That New Square-like Box in Your Notification Bar is the NFC Icon

NFC chips are pretty standard these days in smartphones, unless you own a device that begins with a lowercase “i.” As far as we are concerned, NFC is the future of sharing and mobile payments, two things we care deeply about as mobile enthusiasts. For the most part, phones come with NFC disabled until you head into Settings>Wireless & networks and check the box to enable it. This is probably the proper move while the world gets used to the thought of tapping to share information, especially since once enabled, there isn’t a way for you to tell if it remains active or not, unless you head back into settings. Well, until now. 

On at least two phones that I have used over the past couple of months, a new square-like boxy icon has appeared in the notification bar once I enable NFC. On both the LG Optimus G (2:55 mark of this video) and the HTC DROID DNA, this icon has appeared. It makes some sense that a new icon would constantly show that NFC is enabled, similarly to what we see with a data/WiFi connection, airplane mode, or pending alarm.

The interesting thing here, is the fact that the icon was identical on phones from two different manufacturers (LG and HTC). We aren’t sure if this is the new standard NFC icon handed down by some stuffy NFC governing body (Update:  appears to be the official logo), if OEMs are mysteriously trying to work together, or if the carriers are involved. No matter what, it appears to be here for good and we wanted to make sure you were aware of it.

I do wish it was a bit smaller, though.