Apple iOS 12 will be revealed at WWDC 2018. It could feature more NFC functions on iPhones. (File photo: Bloomberg)
Apple iOS 12 will be revealed soon at the company’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which takes place from June 4 to June 8. While no major hardware announcement is expected, iOS 12 will come with new features and more focus on quality, according to earlier reports. A new report claims, Apple’s iOS 12 will expand NFC capabilities on iPhones.
According to a report on The Information Apple iOS 12 will have a new NFC capability for iPhones, which will let users unlock doors with the technology. Currently, NFC on the iPhone is limited to Apple Pay and mobile payments, unlike on Android phones, where NFC supports more features. NFC stands for near-field communication, and it looks like Apple will expand the functions for this future. The report indicates, Apple iPhone users could soon pay for transit fares, open doors, verify identity with the NFC chip on their devices.
The report in The Information also claims Apple employees are already using their iPhones to enter and exit buildings and offices on the campus. Compared to Bluetooth, NFC is a more secure way of authentication.
When it comes to Apple iOS 12, earlier reports from Bloomberg have said that the next OS is codenamed “Peace,” and this time the company will focus on improving quality, rather than rushing all the new features. In fact, features which are not perfected, will be pushed to the iOS 13 build. Apple iOS 12 will come with support for universal apps as well where both macOS 10.14 and iOS 12 will support one app that can work across iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Apple iOS 12 is also expected to feature more parental controls and improved DND mode, according to previous reports. Apple will likely release the public beta of iOS 12, macOS 10.14, the new watchOS, etc after WWDC 2018, and users will be able to test out the upcoming software on their devices. However, the final public build of iOS 12 will likely come in mid-September after the new iPhone X for 2018 has been revealed.