iOS and iPhone/iPads already support NFC per se, but only for use with Apple Pay.
Supposedly iOS 11 will change that, and enable NFC tags containing links etc.
Android has provided full support for NFC tags a long time, but as iOS hasn’t, broad use has stalled.
Let’s hope for the best, so that finally NFC tags can be used for other than payments, the way they were supposed to from day one.
iOS 11 could use the iPhone’s NFC chip for more than Apple Pay