Senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, Phil Schiller, has explained why the latest iPhone does not have NFC or wireless charging, and why they chose to change the dock connector.
In an interview with AllThingsD, Schiller said that it is yet unclear if NFC is the solution to any current problem and that Apple's new application for iOS 6 called Passbook "does the kinds of things customers need today." This is very typical of Apple, they almost never bet on a technology unless they are sure it will become a standard; likely the same reason they will never include a Blu-ray drive in Mac computers.
On wireless charging, Schiller says that it still requires the charging unit to be plugged into a wall, saying that it's not clear how much convenience it actually adds. "Having to create another device you have to plug into a wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated." he said. This comes after Nokia introduced two new Windows Phone 8 Lumia devices that allow for wireless charging via a charging pad.
As for the new Lightning dock connector, Schiller said it wasn't possible to build products as thin without changing the cord. "This is the new connector for many years to come," he said. Apple's previous connector has been in use since 2003, which is currently used for thousands of 3rd-party products such as speakers and docks. While the new iPhone won't fit into these products, Apple will be selling an adapter for backwards compatibility.
Source: AllThingsD
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