Apple iPhone 6’s NFC chip is restricted to Apple Pay terminals

Although Apple’s latest smartphones support near-field communication (NFC) technology, this technology will only be compatible with Apple Pay terminals and will not work with anything else. The reasons why Apple decided to restrict usage of NFC are unclear, but it looks like the new iPhones will not work with other NFC-enabled devices.

Cult of Mac reports that just like the Touch ID on the iPhone 5s, Apple is keeping NFC closed off from developers at launch and will keep in restricted only to Apple Pay terminals and devices that support Apple’s new technology. Owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be unable to connect their phones to other NFC-supporting devices, such as peripherals. Instead, Apple proposes to use Bluetooth 4.0 LE interconnection for such purposes.

Since Apple wants to ensure maximum security for Apple Pay system, it naturally could restrict developers’ access to NFC and a dedicated chip called the Secure Element on its latest smartphones. Still, such restrictions do not seem to be logical as the company will have to let Apple Pay developers to access both NFC and Secure Element anyway.

According to Cult of Mac, Apple could reconsider its attitude towards NFC going forward. Still, in the past Apple has never really changed its decisions.

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KitGuru Says: Keeping in mind that there are not a lot of NFC-enabled gadgets on the market, Apple’s restrictions do not seem to be too tragic. On the other hand, it is a little sad to see that a promising technology is not really used fully.

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