Key Takeaways
- Zebra is expanding Gen2X support across its full RFID portfolio, including handhelds, sleds and fixed readers, to improve reading of hard-to-tag items like groceries, jewelry and pharmaceuticals.
- Gen2X enables more reliable autonomous track-and-trace, self-checkout and loss prevention by improving reads on dense, liquid and metal-containing products.
Zebra is upgrading its portfolio of RFID handhelds, sleds, and fixed readers with support for Impinj Gen2X to improve handheld and overhead reading of hard-to-read items, boost the accuracy and speed of autonomous track-and-trace solutions in challenging conditions, and use RFID tags to help inhibit fraudulent items and returns.
RFID tagging is now expanding into categories such as grocery, jewelry, health and beauty, and pharmaceuticals – product types that were historically difficult to tag and inventory, yet are important to achieving item-level visibility across enterprise operations.
Zebra devices with Gen2X support are available now, including handhelds (MC33 family, TC22R, TC501, TC701), sleds (RFD40 family, RFD90 family), and fixed/overhead readers (FXR90, FX9600, FX7500, ATR7000). Gen2X capabilities will be available across Zebra’s RFID portfolio via seamless firmware upgrades.
Why Zebra is Expanding Gen2X Support Now
The announcement at the annual RAIN in Action Summit comes as Impinj recently launched a new platform vision called Physical Intelligence, rebranding its RAIN RFID platform around its role as the link between physical item data and AI-powered enterprise decision-making, alongside a new logo marking the strategic shift.
“Zebra was our first licensee for Gen2X, and we are excited to see this innovation expand across a wide range of Zebra handheld, sled, and fixed readers,” said Gahan Richardson, executive vice president and general manager, Impinj, in a statement. “Extending Gen2X across its portfolio, Zebra is helping enterprises obtain item-level visibility into a wider range of use cases, accelerating the adoption of RAIN RFID at scale.”
What Gen2X Helps Retailers And Enterprises Do
As a leading RAIN RFID pioneer and innovator, Impinj developed Gen2X to address these real-world challenges and improve autonomous fixed reading solutions at enterprise scale, enabling reliable item visibility across small retail merchandise, densely packed items, and products containing liquids and metals.
These innovations now support use cases ranging from supply chain traceability and overhead inventory visibility to self-checkout and loss prevention. Extending RFID tagging to more items and use cases empowers enterprises to automate workflows using Physical Intelligence: the reliable real-world visibility enterprise AI systems need to see everything, waste nothing, and act instantly.
“As RAIN RFID adoption continues to scale across global enterprises, Zebra is focused on delivering innovations that improve real-world performance and usability,” said Chip Yager, Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Locationing Technology, Zebra Technologies. “By enabling Gen2X across our handhelds, sleds, and fixed readers, we’re helping customers achieve more reliable reads, faster inventory, and greater accuracy, especially in challenging environments.”
Learn more about Gen2X here. Impinj is a technology partner in Zebra’s award-winning PartnerConnect Program.