iOS system requirements
ExpressCharge is an iPhone-only app that uses NFC to read your charge card and start sessions at participating chargers. Before you install, it’s worth understanding what the app needs from your device — and what it deliberately does not need — so you know whether it will run, what permissions it will ask for, and why.
The model
Section titled “The model”ExpressCharge is a single-platform, single-orientation, NFC-dependent app. Three properties of your iPhone determine whether the App Store will even offer you the download:
flowchart TD A[Your device] --> B{iPhone?} B -->|No: iPad, Mac, Vision Pro| X[Not eligible] B -->|Yes| C{iOS 26.0 or later?} C -->|No| Y[Update iOS first] C -->|Yes| D{NFC reader hardware?} D -->|No: pre-iPhone 7| Z[Not eligible] D -->|Yes| OK[Install ExpressCharge]The hard requirements
Section titled “The hard requirements”| Requirement | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Device family | iPhone only | The app is built and signed for TARGETED_DEVICE_FAMILY = 1. iPad, Mac (Apple silicon), and Apple Vision Pro listings are explicitly disabled. |
| Operating system | iOS 26.0 or later | The deployment target is iOS 26.0. Older iPhones running iOS 25 or earlier will not see the app in the App Store. |
| Hardware capability | NFC tag reading | The Info.plist declares nfc under UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities. iPhones without an NFC reader cannot install the app. |
| CPU architecture | arm64 | Also declared as a required capability. Every NFC-capable iPhone meets this. |
| Orientation | Portrait only | The app is portrait-locked and runs full-screen. |
Runtime permissions
Section titled “Runtime permissions”Two iOS permission prompts appear the first time they’re needed. Neither is requested at launch:
- NFC — required to read your charge card. The system prompt appears the first time you tap Scan card. The reason string shown is: “ExpressCharge reads the unique ID from your NFC charge card so the charging station can verify your account and start your session.”
- Location (When In Use) — optional. Used only to sort the charger list by distance. If you decline, the app still works; the list is simply not distance-sorted. The reason string is explicit: “Your location stays on your device — we never receive or store it.”
Push notifications are enabled silently in the background (the app uses the remote-notification background mode for session status updates). Apple does not show a separate prompt for silent push.
Why it works this way
Section titled “Why it works this way”iPhone-only is a hardware decision, not a marketing one. ExpressCharge’s primary user gesture is “tap your charge card against your phone.” That gesture only works on devices with a Core NFC reader positioned at the top of the device — iPhone 7 and later. iPads have no NFC reader. Macs and Vision Pro can run iPhone apps via Apple silicon, but presenting the app there would be misleading: the central feature would not function. Restricting TARGETED_DEVICE_FAMILY to iPhone and listing nfc as a required capability lets the App Store filter the app out of incompatible storefronts before a user ever tries to install it.
iOS 26 is the floor because the app is built against the iOS 26 SDK with Swift 6.3 strict concurrency. This isn’t a feature flag we can lower; the binary literally will not load on earlier iOS releases. Holding the floor high lets us use modern Swift concurrency features without runtime fallbacks.
Portrait-only and full-screen reflect the scanning use case. You hold the phone vertically against the card — there is no productive use of landscape, and the App Store rules around iPad orientation support are simplified by declaring full-screen-only.
What this means for you
Section titled “What this means for you”- If you have an iPhone 7 or newer running iOS 26 or later: you’re good. Install from the App Store as normal.
- If your iPhone is older than iPhone 7: the app cannot work on your device — there is no NFC hardware to read your card.
- If you’re on iOS 25 or earlier: update iOS first. The App Store will not offer the download until you do.
- If you use an iPad, Mac, or Vision Pro: ExpressCharge is not available on these platforms and will not be listed in their App Stores. Use your iPhone.
- About permissions: you will be asked to allow NFC the first time you scan a card. Location is optional and only improves the charger list. The app does not transmit your location anywhere.