Apple iWatch rumours: Smartwatch to have NFC, unlikely to ship this year

As Apple’s iPhone event is only days away (on 9 September) more details are coming out about the Cupertino-tech giant’s upcoming devices: the iWatch and the iPhone. According to news reports, the iWatch will also support the NFC mobile payments system that Apple will be introducing in the iPhone 6 devices as well.   A report in Wall Street Journal says, “Apple plans to include short-range wireless technology in its coming smartwatch,according to people familiar with the matter.” The report adds that “NFC wireless is central to Apple’s plans to offer so-called tap-to-pay into its mobile devices.”   Another report in New York Times also confirms the NFC bit in smartwatch and includes details on how the iWatch will look like. The NYT report says that the iWatch will have “flexible display panel that is protected by synthetic sapphire,” and that it’s circuit board was “about the size of a postage stamp.” It’s evident that Apple will make sure that its watch isn’t bulky like a lot of the other smartwatches that we’ve seen in enter the market.   The report adds that the iWatch can be charged via wireless charging, and notes that the solar charging method was tested by Apple but it failed. Other than HealthKit, the iWatch will also use “Handoff, a new software feature that allows users to push content between their Apple devices,” says the report.     Where the bigger iPhones are concerned, Apple could be introducing a one hand mode that would allow users to type or use apps with just one hand which can be a problem on a big screen. Apple is expected to release two versions of the iPhone, one which is 5.5-inches, another which is 4.7-inches. The iPhone 5s and 5c currently have a 4-inch screen.   As far as NFC payments go, Bloomberg had first reported the story saying that Apple would launch the system in the iPhone 6. According to the report, Apple signed an agreement with Visa, MasterCard and American Express and hopes to convert the iPhone 6 into a mobile wallet.   Apple has close to 800 million global iTunes accounts, which include payment information, and it makes sense of the company to try and strengthen this ecosystem further by creating a mobile payments system. How fast it will catch up though remains to be seen.