iPhone 5 and Its Missing NFC

There's a scene in Will Smith's movie "Hitch" in which two hipsters try to impress a woman by rattling through a list of the top new restaurants and venues in the city and pronouncing each one in turn to be disgusting. I thought of that scene as I read a stream of articles on the new iPhone 5 this past week. These articles generally agree on two points:

1. Compared to the previous-generation iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 has a processor that's twice as fast, networking that's twice as fast, a camera that's twice as good, a screen that's 20% larger, and a brand new look -- while reducing weight and improving battery life. It also ships with a new generation of iOS. Together, these new features make the iPhone 5 exactly the same as the iPhone 4S, which is just. so. boring.
2. The new iPhone also has a completely new dock connector, which compared to the previous one and to competing technologies is dramatically smaller and thinner, which in turn allows devices to be smaller and thinner. It's also faster, more flexible, and easier to use. This reckless abandonment of nine-year-old technology is a scandalous insult to Apple customers and to democratic values, demonstrating once and for all the cynical depths to which Apple has fallen following the death of Steve Jobs, may God have mercy on his soul.

Disgusting.


Setting aside the irony of holding both of these opinions in one's head at the same time, I'd like to focus on one feature that many commentators have singled out as a gaping hole in the iPhone's feature set: NFC, or near-field communication. NFC is extremely short-range wireless technology that's typically used in point-of-sale (PoS) systems to allow customers to pay for things with their smart phones rather than their credit cards.

It's geek porn.

For merchants, supporting sales over NFC requires the same number of lanes and the same number of cashiers as sales via credit card. Transactions take the same amount of time, and everyone who has an NFC-capable device already has a credit card, so NFC doesn't bring in new customers. And to support it, you have to buy new equipment and train your staff.

For customers, NFC means that instead of reaching into your pocket for your wallet, taking out your credit card, and swiping it vertically through a narrow ridge in the PoS system, you reach into your other pocket for your smart phone, open a certain app, and wave your device horizontally over the PoS. By itself, this experience isn't really a big improvement over using a credit card; the real reason to use NFC is hey girl, I just paid for something with my phone I mean I don't really care but it you like that we should hang out.

NFC does not solve any real-world problems -- not even any first-world problems.

If you want to see Apple's vision for the retail experience, try visiting Apple's own retail stores with the Apple Store iPhone app. The app lets you purchase a product in the store yourself by taking a picture of its barcode with your phone's camera. Snap a photo, tap a button, and walk out of the store with your new purchase. It doesn't require new PoS systems; it eliminates PoS systems. It doesn't require special device hardware; it uses the camera and 3G connection that your two-year-old iPhone 4 already has. It speeds up purchases and requires less contact with the store's staff.

Pretty easy. Maybe boring easy.

So be pissed that Apple hasn't partnered with every merchant on the planet to allow you to buy things this way. But don't be pissed about your missing NFC.