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Apple Reportedly Integrating NFC Technology into iPhone 6

Yah rumor is definitely not going to happen.

NFC is a useless waste.

We make fun of people with NFC in their phones, to make sure they know they wasted their money on something useless.

lol @ people with NFC phones. haha!

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apolloa said:
Yes it will because it's an exciting developing market, smart phones have existed for years, way before the iPhone. Apple just seems to be following everyone else this time. Hence the boredom.

Bigger screens, got that, NFC got that, OIS camera got that and so on..
Click to expand...

No one cares about smart watches.
 
the8thark said:
I agree, that's a terrible reason to add a technology to a product. You're out to make the best and it'll sell. Just adding features cause others have, just leads to poorly implemented features. The ones who added the fingerprint scanners to the android phones are a prime example. Poorly implemented, just there cause Apple had it in the 5s. And they did it poorly and didn't take the time to do it properly like Apple did.
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NFC either works or it doesn't, and it's useful to some people.
 
Keane16 said:
Ha, funny how that thread was very active until March 9th. Then on March 10th Apple released iOS 7.1 which fixed the reboot issue for most. And the thread went quiet.

If you are still having issues on iOS 7.1 you have a bigger problem. Get in touch with Support.
Click to expand...

I purchased my 64GB 5s very recently and it is on iOS 7.1, with all of the problems. I still hope it is some rouge app improperly using M7, 64bit eary issues or something like that. Then I red about Touch ID being the possible culprit. So I disabled Touch ID and it seemed to help for a few days, but about an hour ago it restarted again. Don't know what to think...
My friend with 5s also has the same restart/hanging problems. But at this point I really don't think it's a hardware issue. I hope it's purely software. I will wait for the next bugfix from Apple, if these issues continue, I'm returning/exchanging the phone.

Sorry for this going off-topic.
 
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I can see this happening. Previously, Apple didn't have a use case for NFC. Implementing new technology without a way to leverage its potential is not something Apple would do. Patent filings show that Apple has been putting effort into a payment system. I suspect Apple will have an ecosystem/platform available in iOS 8 around NFC.

NFC adoption in general has been slow, but I think it might accelerate in the coming year. Google's announcement of HCE support is a big step, and I predict Apple will include a similar feature in iOS 8.
 
Sandstorm said:
One of the reasons slowing the successful and widespread use of NFC was the lack of it on the iPhone. I hope Apple finally adds NFC (it's great!), but I'm also a bit pissed off it will happen so late.
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This is really the key. I think NFC "could" have been something we used every day, but since apple farted around and didn't get on board then the tech stalled. I used it when I had my Galaxy when I skipped the iP5 and it was handy. I miss it with my iP 5s.
 
Apple already have near field communication in the iPhone:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5900?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

"3. Touch your iOS device to your Apple TV and wait for the prompts to appear on your iOS device and Apple TV."

Its just not the NFC chip that Google put in their Android phones, its done using Bluetooth Wireless Proximity, the same technique used for iBeacons. So this is something they could add in iOS 8 to all iPhones.
 
squan said:
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?
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I travel the US for work and have done so for about the last 6 years. I have never seen a place to use a phone with NFC.
 
If anything, I would prefer that Apple continue to not support NFC. let NFC tech flounder, while continuing to push forth their own ibeacon- based payments system. Then we will see if it is Apple who is late to the NFC party, or if every other Android Smartphone out there is late to the iBeacon party.
 
indiekiduk said:
Apple already have near field communication in the iPhone:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5900?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

"3. Touch your iOS device to your Apple TV and wait for the prompts to appear on your iOS device and Apple TV."

Its just not the NFC chip that Google put in their Android phones, its done using Bluetooth Wireless Proximity, the same technique used for iBeacons. So this is something they could add in iOS 8 to all iPhones.
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And, Bluetooth LE has been on all iPhones since the 4S.
 
I use NFC every day and it's great. The Chicago buses and local trains use a system that allows me to pay for rides via NFC. CVS and Walgreens have tap-and-pay terminals that work great with NFC phones. The vending machines at work accept payment via NFC. I'm hopeful that with the impending change over to chip and pin credit cards in the US by many big retailers by Oct 2015, more of the new terminals will accept NFC. If Apple gets onboard, the critical mass may finally be there to leave all those pieces of plastic at home.
 
jamezr said:
Nice of them to get caught up with the rest of the industry....about 2 to 3 years behind everyone else...... Now they will add a new twist to NFC and call it innovation......
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Are you aware that what you described is the very definition of innovation?
 
KPOM said:
I think security is the biggest concern right now with NFC.
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A non-issue if you even have half a clue in setting up a decent authentication system.

Americans have been quite content being over a decade behind the rest of the world in Credit Card security. In fact, the current US system has no security at all.
 
And all this for just $100 MORE? ::rolls eyes::
Are you kidding me? (Rolls eyes)
Seriously, Apple is already losing ground on price. Tim Cook needs to wake up and realize he does not posses the immense power of the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field anymore.

He's going to need more than just " One More Thing"
 
i think a 100$ price increase, regardless of new features, will open up considerable space for competitors.

I would like to replace my 4s with a 6, but I'm not sure that I want to pay 100$ more than last time for the privilege.
 
NFC is not replacing all the other options for payments on the iPhone. It's merely one of several options. I'm not sure what the up in arms mentality is for, but having the NFC option wouldn't hurt. Also what's with the "too late" comments? NFC has been around for years, sure, but it's not taking over the world. The party hasn't even started.
 
kdarling said:
NFC itself is simply a communication protocol, like Bluetooth. What the data looks like going over it, is up to the app.

In the case of payments, the data is encrypted. In the case of sharing website urls, there's no need.
Click to expand...

INCORRECT!

1) You haven't studied the Target et al. POS malware robbery of customer accounts, have you. :(

NO, NFC data is NOT encrypted when it is in memory on the POS machines. That data is in-the-clear. This is specifically why the robbery of 110 million accounts was possible. NFC chips improve nothing at all regarding account robbery.

2) NO, NOT all payment NFC cards are encrypted. This is why many of these cards also include a Faraday cage metal foil sleeve for storing the cards. One example: Holiday Inn cards and even MasterCard.

- Picture:
A MasterCard in its Faraday cage sleeve:
http://www.epiguard.ch/shop/resources/product_images_klein/103_kl.png

- Faraday cage NFC card protective sleeves for sale from OPTEXX®:
http://www.amazon.com/OPTEXX®-Blocking-Felix-Payment-Protection/dp/B00AB3DDV4

To quote: "Your RFID / NFC equipped credit and insurance, key, Identity document or e-ticket cards are protected within these sleeve from hidden scanners and fraudulent use."

Some of the cards it is listed to protect:
"…MasterCard®, PayPassTM, Visa®, PayWaveTM, AmericanExpress®, ExpressPayTM…"

All of the above listed payment cards are obviously NOT protected from trivial scanning by anyone, as illustrated by their need for protective Faraday cage sleeves.

Other NFC card protective sleeve providers:
- Armourcard
- Identity Stronghold

*It pays to research your comment before you post it.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
goobot said:
Nope, fingerprint scanner was the first to do right (even tho there was only one before) but the other 2 and many other things they were the first in a phone. True tone flash is another example and so much more.
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Let's see:
osofast240sx said:
When has Apple benn the first with a feature/technology? Answer never.
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goobot said:
Multi-touch screen? Finger print scanner? Visual voice mail?
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minderbinder106 said:
Apple wasn't the first to do any of those, they were just the first to do them well. I think that was osofast240sx's point.
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No one in that chain ever said "on a phone". Is doing something that has been done before really innovative just because it is now done "on a phone"?
 
derek said:
1) You haven't studied the Target et al. POS malware robbery of customer accounts, have you. :(

NO, NFC data is NOT encrypted when it is in memory on the POS machines. That data is in-the-clear. This is specifically why the robbery of 110 million accounts was possible. NFC chips improve nothing at all regarding account robbery
Click to expand...
You do realise this is not NFC specific? Any system that does not implement NONCEs is vulnerable to replay attacks, which is what malware like this relies on.

Currently - US payment systems largely do not support the use of NONCEs, despite being standard in the rest of the world (and indeed, being common in well designed web services as well).
 
Sandstorm said:
I will wait for the next bugfix from Apple, if these issues continue, I'm returning/exchanging the phone.

Sorry for this going off-topic.
Click to expand...

Why are you waiting for the next release? There is no way your phone should be restarting multiple times a day.


minderbinder106 said:
No one in that chain ever said "on a phone". Is doing something that has been done before really innovative just because it is now done "on a phone"?
Click to expand...

You answered yourself. Doing something in a new way is innovation. So yes applying a previously developed technology and adapting it to be used in a phone would be an example of innovation.

And if you think 'no', then not many companies in the consumer tech space are innovative by your standards.
 
I'm getting that yo yo sensation. NFC was great when it was rumored to be coming with the iPhone 5. It wasn't included, so NFC became a needless, dead technology. Now it's rumored to be coming with the iPhone 6, so now it is a great feature again? :confused:
 
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