Android 15 could reportedly allow users to charge devices via Near Field Communication (NFC), introducing an easier method to wirelessly charge devices that don’t have a built-in wireless charging solution. This could support NFC wireless charging (WLC), a specification added in 2020 to allow charging between two devices placed at a maximum distance of 2 cm through an antenna smaller than 1 cm. For now, no mobile platform supports this technology, but that could change with the launch of Android 15.

According to a report by Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority, who found the new development inside the Android 15 Beta 1 that was unveiled earlier in April, the new version of the operating system has significant upgrades in NFC support. A new class is said to be added to Android 15 called NfcCharging which hints at support for NFC wireless charging. Spotted within the code strings in the new update, the NFC class mentions “version 1.0.0” indicating that this is the first iteration of the feature being added to the OS.

Poking around in the codes, Rahman also found references to features like starting and stopping NFC charging, reading charging payload data sent via NFC, and more. Android 15 is believed to support WLC 2.0, which was introduced in 2021 and allows for a smaller antenna size.

Interestingly, the technology has been available for embedding for four years, but Google didn’t decide to integrate it earlier. However, if the report is to be believed, the addition of this technology can make life easier for users. Although the charging power via NFC will be quite low (up to 1W, according to the NFC forum), this could be a convenient option for charging smaller devices in situations where a charging socket is not available.

Currently, most mid-range accessories like headphones, styluses, and trackers don’t have any wireless charging solution, but some support NFC, and including an NFC antenna could be easier in terms of size and cost-effectiveness. However, it’s early days and whether the feature will be there at launch can only be determined at the Android 15 unveiling expected at the Google I/O event.