iOS 13 and MIFARE power innovative Smart City use cases

In recent weeks, with all the press coverage about iOS 13, you may have heard how the new operating system impacts Near Field Communication (NFC), the contactless technology used for Apple Pay and other “tap and go” use cases. With the recent upgrade of Apple’s Core NFC framework and the release of iOS 13, it is possible to use an iPhone (iPhone models 7 and up) to read NFC tags and also write directly to tags and interact with them, so users can now enjoy the benefits NFC has to offer.

What you may not have heard is that iOS 13 has a similarly positive impact on contactless MIFARE product-based use cases, since MIFARE ICs are fully NFC-compliant. With iOS 13, iPhone users can take advantage of everything MIFARE has to offer.

What’s in for MIFARE with iOS 13?
With the arrival of iOS 13 and its support for MIFARE products, it’s now possible to develop apps for iOS 13 that use the full feature set of MIFARE DESFire, MIFARE Plus, and MIFARE Ultralight products. As a result, service providers can introduce a wide range of new features, such as smart cards that use the iPhone display to show remaining balance of a transit ticket, let a hotel guest personalize their room key, or use a mobile ticket vending machine.

Also, because NXP’s MIFARE DESFire and MIFARE Ultralight products can hold NDEF-formatted content (the same format used by NFC Forum Tag Type specifications), developers can deliver other capabilities, too, such as enabling automatic mobile interactions without having to launch an app. For example, the NDEF-formatted content in a smart card or ticket based on MIFARE DESFire or MIFARE Ultralight can use the iPhone to redirect the browser to a specific URL with background reading, to read a business card, or to point to content in the App Store – and to read and write other NDEF-formatted content using an app.

MIFARE, iOS 13, and Smart Cities: A natural fit
With MIFARE and iOS 13, smart cards can connect to a service provider’s online portal and give consumers a user experience that’s enhanced with secure and dynamic interaction. With a transport application, for example, iPhone users have the ability to interact with the in-place payment infrastructure, so travelers can display content, store value, or even top up their fare amount – without having to wait for infrastructure upgrades.

Consumers can now take advantage of engaging, interactive Smart City use cases. Here are just a few examples:

• Ticket machine in the palm of your hand
  Having to wait in line to use a vending machine to get a new ticket or reload an existing one can be a hassle, especially during rush hour. Add to that the pain of having to navigate complex menu options while people in line behind you get impatient, and getting a ticket can be a pretty stressful experience. Now, with iOS 13, your iPhone becomes your ticket machine, so there’s no waiting in line or pressure to make choices quickly.
  
• A self-service hotel key in your pocket
  Staying in a hotel has never been more convenient. Now you can book your hotel room online and, at the same time, update your membership points and configure a room key on your iPhone. The secure channel running from the cloud to the iPhone makes it safe to deliver mobile keys without compromising privacy. All you have to do is show up, find your room, and unlock the door.
• A smarter, more interactive way to pay and earn rewards
  By connecting a payment or loyalty card to the iPhone and additional services in the cloud, everyday transactions become more interactive and rewarding. The providers of loyalty programs can create enticing digital offers for their clients, and consumers can tap their iPhone to the reader at their favorite shop to earn points and view their reward balances right away using the mobile app.

One more on a long list of innovation
Now in its 25th year, MIFARE has become the heart of contactless infrastructures in more than 750 cities worldwide. We’ve continued to focus on Smart City uses cases and continue to break new ground with, most recently, our new MIFARE DESFire Light IC for fast deployment of services, and our MIFARE 2GO and MIFARE AppXplorer cloud platforms. These platforms enable easy integration of mobile services, and facilitate collaboration with third parties in Smart Cities. And now, with the arrival of iOS 13, developers and consumers can benefit from everything MIFARE product innovations have to offer.

It makes sense that, as the inventor of MIFARE and the co-inventor of NFC technology, NXP offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of NFC contactless solutions, including tag, label, and card ICs. We also support our customers and partners with tools that help facilitate the creation of new solutions, like those that take advantage of the newly released capabilities of iOS 13.

To learn more, browse through our iOS 13 landing page for further details or watch our latest webinar recording.