For many years, the NFC of the iPhone has been too limited. The communication chip of these terminals barely allowed payments with Apple Pay and a few other options, all of them controlled by Apple. However, with iOS 18, both the imminent iPhone 16 and the rest of the compatible models will have a long-awaited novelty.
Apple is about to open the NFC chip for everyoneIt is important to emphasize the “all” because it was initially a request from the European Union under the new laws that apply in the member states, but it has since been confirmed that it will also reach other territories such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Even Google and Samsung can get to the iPhone (if they want)
It’s been just over a week since iOS 18.1 beta 2 was released, a version exclusive to developers that includes important changes to Apple Intelligence with its availability in the European Union using an American Apple ID. However, it also hid another important new feature related to NFC.
It turns out that this first update after iOS 18.0, which is expected to arrive in October, will serve to fully open the NFC chipAt least that is what the specialized developers who are testing this second beta have already been able to verify.
This means that iPhones will no longer be solely tied to Apple and its Wallet app for making payments with Apple Pay. Of course, it will still work for that, but now it will also New payment methods may arrive from other companies. The great examples here are Google Pay or Samsung Pay, which have not yet confirmed their presence on iOS and will surely have to study whether it is feasible to bring their platforms to Apple’s, but they will be able to do so now.
Beyond NFC payments on the iPhone
Other relevant functions that will arrive with the opening of the NFC ****we find them in the identity identification to access certain places such as closed venues at concerts or certain rooms not accessible to others in companies. Even some modern elevators that leave behind the classic physical key and support NFC will be able to benefit, since they will not only work with Android.
Barcelona will be one of the first cities to take advantage of this change to replace the physical T-Mobilitat card with the iPhone
As closer examples, we find the Public transport applications in cities like Barcelona or Madrid. Barcelona’s T-Mobilitat will be working with the iPhone’s NFC by the end of the year and it is expected that Madrid Metro will adopt a similar measure, although this will take a long time, as it will be at least in 2026, which is when the development of its new project to access the network without having to validate tickets each time is expected to be completed.
In the end, it is a small change that will bring great benefits if any company wants to take advantage of it to add new functions that make everyday tasks easier. While it is true that Apple loses absolute control over NFC, it is known that maintain strong security regulations which will force developers to not leave any loose ends that could cause problems for user data and/or iPhone operation.
Cover image | Generated with DALL-E 3 and Photoshop