine and spirit closures are said to be enabled to interact automatically via the internet. The access to the iOS platform to NFC reading offer in a near future a much wider customer base for connected closures.