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Having NFC in a phone is useless if retailers don't support it.

Not necessarily. NFC has other uses for things like sharing to other devices, pairing with peripherals, and even using NFC tags to launch applications, set user settings, and more.

Mobile payments are a great use for NFC, but certainly not the only use.
 
It's not the proprietary USB. It's custom. One thing is, you can put it in either way, instead of the horrible mini USB, or even the regular plug. It's got 8 channels and a ground.

They've put USB 3 in their Ivy Bridge machines. Nothing stops them from making this USB 3'ish in speeds, but as it would require a chip, or a drain on the processor, what do you get out of USB 3 for an iPhone?
...

I think you got lost in the quoting? My replied was based on his reply question from the quote the other member did. He/she was asking why the cable had USB2.0 speeds and not 3.0 if it's supposed to be used for various years. I told him/her that apple meant on their custom plug side and that the other side can change base don how tech moves to either 3.0 or TB or whatever comes next, but the custom iOS plug would still be used on the iOS side for many years to come even if they change the other side of the plug.
 
Was the commercial that ran during the Olympics showing runners passing the torch from phone to phone via NFC an Apple commercial? If so, I wonder if eliminating NFC was a last minute decision. Just asking.....
 
The black iphone should also have a black lightning cable. Btw: the name is stupid. Do you say: 'where is my lightning cable?'

I would guess that there is a Queen geek at Apple that want to be able to say they have thunderbolt and lightning......
Maybe the advert will have a Bohemian Rhapsody sound track but maybe they'll wait for that until thunderbolt is on the other end of the cable
 
Not necessarily. NFC has other uses for things like sharing to other devices, pairing with peripherals, and even using NFC tags to launch applications, set user settings, and more.

Fair enough. How many of these "NFC tags" or "other devices" are currently near you. How much are you missing out by not having it in your phone?

I can not speak for other countries but so far in the U.S. I have not seen many uses for NFC(yet).

I think it is a safe bet for Apple to wait and see when it comes to NFC...
 
Was the commercial that ran during the Olympics showing runners passing the torch from phone to phone via NFC an Apple commercial? If so, I wonder if eliminating NFC was a last minute decision. Just asking.....
That was a Samsung GS3 commercial.
 
This is what the FIRST iPhone should have been. 4" Retina Display, LTE, Lightning port, 8 megapixel Camera. FaceTime over Cellular, AirPlay.

But they're greedy. They hold back on these essential features (some of them for more than half a decade!) Just because they weren't currently feasible or cost-effective, or their processors couldn't handle it, or any number of other lame excuses.

It's because they don't care what some of their customers want. They only want to make a phone that people can afford to buy, and that performs well, and isn't the size of a brick (two bricks with the battery).

They need to listen to the whining of some of their customers, and to that of people posing as potential customers, and throw in the kitchen sink, whether it makes sense, or not.

Where's my built-in credit card reader? I don't actually need it, but how on earth are phones with standard built-in credit card readers supposed to become ubiquitous if Apple doesn't lead the way? With Apple it's their way or the highway. How dare Apple make me carry BOTH a smart phone and a separate fingernail clipper! And the iPhone's bluetooth is crippled, so it can't even interface with the clipper. I have to keep my clipping log by hand on Big Chief tablets, and then scan the pages in with the camera.

I hear Android is so flexible you can configure it to do all of this automatically.

I swear I would totally switch to the Lumia Nimbus 2000, if I could figure out how to order it using the Apple Store app. But Apple keeps you in its walled garden with that app, so I guess I'll have to order the iPhone 5 the instant it is available for pre-order.

Fortunately, I find the new iPhone design sexy. And since I'm apparently the only one who does, there won't be any network overload issues to worry about as with previous releases.
 
I am disappointed by the lack of NFC but Phil has a point. There's almost nothing out there you can do with it right now beyond the "bump" between devices to share data.... mobile payment systems are another couple of years out from being mature enough to make the trade offs that would have been needed such as a different device form factor or shorter battery life.

As some others have rightfully pointed out, it's not about ticking boxes off on a spec sheet... it's about the overall user experience. I know two people who have switched to the Galaxy III and promptly switched back to an iPhone due to the freakish device ergonomics, poor battery life, and as my director reported, holding it up to his ear was like he was trying to use a clothes iron on his head.

Maybe at some point in the next year or two there will be enough of a benefit to NFC for Apple to include it. I am a bit disappointed that there was nothing super innovative in the new iPhone design, but it's effectively the pinnacle right now of what is possible. Here's hoping to "one more thing" from the Cupertino brain trust now that Señor Jobs is not around to steer the ship.

Exactly on NFC is were Schiller goes off the rails - there are plenty of places where NFC would be a good option: taxies, busses, subways, vending machines, etc. Those are places were passbook won't do jack for You.

But kudos to Apple marketing for making a non-function look like something revolutionary - but passbook won't be a real "killer" feature before it get's more enhancements like NFC.
 
Nfc

Is NFC the same technology as the paypass devices that mastercard and visa use? If so, almost every store in Australia has it now. For me it's not the end of the world that it's not in the phone, tbh, I'd prefer to have a card as I always seem to lose my phone. But it may have been useful.
 
You just made up those numbers. Galaxy SIII: 133g, 8.6mm. iPhone 5: 112g, 7.6mm.

It's 18% heavier.
It's 13% thicker.

Wireless charging doesn't add any benefits right now as far as I can tell as you still need a power adapter, cable and charging pad. You also can not use the device while it's charging since it needs to be placed on the pad.

I get a feeling that some people on this forum are homeless. I can't even understand what you are talking about. Of course you need an adapter and a pad and a cable. So what? You put your pad on the night stand (or wherever you keep your phone overnight) and when you come home (yes, some of us have homes) you simply drop the phone on the pad. It's way more convenient than having a small two-sided plug that can be inserted into phone any way. Is that really difficult to understand? And learn the meaning of sarcasm. 1 mm extra thickness (which BTW is mostly contributed by larger replaceable battery and flash memory port) does not make any difference. Oh and weight. I remember iPhone 4 fans laughing at SGSII feather weight. They were saying that compared to much heavier iPhone it felt like a toy. Well, I guess now iPhone 5 feels like a tin toy compared to SGSIII.
 
I get a feeling that some people on this forum are homeless. I can't even understand what you are talking about. Of course you need an adapter and a pad and a cable. So what? You put your pad on the night stand (or wherever you keep your phone overnight) and when you come home (yes, some of us have homes) you simply drop the phone on the pad. It's way more convenient than having a small two-sided plug that can be inserted into phone any way. Is that really difficult to understand? And learn the meaning of sarcasm. 1 mm extra thickness (which BTW is mostly contributed by larger replaceable battery and flash memory port) does not make any difference. Oh and weight. I remember iPhone 4 fans laughing at SGSII feather weight. They were saying that compared to much heavier iPhone it felt like a toy. Well, I guess now iPhone 5 feels like a tin toy compared to SGSIII.

He makes perfect sense to me. I think wireless charging is a completely stupid gimmick. I have 3 charge stations in my house for my phones and tablets. Bedroom for at night, family room for evenings etc, and my office. So I guess I would need a 'charging pad' in 3 different locations. And what about travel? Now you have to travel with your charging pad, cable, etc. So stupid to call it wireless charging when you still have to have a wire and MORE equipment than non wireless to charge it. LMAO!

The GS2 was a great phone, but when ppl referred to it feeling like a toy it was more to do with Samsung's typically substandard cheap plastic build quality.
 
Exactly on NFC is were Schiller goes off the rails - there are plenty of places where NFC would be a good option: taxies, busses, subways, vending machines, etc. Those are places were passbook won't do jack for You.

But kudos to Apple marketing for making a non-function look like something revolutionary - but passbook won't be a real "killer" feature before it get's more enhancements like NFC.

That all sounds good on paper, but there is a massive infrastructure that would have to be involved before you could do all that. And to start, you would have to have a literal mountain of companies in very far reaches all come together and agree on open standards for NFC. Security is still a BIG open question with NFC. I see it getting completely crushed early on. At Blackhat they already demonstrated completely owning a GS3 I believe it was via NFC (which is on by default)
 
He makes perfect sense to me. I think wireless charging is a completely stupid gimmick. I have 3 charge stations in my house for my phones and tablets. Bedroom for at night, family room for evenings etc, and my office. So I guess I would need a 'charging pad' in 3 different locations. And what about travel? Now you have to travel with your charging pad, cable, etc. So stupid to call it wireless charging when you still have to have a wire and MORE equipment than non wireless to charge it. LMAO!

Agreed. Not to mention, each of those charging bases are usually $50 or so..... to save you maybe 2 seconds over plugging and unplugging with a cable.
 
Having NFC in a phone is useless if retailers don't support it.

So many retailers support it though. At least places I go. Just to name a few (some are specific to Canada): Petro Canada, McDonald's, Sobeys, Tim Horton's, Famous Players, Pizza Nova, Loblaws, Chapters, etc.

Hell, there are even vending machines that accept it!
 
He makes perfect sense to me. I think wireless charging is a completely stupid gimmick. I have 3 charge stations in my house for my phones and tablets. Bedroom for at night, family room for evenings etc, and my office. So I guess I would need a 'charging pad' in 3 different locations. And what about travel? Now you have to travel with your charging pad, cable, etc. So stupid to call it wireless charging when you still have to have a wire and MORE equipment than non wireless to charge it. LMAO!

The GS2 was a great phone, but when ppl referred to it feeling like a toy it was more to do with Samsung's typically substandard cheap plastic build quality.

Those of us who are lucky to have phones with decent battery life do not need to charge the phone at three places in the house. Are you saying that your iPhone can't make it through the day without charging? And it does not even have LTE, LMAO! I charge my Galaxy Nexus once - over night and obviously wireless charging would make perfect sense for me. And only stupid consumers would assume that owners of wireless charging capable phones would need to haul the charging pads with them for travel. These phones (Galaxy SIII is one example) are perfectly capable of charging via USB port.
 
Those of us who are lucky to have phones with decent battery life do not need to charge the phone at three places in the house. Are you saying that your iPhone can't make it through the day without charging? And it does not even have LTE, LMAO! I charge my Galaxy Nexus once - over night and obviously wireless charging would make perfect sense for me. And only stupid consumers would assume that owners of wireless charging capable phones would need to haul the charging pads with them for travel. These phones (Galaxy SIII is one example) are perfectly capable of charging via USB port.

I have whats called a family with many members and devices. I also run 2 businesses and my phone is quite literally in use all day with customers or maps(gps) that kills the battery quick. If it happens that I need a quick hit of juice for a device, its nice to have the ability to charge nearby. On a typical weekend when Im not working, my iphone will last the entire weekend on a single charge. If I crush it with web on the weekend or whatever, it still easily lasts the day with plenty to spare.

As for the ability to do either charging pad or cable, my question is whats the point? That sounds even stupider to me than just wireless thats not really wireless. If your phone can charge off usb cable why would you want to buy a $50 charge pad? Oh yea, because its a stupid gimmick that gets you all tingly inside.
 
So many retailers support it though. At least places I go. Just to name a few (some are specific to Canada): Petro Canada, McDonald's, Sobeys, Tim Horton's, Famous Players, Pizza Nova, Loblaws, Chapters, etc.

Hell, there are even vending machines that accept it!
Right, and they only work half the time. I have presented my Paypay Mastercard in the past only to have the sensor not work and the employee swiping the card instead.

Even with the support you list, you still have to carry the card around for places that don't support NFC assuming the NFC terminals even worked 100% of the time.
:rolleyes:
 
I see NFC payments accepted almost everywhere I shop. Apple including the feature would undoubtedly make it even more main stream.

The only reason Apple would need to "get retailers on stage" would be if Apple wanted to introduce its own competing (and proprietary) protocol.

From what I understand, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a competing feature, and that is included in almost everything Apple ships. Based on the limited reading I did today, it also appears superior to NFC in many ways, including being more secure (which should be paramount for financial transactions).

I don't think Apple is dismissing the applications associated with NFC. On the contrary, Passbook could be the first step in a longer-term plan.

If anyone knows about BLE/Bluetooth Smart, I would love to hear more about it.
 
Right, and they only work half the time. I have presented my Paypay Mastercard in the past only to have the sensor not work and the employee swiping the card instead.

Even with the support you list, you still have to carry the card around for places that don't support NFC assuming the NFC terminals even worked 100% of the time.
:rolleyes:

a loto f people also don't realize, even if you see a NFC terminal does it even mean it's activated, retailers have to pay extra to be able to receive NFC payments, so many of the smaller retailers don't enable it as it doesn't justify the cost, much like American Express, all card readers can read AM cards, but not all retailers accept them.

even though i'm a bit fan of NFC, it's just not practical yet.
 
That all sounds good on paper, but there is a massive infrastructure that would have to be involved before you could do all that. And to start, you would have to have a literal mountain of companies in very far reaches all come together and agree on open standards for NFC. Security is still a BIG open question with NFC. I see it getting completely crushed early on. At Blackhat they already demonstrated completely owning a GS3 I believe it was via NFC (which is on by default)

On paper? NFC is a standard (a set to be precise), no need to "come together". That massive infrastructure is already being rolled out, NYC cabs has it, Tube in London has it, hell even the local bus to my parents house have NFC. And that's what i want to use it for - a quick method for small amounts. But nooo, because Phil Schiller doesn't get out more often we get a half-backed solution that requires everybody to implement something new... Passbook and Ping, book it!

It's debatable whether NFC is worse or better than cards - for me NFC wins 4-0. And btw... it is not on by default.
 
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