How will adding RAIN RFID to mobile phones impact the market ?

In August 2024, Qualcomm made an announcement with the RAIN Alliance regarding plans to embed UHF reading technology into mobile smartphones. While initially aimed at enterprise devices for supply chain management, this would eventually enable consumers interact with RFID-enabled products and clothing. This would mark a significant step in wireless technology - promising to bridge the gap between supply chain applications and everyday consumer experiences.

At the time, Qualcomm stated that RAIN RFID is being added to mobile devices quickly. They expect business-focused launches soon, according to the RAIN Alliance. "Consumer devices are next in line, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc is at the heart of this ecosystem, driving the innovation forward."

Things have moved quickly. Now, Zebra have launched their first RFID enterprise mobile phone, the EM45. Running on the Android operating system, the EM45 allows, according to Zebra, 'Built-in RFID provides precise reads that let you check and find inventory, complete tasks, and access critical information in seconds without juggling multiple devices.'

Let's explore what this might mean to the NFC market and what it means to the industry in general.

What is RAIN RFID?

RAIN RFID, based on Ultra High Frequency (UHF) technology, enables tag reading at distances of many metres, with the ability to read multiple tags simultaneously. RAIN RFID tags are typically much simpler and lack built-in security features, making them cheaper for high-volume applications like logistics, inventory tracking and recycling.

RAIN RFID currently requires specialised scanners to read tags and as such, the technology has been used in stock control, supply chain and similar applications. However, with initiatives like the EU’s digital product passport (DPP) regulation set for 2027, which mandates unique machine-readable identifiers for every product, the opportunity to bring RAIN RFID into consumer-facing scenarios is growing.

How RFID scan distances compare to NFC

RFID is a medium to long range technology where NFC is a short range communication tech. But while NFC cannot ever have long range scan distances, RFID can be short range. While the ISO15693 variants of NFC tags can, in theory, scan from up to a metre away, in reality NFC is a sub 10cm technology. In most cases, this is a strength as it ensures that the reader and tag (or terminal) need to be in close proximity.

However, the fact that NFC cannot be scanned from distance means that it's not usually a suitable technology for stock management, supply chain or store checkout systems. In contrast, NFC is an ideal technology for payment systems, transport systems, product authentication or identification, proof of presence and countless other applications. 

Why RFID hasn't been included in mobile phones

There's a number of reasons for this but it could probably be summarised into the simple point that there's been no market need for it. NFC was added to Android phones for many years before Apple decided to include the technology. The reason for this is generally considered that Apple didn't see a way to monetise NFC but that might be taking it too far. It's likely that Apple just didn't see the benefit of adding NFC until NFC became the standard for payments. 

In much the same way, there's no market reason to add UHF RFID scanning into mobile phones. There's been no consumer benefit - until now. 

There's also challenges with the technology in terms of antenna design, costs and possibly even consumer safety. Higher powered UHF readers often carry health warnings for constant, close range use. The readers that would be installed in phones will be substantially lower power and will be required to present no risk by the regulators. However, phone manufacturers - particularly in this social media age - have to consider the perception of risk as much as the reality.  

Because of the constraints on antenna design and power, mobile based UHF readers are likely to have a very limited - probably Near Field - read range on UHF tags. So the use case is going to different that the industrial warehouse readers and will be much the same as NFC. Therefore, there needs to be solid business case for doing this. 

The business case for RFID

It's simple. A single contactless tag can be added to any product and can then be used throughout the entire supply chain from factory to warehouse to consumer to recycle center. 

One tag throughout the whole supply chain, from factory to recycle center

You can do this at the moment with two tags - one for NFC and one for UHF. But it's a logistical hassle and expensive. You can do this at the moment with dual frequency tags but again, it's expensive and you are still working with two technologies (and two antennas). 

By using RFID throughout the supply chain, you simplify the logistics and allow the consumer to interact at the same time. 

What happens next ? 

Following Zebra's release of the EM45, we can expect to see UHF RFID being added to many more industrial mobile phones. These are the type of devices used by courier companies for tracking and logistics. In essence, they aren't much different than consumer mobiles but the price point can handle the costs of including the additional technology. 

So let's look at the consumer timeline. 

We will start by saying that, in our opinion, eventually the technology will be added to consumer mobile phones if - and possibly only if - the Digital Product Passport (DPP) concept becomes mainstream (or happens at all). Companies, such as Decathlon, that are adding RFID UHF throughout their products will talk of the logistical benefits and overall cost savings so it could be argued that it's not reliant on DPP but Decathlon started using RAIN RFID over 15 years ago and it's not exactly been a mad rush for all other clothing companies to follow. So will the consumer interaction element be the factor that makes the difference ? 

Possibly. But it's chicken and the egg. Let's say that Apple and Android phones added UHF in 2026 or 2027. The upgrade cycle for consumer mobile phones is getting longer and longer. It's difficult to estimate at what point you get enough market availability for mobile UHF to tip the balance but it could easily be 5-7 years. Which means brands aren't going to get the benefit from consumer readable UHF tags until well into the 2030's. 

NFC didn't have this issue. NFC payments were possible using cards so the terminals and systems were in place while the market penetration on mobiles grew. The logic isn't quite the same for RAIN RFID in products. 

UHF Authentication 

Seritag have seen a constant and substantial increase in brands and companies starting to use NFC in product authentication - from goods to consumables. The latest chips, such as NXP's NTAG424 are cheap enough, powerful enough and work extremely well with phones and industrial readers. In fact, Seritag have long stated that authentication is one of the primary reasons for using NFC against other technologies such as QR codes. 

The natural progression here is that consumer readable UHF tags would likely need the same level of authentication and security. The extent to whether this is possible in the same way given the power required is going to make this a technical challenge. 

Will RAIN UHF replace NFC for consumer interaction applications ?

Not any time soon.

Even in the long term, we can't see that UHF will displace NFC as a mobile based interaction technology unless NFC is replaced as the default contactless payment technology. However, should UHF be added to consumer mobile devices, we can certainly see product and clothing manufacturers being more likely to include UHF tags, perhaps instead of NFC. This will likely be accelerated if the DPP concept is widely adopted (or enforced). 

Right now, NFC is typically integrated into clothing and consumer goods for user experience, not for asset management or supply chain purposes. Therefore, while brands might consider using RAIN UHF tags for other reasons, considering UHF for a consumer experience is something that will take many years. 

Additionally, in the authentication and anti-counterfeit space  - a market where Seritag and ixkio undertake a very large number of projects - we can't see that UHF will replace NFC for many years, possibly even a decade. 

Seritag's position on RAIN UHF

At the time of writing, Seritag don't supply RAIN RFID tags. We have always focused on projects and tags that are for consumer mobile device use cases and we were one of - if not the first - supplier of NFC tags to make authentication NFC tags easy to use and accessible. 

We are monitoring this space closely and will start testing with the new industrial devices soon.  

To be clear, we think it's a fantastic development and we would supply and support UHF tags tomorrow if we thought it would benefit our customer base. Right now, our position is to monitor and advise. 

Will ixkio support RAIN UHF

Yes, in the same way that ixkio also supports QR codes.

We already work very closely with most of our ixkio NFC management customers and any development with consumer led RAIN UHF will be supported alongside NFC within the platform. We've already developed and tested using UHF on an industrial level within ixkio but it's not the core of the product and we've no immediate plans to add features at this stage.