The news comes by way of Cult of Mac, which confirmed the iPhone 6's locked-down NFC features in an e-mail conversation with an Apple representative. The phone's NFC feature is reportedly restricted to iOS developers, and Apple wouldn't confirm any future plans for the functionality.
Launching in October, Apple Pay will allow iPhone owners to store their payment cards virtually and buy goods by simply tapping their device to a NFC-compatible point-of-sale system. The feature will also work with iPhone 5, 5s and 5c models, but only when they're paired with the upcoming Apple Watch (launching in early 2015).
NFC has been available on a variety of Android phones for years, and allows users to beam content from one device to another. On a basic level, you can share photos, videos and contact info between two phones by touching them together. (Typically, NFC initiates the transfer, then the faster Wi-Fi Direct takes over.) You can also use NFC on Android phones to pair them with other Bluetooth devices with a tap, such as Bluetooth speakers and headphones.
It's surprising to see Apple be so stingy about the iPhone 6's NFC abilities, but it shouldn't take more than a software update for Apple to open up NFC to other uses. We hope that happens sooner than later.
You don't need NFC to do the tap-to-transfer data exchange, and Apple already provides preferred methods based on their networking stack for that. In fact, Android doesn't need NFC for any of that either - it was used that way explicitly to provide a feature that differentiated it from Apple. The Android NFC-based mechanisms are, in fact, at a slight disadvantage since they are not mutually compatible between different models of phone, whereas the BT-LE and Wi-Fi mechanisms are (and apply to computers and printers as well).
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a true iPhone fan boy.
DeleteThey are compatible across manufacturers.
DeleteThey said the same thing about the fingerprint on the 5S, Maybe when the iPhone 7 comes out they'll open it up haha
ReplyDelete"The Android NFC-based mechanisms are, in fact, at a slight disadvantage since they are not mutually compatible between different models of phone,"
ReplyDeleteWrong. NFC on Android works between different phones.
This is correct. Additionally, NFC works across OSes, between Android and Windows Phone.
DeleteI agree. I have a BB and have transferred pics between my phone and my buddies Samsung S5. Couldn't have been easier..
ReplyDeleteGive the Jailbreak community a few months and NFc will be for everything.
ReplyDeleteMy cat was looking forward to NFC on the iPhone.
DeleteARTICLE QUOTE: "It's surprising to see Apple be so stingy about the iPhone 6's NFC abilities"
ReplyDeleteWho was surprised by this?
The same people who hope that Apple will change their mind with a simple software update.sooner than later.
DeleteKeeps stuffing customers into proprietary paywall, people still buying the same product over and over. . Wake up Apple Fanboys
ReplyDeleteApple, you're just so adorable. The kind of shit you pull, and still manage to convince people it's the best thing ever. I will never understand your wizardry.
ReplyDelete"...but it looks like you won't be doing much with the feature aside from buying stuff."
ReplyDeletea payment system designed only for buying stuff? what a crummy invention.
i have an AMEX card, but it won't let me process it through a VISA gateway. You don't see anyone complaining about that do you?
ReplyDeleteWhen will people realise that Apple sell overpriced inferior crap? Seems fanboys are going to ridiculous lengths this time to justify the iphone 6. Face it! its rubbish, just like every other Apple product.
ReplyDeleteAnything and everything for the money. Apple is turning into tech nazis. Same shit every year with a slight cpu boost and minor OS additions, all of which are stolen from other OS's might I add.
ReplyDeleteBut still the sheep buy into it.
Considering their photo kerfluffle, can you blame them for being so gunshy? It would be too easy to hijack the NFC for nefarious purposes. Plus, this allows them to lock out competitors until their pay system is more widely accepted.
ReplyDeletePossibly a dumb comment:
ReplyDeleteThis line confused me - "The phone's NFC feature is reportedly restricted to iOS developers." Is this article saying that the feature is being withheld FROM iOS developers, or that ONLY iOS developers will have access to it? Because the latter (which is how I read it, initially) makes perfect sense to me. What is a user going to do with NFC until an app is built to leverage it?