UHF versus NFC in mobile phones: an interview with Sylvo Jäger from microsensys

The integration of UHF in cell phones is an exciting topic that is generating a lot of discussion. Sylvo Jäger delves into the world of this technology and shows us the fascinating advantages and challenges it brings. He also reveals why NFC is often clearly the better choice for consumers.

UHF RFID versus NFC in mobile phones

Technology Article | Interview

microsensys · January 24, 2025 · 5 min
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The discussion about integrating UHF RFID into smartphones is highly controversial. While NFC is well established and supports many everyday applications, UHF offers specific advantages, particularly in logistics. But what are the real benefits of UHF – especially for the end user?

Sylvo Jäger, CEO of microsensys and head of the NFC working group at AIM, provides his perspective on the opportunities, challenges and limitations of the technology.

Interview with Sylvo Jäger

1. How successful do you think UHF RFID will be in mobile phones?

Sylvo Jäger: My short statement about UHF in mobile phones: At the moment it is difficult to see the trend. I am rather skeptical about a widespread adoption, even though there are some players who are strongly promoting this topic.

I don’t see the big advantage of UHF in smartphones either, because NFC is already an established RFID technology in smartphones. UHF does have advantages, especially in bulk reading, which is a big value-add in logistics. But I don’t see this advantage for the end user.

The question is also: who are the real stakeholders in this development? I could imagine that retailers in particular could play a central role.

* Sylvo Jäger’s main responsibilities include managing the company’s operations, evaluating and developing the strategic direction based on the product and solution portfolio, and managing key customer, partner and supplier relationships.

Sylvo Jäger, microsensys

Sylvo Jäger has been appointed as the third managing director of Microsensys from October 2024. He will join the management team of Microsensys, together with the company founders Reinhard Jurisch and Peter Peitsch. The graduate computer scientist has been with Microsensys for over 20 years. *

2. What challenges do you see in integrating UHF into smartphones?

Sylvo Jäger: NFC is already widely deployed and fulfills many use cases, such as mobile payment or access control. In my opinion, UHF would have to offer significant advantages to replace this established technology. In addition, NFC has already been adopted by consumers and is perceived as secure and easy to use.

For retailers, there may be clear logistical advantages, so they may have an interest in using UHF for product tagging. I don’t see that as the case for the end user. Security is another issue. UHF has a longer range than NFC. This can bring with it risks such as unwanted data collection and potential security vulnerabilities.

3. What are the benefits of NFC technology for mobile phones?

Sylvo Jäger: The main advantage of NFC is the payment function, which is now used in about 95 percent of applications on the phone – mainly for contactless payment at payment terminals. In this case, the smartphone acts as a tag, while the reader in the terminal does the actual reading.

NFC also plays an important role in access control and ticketing. I also think that NFC will be used more and more in retail, where products can be scanned with a simple tap and the end user can receive benefits and information.

NFC tags are already often integrated into products as a technical feature to simplify setup activities, such as pairing the product with end devices via Bluetooth. What NFC was originally intended to do – increase convenience and simplify activities such as payment – has certainly been achieved in these areas.

Technologically, it is much easier to use a mobile phone as a tag. When we talk about the digital product passport, the mobile phone will be used more and more as a reader in the future. The RFID technologies NFC and UHF will compete with each other, and I believe that NFC is the better choice because it reads at close range, ensuring that the right object is identified.

At microsensys, we also see NFC in combination with battery-free sensor applications, with or without the involvement of mobile phones. At the moment, I only see UHF and sensor technology in very clearly defined applications. That is, you need a very predefined technical setup with a reader and a sensor object, which is the tag. So it is very difficult to integrate UHF into a consumer application.

4. Who benefits from UHF RFID in mobile networks? The consumer?

Sylvo Jäger: The advantages of UHF are primarily its range and bulk reading. If I look at the payment process, there are already solutions that cover this, such as the existing payment stations in retail stores. The reader is already integrated and the smartphone is usually used as a tag, just like a card. In my opinion, additional scanning with UHF by the consumer is not necessary here, since the payment process already works optimally.

However, UHF could be useful in certain scenarios, such as searching for an item in a pile, for example in a clothing store. This is where UHF comes into its own in terms of range and bulk reading. But I don’t see much added value for the consumer. Logistics processes usually take place without a smartphone and without the direct involvement of the consumer. For privacy reasons, for example, UHF is deactivated when you leave the store.

From the consumer’s point of view, it would be problematic if they walked around town with UHF-tagged products and someone could scan all their purchases unnoticed. This is a big challenge for privacy reasons. NFC, on the other hand, offers a clear advantage: as a near-field technology, it provides more security and gives consumers control over access to their data.

“Ultimately, I see limited use for UHF in smartphones. While there are clearly defined applications in logistics, NFC is proving to be a more practical solution for consumers in their daily lives – particularly in the areas of payment, ticketing and access management. These technologies offer tangible value to the end user, while UHF’s strengths lie primarily in logistics processes.”
Sylvo Jäger, microsensys

Sylvo Jäger – CEO, microsensys

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