The annual conference of Apple's developers, WWDC, will begin June 4, and with it the unveiling of some features of iOS 12. According to The Information, one of they will be an expansion of the NFC capabilities of the iPhone beyond Apple Pay, allowing the handset to act as a hotel room door key and as a virtual transit card .
The publication writes that with iOS 12, Apple will give some developers full access to the NFC chip of the iPhone, which has been added to the iPhone 6 and to the iPhone. iPhone 6 Plus for communication with POS terminals. Non-Apple apps have had limited access to the chip with iOS 11, but restrictions are lifted in the next version of the operating system.
In addition to opening hotel rooms by simply tapping the iPhone screen, users will also be able to use the phone's NFC capabilities to open the doors of their home and their cars. Apple employees already have access to these features and use their iPhones to enter the offices and buildings of the Cupertino headquarters, through a partnership with HID Global, which has developed the site's security systems.
Some hotels already allow customers to use their iPhone as a door key, although this is done via Bluetooth, which is considered less secure than the NFC.
Another feature of the NFC update will be the ability to use an iPhone as a virtual transit card. Apple would have been in talks with Cubic on adding the feature for years. There are already places where you can pay for public transport services using an iPhone or Apple Watch that works with Apple Pay, including some cities in China, Russia and the United States, as well as London and Japan. The update seems set to open this function to all owners of the iPhone 6 and newer.
We'll know more about the new NFC features and other iOS 12 features at the Apple conference in just over a week.
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