Many of the rumors we’ve been hearing about the iPhone 5 over the past month or so became a reality at today’s keynote event, but not all of them. The iPhone 5 does not feature NFC technology or wireless charging. And now, Apple’s Senior VP, Phil Schiller, is commenting on the missing features and explaining why they aren’t there.
Many people thought that with Apple’s upcoming Passbook app, NFC would be an obvious inclusion. In an interview, Schiller said that Passbook by itself does what most people want and works without existing merchant payment systems. He said it’s not clear that NFC is the answer to any current problems as “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”
As for wireless charging, Schiller said that such systems would still need to be plugged into the wall so it’s not clear how much convenience they would actually add to charging an iPhone. Currently, the widely-adopted USB cord can charge in wall outlets, computers, and even on airplanes, which is already pretty convenient in itself.
Schiller said, “Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated.”
iPhones and iPods have featured the current dock connector since 2003, so why are they changing it now? The answer is simple, according to Schiller. It’s just not possible to create products like the new iPhones and iPods without changing the size of the cord. Enter “Lightning” connector. On the plus side, Schiller notes that “This is the new connector for many years to come,” so we won’t have to worry about it changing again for quite some time.
Source: AllThingsD
