Apple iPhone 6 to Feature NFC Technology Integration
Apple CEO Tim Cook once noted that the company has always been keen on integrating mobile payment in its devices. It appears the company has been working on realizing that even more as recent information suggests Apple will be including Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the upcoming iPhone 6. Apple has paired up with China UnionPay to incorporate the bank's services in Passbook and similar applications.
BrightWire reported that sources within the industry have hinted of Apple's plan to integrate a more coherent mobile payment system in the iPhone 6. Including the NFC in the company's next flagship device will be a surprise move. In 2012, Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing head, said that the technology cannot be considered to resolve any pending problems.
Nonetheless, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities predicted that Apple will incorporate NFC chips to the upcoming phone. It should also go along side other types of features. Inclusion of the NFC payment may be surprising but possible to expect as Tim Cook already has hinted at Apple's interest over the matter. It may not solve current problems but a mobile payment system opens up a lot of opportunities. Apple's CEO told the Wall Street Journal:
"I think it's a really interesting area. We have almost 800 million iTunes accounts and the majority of those have credit cards behind them. We already have people using Touch ID to buy things across our store, so it's an area of interest to us. And it's an area where nobody has figured it out yet. I realize that there are some companies playing in it, but you still have a wallet in your back pocket and I do too which probably means it hasn't been figured out just yet."
The integration should project the iPhone 6 further once released. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said that if Apple goes for the release of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 phablet then it can see a possible increase in production from 51 million units to 66 million units.