This week, Apple released iOS 17.4, a long-awaited update by adding in Europe the possibility of using alternative application stores to the App Store. All this in order to comply with Union legislation on competitiveness. But in addition to these new stores, there are other new features, one of them being linked to the NFC chip.
Until now, using the NFC chip added by our iPhone was a complicated task precisely because the hermeticism which has always characterized these devices. But this now changes dramatically with iOS 17.4, since Europe has also forced Apple to open up this technology so that it can be used by different developers.
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Endless possibilities with the “liberalization” of the NFC chip
The NFC chip has until now been mainly limited to payment via Apple Pay, reading NFC tags, CarKey or recognizing MagSafe cases. But third-party developers have not been able to access this to offer us features that we have, for example in Android, where its NFC chip is much more exploited.
Now this is changing dramatically and the possibilities are many. The first thing that comes to mind is the possibility of leaving the Apple Pay ecosystem to opt for other systems such as those of each banking entity. On Android this is something very common, where each bank can have access to the NFC chip to make the payment from the application without depending on other services.
Some of the examples I have interacted with relate to the application of BBVA or CaixaBank which adds, after configuration, this possibility of using the NFC chip. But this is something that may or may not come to iOS. Everything will depend on the priorities of the development team.
But in addition to the application of each bank, other payment “hubs” can also enter, such as Google Wallet. An application that received a design change relatively recently and which It works like Apple Pay but with additional functions that are striking. Now Wallet could land on an iPhone and work just fine. But only in Europe.
Payment for public transport You can also benefit greatly from it. Currently in Apple Pay you can get a transport voucher without problem, but few companies have opted for integration, beyond major world cities like London or Tokyo. But from that moment on, many other wings were given to the promoters, for example, of the Madrid Metro or the Barcelona TMB, among other Spanish companies.
They can now focus on becoming “independent” of the physical transport ticket to move to the digital format. A much more practical way to travel both to validate it (by avoiding having to look for it) and to recharge it. Now it will be easier than ever because you will not necessarily have to exceed Apple’s limits, but ratherand will be developed directly for NFC from your own approved application.
In short, a large window now opens for all developers so that they can take advantage of these components which until now were very limited. Obviously, it’s not going to be immediateand we will still have to wait several months until these results are visible in the App Store or in alternatives.
Pictures | CardMapr.nl
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