Open
Bug 1308614
Opened 9 years ago
Updated 4 months ago
Web NFC support
Categories
(Core :: DOM: Device Interfaces, enhancement, P3)
Core
DOM: Device Interfaces
Tracking
()
UNCONFIRMED
People
(Reporter: b.lobor, Unassigned)
References
()
Details
(Keywords: dev-doc-needed)
This feature gives developers the ability to access Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality of a device, such as reading and writing NFC tags as well as exchanging data between NFC capable devices.
Editor's draft
https://w3c.github.io/web-nfc/
Updated•9 years ago
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Component: General → Untriaged
Product: Firefox → Core
Comment 1•9 years ago
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Recently I wrote about QR as bootstrap for NFC: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/qr-code-bringing-new-nfcble-payments-up-speed-anders-rundgren
Unfortunately, QR may very well turn out to rather be the blocker for ubiquitous support of NFC in PCs.
How come? Oh, that's was an easy one; there are currently no compelling applications and there are as far as I can see no such on the horizon either. In addition, the giant payment providers in China already have more than 500 million users of QR-based payment systems and are now (fueled by 100 million international tourists), taking this to the West! Money matters :-)
What would be a compelling application? Well, using phones as "tokens" for payments and authentication is close to a de-facto standard but using OOB-solutions like inputting phone numbers or scanning QR-codes are far from optimal, disregarding the fact that such schemes are open to trivial "phishing" attacks.
Is there a way forward? Of course, people that are concerned about NFC, Payments, and Authentication could for example "ping" the vendors! I have personally already done that but representing a minor entity doesn't really have the right effect :-(
Comment 2•9 years ago
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The respective advantages of NFC over Bluetooth and QR Codes is that NFC is both one-to-one and always-on.
How do QR code-based payment and URL-transfer methods allow for convenient activation of a QR-enabled camera app?
The main thing currently holding NFC back for transfer of and navigation to URLs is that NFC chips in iPhones are reserved for Apple Pay. Hopefully Apple will soon include a second NFC sensor, accessible by WebNFC running in third party browsers.
Comment 3•9 years ago
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(In reply to Mark James from comment #2)
> The respective advantages of NFC over Bluetooth and QR Codes is that NFC is
> both one-to-one and always-on.
Right. QR suffers from a phishing problem as well.
> How do QR code-based payment and URL-transfer methods allow for convenient
> activation of a QR-enabled camera app?
As far as I know you must manually activate such applications.
> The main thing currently holding NFC back for transfer of and navigation to
> URLs is that NFC chips in iPhones are reserved for Apple Pay. Hopefully
> Apple will soon include a second NFC sensor, accessible by WebNFC running in
> third party browsers.
I don't see much point in using WebNFC in a mobile device although it should of course be supported.
The use-case I'm thinking about above is using (an enhanced) WebNFC in a PC which (through the user) activates an "App" in the mobile device. Apple should have no (actual) issues with such a use of the embedded NFC since these schemes would (in my take at least) be entirely different to contact-less EMV.
Comment 4•9 years ago
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I have a mobile WebNFC use case where I want a phone/tablet running a web app to push a URL, which when tapped against another phone/tablet will cause the receiving device to launch a web browser (or just open a new browser window) and navigate to that URL.
While this will work with two Android devices if WebNFC is supported on the transmitting device browser, I don't think iOS supports reception of URLs by NFC, including when the Pay app is active; and iOS certainly doesn't currently allow the transmitting browser access to the NFC device.
Comment 5•9 years ago
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(In reply to Mark James from comment #4)
> I have a mobile WebNFC use case where I want a phone/tablet running a web
> app to push a URL, which when tapped against another phone/tablet will cause
> the receiving device to launch a web browser (or just open a new browser
> window) and navigate to that URL.
That appears to be in scope for the current WebNFC effort.
> While this will work with two Android devices if WebNFC is supported on the
> transmitting device browser, I don't think iOS supports reception of URLs by
> NFC, including when the Pay app is active; and iOS certainly doesn't
> currently allow the transmitting browser access to the NFC device.
That's unfortunately entirely up to Apple to decide. Little is likely to happen until WebNFC has gotten more traction. With Android's 86% market-share it is really a Google game on the mobile side. Microsoft have a similar position on PCs.
However, if NFC dies in PCs, I doubt that we will see much WebNFC at all.
Updated•9 years ago
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Keywords: dev-doc-needed
Updated•9 years ago
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Severity: normal → enhancement
Comment 6•9 years ago
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Assign a possible related component. Maybe someone with more experience regarding WebNFC/WebAPI could provide some feedback for this matter.
Component: Untriaged → DOM
Updated•9 years ago
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Component: DOM → DOM: Device Interfaces
Comment 7•9 years ago
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I'm surprised we didn't already have a bug on file for this!
Priority: -- → P3
See Also: → b2g-nfc
Updated•3 years ago
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Severity: normal → S3
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Description
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