The NFC Forum, a global standards and advocacy association for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has announced that its Board of Directors approved and adopted the Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) 2.0.

The WLC 2.0 makes it easier and more convenient to charge low-power devices such as wireless earbuds, smart watches, digital stylus pens, headsets, fitness trackers and other consumer products using smartphones and other NFC-enabled devices at a power transfer rate of up to 1 Watt. It allows for wireless charging by enabling a single antenna in an NFC-enabled device to manage both communications and charging. The WLC 1.0 was released last year.

What’s new with WLC 2.0 is that it supports even smaller antenna sizes expanding the range of small, battery-powered consumer and IoT devices that can be wirelessly charged using smartphones and other NFC-enabled devices. This is transformative for device manufacturers and solution providers because it allows for the design of smaller, lighter and more affordable wireless products. In addition, the NFC Forum estimates that the majority of mobile phones are interoperable with the extra small antennas covered in WLC 2.0.

“Over 60 million wireless earbuds were sold Q1 2021 worldwide. These and many other consumer products operate on rechargeable batteries and the NFC Forum’s Wireless Charging Technical Specification 2.0 is an easy, convenient method to keep everything charged. This specification will also further improve the user experience for the two billion consumers and businesses using smartphones and other connected products,” said Mike McCamon, Executive Director, NFC Forum. “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.”

Click here to learn more about the Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) 2.0.

Click here to learn more about the NFC Forum.