My first smartphone will always be special to me, though its performance was nowhere near that of today’s Android phones. That’s no surprise because we’re talking about a gap of more than a decade.
But I still miss those days. Even though phones from that time offered way fewer features than today’s models, I used to spend hours trying to find hidden features.
I don’t have the same level of enthusiasm now, despite modern Android phones offering so much more.
I don’t regret it, as smartphones have become boring. However, the lack of enthusiasm led me to forget about important components that are useful in daily life.
A few days ago, I realized that I had long been ignoring hidden hardware. I started using it again, and it’s now part of my daily life.
I stopped ignoring NFC, and now I use it every day.
I dropped these 5 habits — and Samsung Wallet instantly got better
A better experience without any new features
My Galaxy phone makes the most of NFC
Cameras on smartphones have long become the standard. It was bound to happen because of the popular user demand.
NFC also existed in smartphones for a very long time, but despite the convenience it offers, it hasn’t become ubiquitous, unlike the camera lens.
Most of the low-cost phones don’t have the hardware. The handsets that do offer NFC often lack the adequate software infrastructure to make the best use of the hardware.
My Samsung Galaxy phone isn’t that. The Galaxy Wallet is a system app and is capable of making contactless payments using NFC in the blink of an eye.
I was well aware of it, but I was more into doing UPI (United Payment Interface) transactions in India through the Samsung Wallet app than using my credit card for contactless payment.
This has changed recently. I can use the Samsung Wallet app on my S21 and make contactless payments without unlocking my phone. If you don’t feel safe or don’t want to use it, you can disable it from the app settings.
That’s called true flexibility. NFC without a proper payment application is as useless as a key with no lock.
Google Wallet works on all Android phones, but it isn’t as capable or as simple as the Samsung Wallet.
No matter what app I use, an NFC chip ensures that I don’t need to carry those physical credit cards with me. I have added all of them to the Samsung Wallet app.
I didn’t start using NFC for the sole purpose of making contactless payments through the Samsung Wallet app.
It was one of the reasons, but the real motivation came after I learned about NFC tags and their use in automation. More than anything else, the most impressive part about NFC tags is that they are cheap and easy to use.
I don’t make contactless payments every day, but I use my phone’s NFC to trigger certain actions through those NFC tags. Not only does it serve me, but I have also made sure my guests can take advantage of the NFC in their handsets.
I stuck one NFC tag on my bedside table to trigger Do Not Disturb, Night light, and set an alarm for 7 AM. All I have to do is take my phone close to the NFC tag, and these actions trigger automatically.
I also stuck one on my desk to silence notifications, turn on Wi-Fi, and open apps I need for work. You can also use one in a car setup to automate tasks.
I also have an NFC tag where I have stored my Wi-Fi password. I don’t need it, but my guests might need to connect.
If they ever need to connect to my Wi-Fi, they don’t need to ask me for the password. Instead, they can easily take their NFC-enabled phone closer to the tag to connect to my Wi-Fi network.
Since these tags are cheap, anyone can afford them. However, I’ll admit that setting everything up can take some time, depending on how many tasks you want to automate and how many tags you have.
It didn’t take much time in my case because I have only three NFC tags — one on my bedside table, another on my desk, and the last one is for quickly taking my guests online.
I regret not using NFC this frequently sooner
Contactless payments are convenient, but when you have other smart payment options, they may not feel that essential.
Another caveat is that not everyone has credit cards. I can live without NFC payments even after enjoying contactless payments this much.
However, the kind of impact the NFC tags have on my daily life makes it hard to imagine life without them.
I have a good reason to check for NFC support when I buy a low-cost phone in the future.
I wish I had cared about NFC sooner because it would have made things easier much earlier.
