NFC Might Not Make It Into iPhone 5

Though it would certainly make a lot of sense for Apple to add support for near-field communication technology (NFC) to its next generation iPhone, it’s probably not going to happen. That’s the word from Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, who believes Apple will forgo supporting NFC on its iOS devices until consumer adoption is certain and it’s reached a critical mass with merchants.

Currently, a very few U.S. merchant locations support NFC-based payments, which means the ramp-up to a broad NFC infrastructure will likely be a long one.

“NFC-based mobile payments require NFC-capable POS terminals,” Sacconaghi wrote. “Only 51,000 retail locations support contactless payments (per Verifone’s 10-K); given that First Data alone deals with 4.1M merchant locations in the U.S. this suggests current penetration of just over 1 percent of merchant locations. Clearly, a higher critical mass is needed before mobile payments would take off.

To Sacconaghi. that means NFC is probably not an immediate top priority for Apple.

“We do not expect the iPhone 5 to feature an NFC-based payments solution, and instead expect Apple will evaluate and come to market with partners or a complete solution later, perhaps when NFC infrastructure is more established,” he said in a note to clients. “We note that Apple did not release the first cloud-based music offerings, or the first 3G or LTE handsets, and entered mobile advertising only after Google bought AdMob–instead, the company has made its name from re-inventing MP3 players, smartphones and most recently tablets/netbooks, and would retain the option to eventually do the same with mobile payments.”

Once NFC is ubiquitous and Apple moves ahead with NFC support in the iPhone, though, the opportunity is substantial–an incremental $4 billion to $9 billion annually, he estimates.

Sacconaghi’s report follows similar assertions made to the Independent earlier this year by sources at some big U.K. wireless carriers who claimed Apple was forgoing NFC in the iPhone 5 because of the lack of a clear standard across the industry.

PREVIOUSLY:

IPhone 5: LTE? NFC? Natural Language Voice Interface?

IPhone Cannot Make or Receive Payments–Please Restore from iTunes

http://twitter.com/juvus juvus

This cowardly habit of Apple to swoop in and polish tracks that others have already laid is not going to work for long. Amazon is rumored to be entering the tablet and phone business and Amazon is no Google.

Apple had the luxury to wait before because they knew that manufacturers don’t have customer focus in their DNA. Everything they sell is a convoluted mess, made to make carriers happy. Google is so entrenched on pleasing the Internet geek squad with futures that require a manual to get to that they forget that the people who do the buying could care less about widgets and 3d effects. Amazon is a different animal. If they can come out with something that is user friendly and works well for a good price, that reinvents industries as they did e-commerce and e-books than Apple is on notice. With Amazon in the game, the days of laying back and watching others lay tracks is over.
http://www.youtube.com/dfmediainc Triny D

No one ever knows what Apple is really going to do…goodness.
Anonymous

Oh well, I guess we will jsut have to wait. Lucky for us, we have Square :) http://www.total-anon.us.tc
Anonymous

You’re simultaneously criticizing Apple for reinventing product categories and promoting the idea of Amazon doing so. Amazon is tracking behind Apple, so I guess that means they are cowardly? I think it is actually brave of a company to forgo first-mover advantage in favor of building a great product.

> If they can come out with something that is user
> friendly and works well for a good price

If I can grow wings, I would never have to walk anywhere.

It isn’t just that Apple is the only one who has made a tablet that is user friendly and works well for a good price, they are the only one to do that with smartphones, media players, and high-end PC’s as well. Other smartphones, media players, and high-end PC’s cost more than Apple’s, do less, and are the furthest thing from user friendly. So for the past 33 years, Apple is the only one doing the thing that you think Amazon is just going to jump in and start doing, like it’s as easy as can be. Amazon’s website is not even user friendly or works well.
http://twitter.com/juvus juvus

Jeff Bezos had made it clear, Amazon would never enter the tablet market with just another “me too” product. If Amazon enter the market as suspected, they will have a rectangular tablet looking thing, but that is where the similarities will end. I am certain that they will have features on there that Apple would never put on their tablets because Apple likes to give tech improvements in piece meals.

When amazon came out withe the Kindle Bezos says that he hates wires and syncing to a computer that’s why they added free 3G for customers. I am anticipating something in the line of integrated wi-fi voice calls or even free voice calls periods to any of the 100+ countries they already pay for data and many more features that will get customers addicted to the devices and incentives to buy from Amazon. Apple would never do that. Apple suffer from great depression syndrome and hoards cash.
Anonymous

juvus your argument is flawed. I can see that you admire Amazon, but to have to take down Apple in order to put Amazon on the pedestal makes you the one who is coward and desperate.

Long before Amazon was even born Apple came on the scene with the courage of a pioneer in bracing industry skepticisms to bring us fresh products and in the process reinventing the wheel. They are the reason we now have legitimate touch screen phones and usable tablets, and that’s not to mention the user friendly Mac platform that preceded these new ventures and which Windows copied to a t.

NFC Might Not Make It Into iPhone 5

comments so far. Add yours.

AllThingsD by Writer