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James Martin/CNET
Apple Pay seems to be spreading its wings further via the latest beta of iOS 8.1.
Scoping out iOS 8.1 beta 2, iOS developer Hamza Sood discovered a few new screens related to Apple Pay , the new payment system demoed by Apple at its iPhone 6 launch event on September 9, according to MacRumors. The new screens show the Apple Pay setup screen in Apple’s Passbook app, the Apple Pay setup screen in the initial iOS 8.1 setup, and even an Apple Pay setup on the iPad.
Apple Pay is the company’s first real foray into the mobile payments arena. Using an iPhone 6 equipped with near-field communications, users will be able to pay for items on the go at supported merchants. With your credit or debit card information stored through your iPhone, you would simply tap your phone to an NFC-enabled register or other point-of-sale system to pay for goods at your favorite restaurant, department store, or other retailer to make the exchange. Slated to debut this month, Apply Pay is already supported by more 220,000 merchants, according to Apple.
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The latest beta of iOS 8.1 gives us more clues as to how Apple Pay would be set up, according to Sood’s findings. Apple’s existing Passbook app, which stores coupons and other items, would explain the Apple Pay service and then offer a link so you could manually enter your credit or debit card number or have them scanned into your phone via the camera.
Sood’s investigation also uncovered an Apple Pay setup screen for the iPad. However, the current iPad lineup does not come with the necessary NFC hardware to allow you to pay for items by communicating with other NFC-equipped devices. This could mean that the next generation iPads, reportedly to be unveiled on October 16, will include the NFC technology.
Apple may also decide not to add NFC to the new iPads, instead limiting the merchant payment capability to the new iPhone. Including NFC on the iPhone is the more critical element since people are more apt to carry around their smartphones than their tablets when they’re shopping. However, the iPad Mini is certainly small enough to fit inside a purse or similar item. So we may yet see the iPad adopt NFC.
Apple Pay also requires the Touch ID fingerprint sensor for security and verification purposes. The current iPads do not have Touch ID, but the new ones are expected to come with this feature.
