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James Martin/CNET
After months of speculation, Apple finally came good on rumours of NFC functionality at last week’s launch of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch. However, the NFC capability on the new devices is set to be locked down for use only with Apple Pay mobile payments.
While NFC has been present in Android smartphones for some time — Samsung, Sony, and Nokia have all rolled the technology into their flagship device launches — Apple is a new arrival in the realm of near field communications.
At last week’s Apple event, the company announced Apple Pay — a new mobile payments service that utilises NFC technology in conjunction with its Touch ID fingerprint scanner for secure payments that can be made from the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch.
Apple also announced a number of retailers that would accept Apple Pay for mobile payments at launch.
However, Cult of Mac reports that NFC will be locked to the Apple Pay platform, meaning the technology will not be available for other uses.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed the lock down of the technology, saying developers would be restricted from utilising its NFC chip functionality for at least a year. Apple declined to comment on whether NFC capability would remain off limits beyond that period.
NFC can be used for a wide range of tasks, including pairing a smartphone to speakers for audio playback and sharing contact information between devices, while NFC tags open up the world of customisable automation to anyone with an NFC-enabled device. However, this latest word from Apple seems to indicate that after the long wait, Apple fans may not have all the NFC functionality they desired.
