Apple Reportedly Integrating NFC Technology into iPhone 6
Apple is gearing up to incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 6, according to a report from BrightWire citing sources familiar with the matter. The report also notes that Apple has struck a deal with China UnionPay to integrate the banking company's services into Passbook and elsewhere.
Apple is likely to incorporate a Near Field Communication (NFC) payment function in the next generation iPhone and has reached an agreement with China UnionPay on a mobile payment service, according to a source close to the matter.
...In addition to NFC payment, the two companies will also work together on another mobile payment solution that can be used for purchases in Apple Stores, added the source.
Integrating NFC into the iPhone 6 would be a bit of a surprise move by Apple, as the company's head of marketing Phil Schiller stated in 2012 that the technology was "not the solution to any current problem." Notably, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted last month that Apple would integrate NFC chips into the next-generation iPhone alongside a host of other features.
The news also comes as Apple is pursuing plans to develop a mobile payment solution, which will be possibly tied to the Touch ID fingerprint sensor currently found in the iPhone 5s and reportedly headed for the iPhone 6 and next-generation iPads. It is also possible that Apple combines its existing Touch ID fingerprint scanner and NFC technology into the home button, as the company filed for a patent detailing such a system last September.
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 in two sizes of 4.7-inches and 5.5-inches later this year, with the smaller version of the phone launching ahead of the larger model. Aside from a larger display, the iPhone 6 will likely feature a thinner profile, a faster A8 processor, and an improved camera in the form of image stabilization. Apple is also said to be negotating with carriers for a $100 price increase on the iPhone 6.
Popular Stories
Apple today released several open source large language models (LLMs) that are designed to run on-device rather than through cloud servers. Called OpenELM (Open-source Efficient Language Models), the LLMs are available on the Hugging Face Hub, a community for sharing AI code. As outlined in a white paper [PDF], there are eight total OpenELM models, four of which were pre-trained using the...
Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, so the software update is a little over six weeks away from being announced. Below, we recap rumored features and changes planned for the iPhone with iOS 18. iOS 18 will reportedly be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, with new ChatGPT-inspired generative AI features, a more customizable Home Screen, and much more....
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
Best Buy is discounting a collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, this time focusing on the 14-inch version of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a...
Top Rated Comments
To this day, I have never encountered something that supports NFC. And neither have they.
Is it the same in the States or elsewhere? Is it slowly becoming more popular? Because then it would make sense to incorporate it, as the time is (finally) ripe.
I hate putting in technology for the sake of putting in technology.
Personally I'm saddened that more and more Apple is now catching up, late, slow, neglecting (Mac Pro, now Mac Mini, Apple TV (outdated UI, no App Store)). Apple also overslept the streaming music revolution (think Spotify). I don't buy this BS about "getting it right". If Google can figure out NFC, Apple can too. And Apple also can put a current-gen processor in a Mac Mini and not neglect it for 2 years, even if they are working (I'm guessing) on a completely new thinner version (OMG, thinner, can you believe it).
Sorry for the rant, but I seriously start to lose my admiration for Apple.
PS - my brand new iPhone 5s hangs up and restarts at least once or twice a day. WTF! :mad:
Colour me sceptical.
And to everyone screaming how stupid and worthless NFC is - let's see your comments after Apple adds NFC. Surely then you'll sing a different tune. Probably something along the lines of "finally doing it right" and so on. I'm getting sick of this *****.
If they dont believe in the technology, then thats a terrible reason to advocate including a feature.
We dont think this technology is very good, but some other companies are doing it so - here it is.