A new report suggests that Apple will include near field communication (NFC) technology in the upcoming iPhone 6. The report, from the Financial Times, says the chip will be provided by NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch firm. An NFC chip would allow the iPhone to be used with payment terminals and other such systems.
Throughout the past week, a number of rumors and reports from various sources have claimed that the iPhone 6 will gain NFC support. Evidence of NFC capabilities provided by NXP first surfaced earlier this week in a claimed schematic, which showed the company’s PN65 chip on the iPhone 6’s logic board.
Thursday saw a report from Wired, and also comments from well-respected Apple blogger John Gruber, that suggested the iPhone 6 would indeed include NFC. Gruber stated the iPhone’s NFC-based payments system would use a new secure enclave processor built into the device’s A8 chip.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on a payment solution that would leverage the millions of credit card numbers it already has stored in its iTunes/App Store accounts. Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook made mention of mobile payments, saying it was one of the ideas behind Touch ID, currently available on the iPhone 5s
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9. The new handsets are expected to include a fast A8 processor, a thinner more rounded body, and improved cameras on both models.
