Apple has been less-than-enthusiastic about putting NFC capabilities on the iPhone and you can’t really blame them — after all, the only time many of us see NFC in use is on Samsung commercials. But AppleInsider points out that Apple has filed a patent application this year that details an NFC-based technology that lets users send “gifts” from the iTunes store to one another on their phones. MacRumors says that the patent describes two ways users can send gifts to one another: “Either by purchasing the media directly from the iTunes Store and sending to another user’s Apple ID or by sending a copy of already-owned media to another device, which is currently unavailable on all iOS devices.” While it’s unlikely that NFC will pop up on the upcoming iPhone 5S, it seems Apple is at least considering using the technology at some point in the future.
Apple may have some use for NFC after all
Updated Aug 15th, 2013 8:06PM EDT
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Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
