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PocketSand11

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2014
688
1
~/
You don't need NFC for that. There's locks with Bluetooth that you can unlock without a need to tap anything. Superior techs.

Kickstarter campaign begins for iPhone-controlled Bluetooth padlock

NFC is a boring tech.

Except Bluetooth almost never freaking works. I don't know how something so simple can have such a high rate of failure. Just trying to pair a Bluetooth headset with something is so much trouble that I opt for a cable instead.

You know what, just give me a door lock that accepts a Lightning or 30-pin slot. NFC would also probably be more reliable.
 
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stuffradio

macrumors 65816
Mar 17, 2009
1,016
6
Screw payment system, I want my front door lock to be NFC and my car so i can open my house with my phone and my fingerprint.

I ideally want to leave my keys and wallet at home. phone and headphones. thats all you need.

What if your phone dies? Are you going back to your car to charge the phone for 10 minutes so you can open your house? :D
 

usamaah

macrumors regular
Sep 23, 2008
190
287
Chicago
Here in the U.S., I've never even heard of NFC. Only stories from MacRumors. I also can't see Apple pushing adoption much. For all that hype, iBeacon hasn't taken off at all either.

Have you seen this logo on your Visa card?

VisaPayWave.jpg


Or this one on your Mastercard?

mastercard-paypass-ready.jpg


Check gas stations, check out payment kiosks at your local grocers. Often you can tap to pay, and that's NFC. What few people have done is advertise the hell out of wave-to-pay. But it's actually quite common.

I guess what people want is for Apple to herald it's coming and then everyone can give credit to Apple for bringing it to the mainstream. But no, it was all there, embedded. People just weren't aware.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
Your gs4 will likely get more useless, since whatever NFC system Apple has will be incompatible with your GS4.

If it's NFC, then the comms are compatible.

The big question to me, is if Apple will implement the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF), which is used to send simple messages for actions like setting up Bluetooth or WiFi connections, transferring contacts, data, photos, etc.

This would allow iPhone and Android and Blackberry owners to interact, along with being able to use other NFC equipped devices like speakers, etc.

It would also benefit Apple owners, as USB and Bluetooth did, by having more peripherals available because of the bigger overall marketplace for such items.
 

PocketSand11

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2014
688
1
~/
Have you seen this logo on your Visa card?

Image

Or this one on your Mastercard?

Image

Check gas stations, check out payment kiosks at your local grocers. Often you can tap to pay, and that's NFC. What few people have done is advertise the hell out of wave-to-pay. But it's actually quite common.

I guess what people want is for Apple to herald it's coming and then everyone can give credit to Apple for bringing it to the mainstream. But no, it was all there, embedded. People just weren't aware.

I've got MasterCard and can't recall seeing that, but I'll keep an eye out from now on.
 

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
Not likely, for two reasons:

1) NFC payments are here and will be accelerating, with or without Apple. Not supporting them would be like leaving out Bluetooth.

hmm didnt you guys say that last year? or was it the year before?
 

twigman08

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2012
478
1
That's okay. I'll thank Apple for speeding up USB adoption and the addition of webcams to a laptop's bezel but NFC adoption was actually going well even before Apple.


Oh please. I work in retail and sales with this tech all day long. I am around systems all day that have this tech already implemented just waiting for ANYONE to use it. I can count on one hand, without even using all my fingers on that hand, how many people actually utilize it. It's literally never used. I can go some days a full work day without seeing one person use it. Plus to make it worse the people I do see using it aren't even new people! They are 99% of the time just the same exact people who do it. Just about literally no one new has adapted the technology with it being fully there and even the ones who could utilize the tech (they have a card that can do it) don't even know they can! For something you tell me that is so supposed to be so popular yet hardly anyone can even tell me what it is or say that they have even heard of it much less!

Matter of fact I can think of maybe one person who actually used something like this fully. They used their phone to store their membership cards then did an NFC payment.

Though I'll willing to bet that as soon as the 6 is announced and released (and it can use payment solutions that have been talked about here) that I start to use a big increase in the number of times it is used over the next couple of months.
 

usamaah

macrumors regular
Sep 23, 2008
190
287
Chicago
Oh please. I work in retail and sales with this tech all day long. I am around systems all day that have this tech already implemented just waiting for ANYONE to use it. I can count on one hand, without even using all my fingers on that hand, how many people actually utilize it. It's literally never used. I can go some days a full work day without seeing one person use it. Plus to make it worse the people I do see using it aren't even new people! They are 99% of the time just the same exact people who do it. Just about literally no one new has adapted the technology with it being fully there and even the ones who could utilize the tech (they have a card that can do it) don't even know they can! For something you tell me that is so supposed to be so popular yet hardly anyone can even tell me what it is or say that they have even heard of it much less!

Matter of fact I can think of maybe one person who actually used something like this fully. They used their phone to store their membership cards then did an NFC payment.

Though I'll willing to bet that as soon as the 6 is announced and released (and it can use payment solutions that have been talked about here) that I start to use a big increase in the number of times it is used over the next couple of months.

The ecosystem is there, it's just a matter of people not knowing that they can do this, which they don't. But that doesn't mean NFC isn't successful, it's just not popular yet.

If NFC wasn't being adopted (i.e., people weren't including it in phones, pay terminals, credit cards, bluetooth speakers, etc.) and Apple was coming into the market then I'd say, sure, Apple is going to save NFC. But that just isn't the case.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
hmm didnt you guys say that last year? or was it the year before?

Previous years don't matter in the US. This coming year is when the US switches over.

Mind you, phone payments aren't going to replace credit cards, any more than credit cards replaced cash.

It's just another option.

But it'll be a LOT easier than pulling out your wallet, and I think the younger generation that grew up on smartphones will embrace it.
 

matrix07

macrumors G3
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,893
Except Bluetooth almost never freaking works. I don't know how something so simple can have such a high rate of failure. Just trying to pair a Bluetooth headset with something is so much trouble that I opt for a cable instead.

You know what, just give me a door lock that accepts a Lightning or 30-pin slot. NFC would also probably be more reliable.

Don't buy cheap junk. That'll solve it.
 

twigman08

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2012
478
1
The ecosystem is there, it's just a matter of people not knowing that they can do this, which they don't. But that doesn't mean NFC isn't successful, it's just not popular yet.

If NFC wasn't being adopted (i.e., people weren't including it in phones, pay terminals, credit cards, bluetooth speakers, etc.) and Apple was coming into the market then I'd say, sure, Apple is going to save NFC. But that just isn't the case.

That's the whole point. People might not want to admit it but the fact is Apple has the type of affect that if they utilize some tech properly that they can actually make that tech more popular and well known.
 

icyrock1

macrumors newbie
May 15, 2014
25
0
bonus d) don't people realize that Mastercard and Visa have enabled NFC-based payments? When I'm at the supermarket I tap my credit card, I don't swipe .. NFC is embedded in many places in the US, you just have to pay attention

I don't know what you count has "many", but NFC adoption is hardly wide spread. Not a single store were I live supports it, and I'm in the 40th biggest city in the country.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Here in the U.S., I've never even heard of NFC. Only stories from MacRumors. I also can't see Apple pushing adoption much. For all that hype, iBeacon hasn't taken off at all either. Also, how is banking with NFC worth the setup? I'd have to carry my wallet anyway for ID, cash, or anything that can't use NFC. My credit card doesn't weigh much or take up much space...

It's very simple. The system as is often involves handing one of those credit cards to a complete stranger who takes it away and out of your sight to run it through a machine. While there, they have the numbers, the 3-digit security code, expiration date, exact spelling of your name all at the same time. When they bring you your receipt, you give them your signature. The bulk of security in your credit card has now been completely broken and you gave it all away without even thinking about it. If you eat out very often, you probably do this at the majority of places. Those strangers you give all that information to are probably making less than minimum wage + tips. But it also happens in retail, movie theaters, car dealerships, hotels, etc.

NFC is a solution where you initiate and approve the charge directly. There's nothing to hand to a stranger. There's no visible numbers, no 3-digit code, no expiration date, etc. If you have to sign (unlikely), you'll sign on your device so the seller (stranger) doesn't even get to see that. All the seller sees is that the transaction is complete and they can let you leave their establishment with whatever you purchased.

While NFC is not 100% secure either, it is MUCH more secure than the credit card model "as is". Sure, there are places that try to replicate NFC by bringing the device to you so that the card stays in your possession. But just notice how often you hand your card to total strangers over the next week or two.

Arguments against any standard because you don't witness anybody using it in the present might as well be argued against the newer incarnation of LTE, or wifi AC, or 4K or new iPhones and so on. Things change. Newer replaces older. Sometimes the new is not as good as the old but most of the time it should be better.
 
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Elcaballomayor

macrumors newbie
Aug 29, 2014
2
0
The same guy post a youtube video of the iphone 6 with the itune logo on display this is the link. http://youtu.be/QRzhd_fOY-s
 

usamaah

macrumors regular
Sep 23, 2008
190
287
Chicago
That's the whole point. People might not want to admit it but the fact is Apple has the type of affect that if they utilize some tech properly that they can actually make that tech more popular and well known.

OK I am willing to wait and see if Apple has any unique uses for it, if they have more "proper" uses for it. My guess is that it's the same way we've all been using NFC. (as a way of speeding up bluetooth pairing, payments, to name a few)

Apple will make it more popular among people who just aren't aware of technology around them.

I don't know what you count has "many", but NFC adoption is hardly wide spread. Not a single store were I live supports it, and I'm in the 40th biggest city in the country.

I'll admit then that my view is skewed living in Chicago. According to Wiki, 40th is Atlanta, GA so I did a quick search of just Mastercard PayPass locations and there are Subway, CVS, Footlocker, McDonald's locations that take PayPass. That doesn't include any locations where Visa's system is accepted or Walgreens or 7-11 convenience stores if you have those down there (which also accepts Google Wallet).
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
That's the whole point. People might not want to admit it but the fact is Apple has the type of affect that if they utilize some tech properly that they can actually make that tech more popular and well known.

Oh absolutely. The inclusion of NFC in Apple's devices will help phone payments to become more well known to the common person, sooner than otherwise. No one disputes that. Apple gets publicity, and that's good in this case.

The point people are making is that mass rollout of phone payment support is coming to the US in the next year or so, no matter what. It's not happening because of Apple. Apple simply has little choice. They need to include support, or risk looking out of touch. This is because they only put out new models once a year.
 

Kendo

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2011
2,276
760
Previous years don't matter in the US. This coming year is when the US switches over.

Why this coming year and not last year or the year before? NFC has been in Samsung phones since the S3 (released in 2012) and Visa and Samsung have teamed up in 2013 to accelerate the boosting of NFC.
 

ptb42

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
703
184
I've got MasterCard and can't recall seeing that, but I'll keep an eye out from now on.

Look on the back of all of your cards. If one has an icon that looks like the first image (like the WiFi signal indicator on your iPhone, turned sideways), it supports NFC.

My bank's VISA credit card has the icon, but not my debit card. Some, but not all American Express cards have it (they call it Express Pay).
 

Kendo

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2011
2,276
760
That's exactly the reality here that most people don't understand. Apple is not God and does not have complete control or dictation over a market.

How prevalent were fingerprint scanners on smartphones before the release of the iPhone 5S? And how prevalent are they now?
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Why this coming year and not last year or the year before? NFC has been in Samsung phones since the S3 (released in 2012) and Visa and Samsung have teamed up in 2013 to accelerate the boosting of NFC.

If I was to guess, I fear that Apple has adopted some modest twist that will be uniquely theirs to try to "evolve" the standard toward something that involves paying Apple a licensing fee. I don't know this- it's just a guess- but I would bet the wait was for something like this more than other excuses like chip power efficiency or prevalence of places that would use it, etc.
 
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