Leaked images of the 'iPhone 6' logic board confirms NFC and a faster A8 chip
After years of speculation, NFC technology is finally coming to Apple’s iPhone.
Feld & Volk, which has done a great job leaking parts from the “iPhone 6,” shared some exclusive photos of the completed logic board with prolific leaker Sonny Dickson.
And he’s confirmed that the board does indeed contain an NFC chip from chipmaker NXP.
As we reported earlier today, the NFC chip will be a big part of Apple’s forthcoming mobile payment solution. Financial information will apparently be stored in a special, secure enclave, much like the fingerprint information collected by the biometric Touch ID sensor.
Apple watcher John Gruber also hinted that the “iWatch,” which is expected to be unveiled at the same time as the next-generation iPhone on Tuesday, Sept. 9, will also have an NFC chip.
So what does NFC technology mean for the average iPhone user? While startups like Coin have tried to move the wallet into the digital age, Apple fully embracing NFC technology should help jumpstart the mobile payment arena in a huge way. Being able to pay for a purchase by simply using an iPhone is something that should excite pretty much everyone.
The iPhone 5s logic board on the left is compared to the same part of the “iPhone 6″ on the right.
Also spotted on the logic board is Apple’s A8 chip, which is expected to be a 2 GHz dual-core 20 nanometer chip. The A7 found in the iPhone 5s runs at 1.3 GHz and is a larger 28 nanometer chip. That increase in chip speed should definitely make the device a speed demon.
MacRumors also suggests that the logic board, from an iPhone with a 4.7-inch screen, has 16GB of flash memory. Many, like myself, were hoping that Apple would make 32GB of storage the lowest end of the lineup.
The storage offering could be different for the larger, 5.5-inch version of the handset, but I wouldn’t count on it.
We’re a little more than a week away from the handset’s unveiling, so make sure to keep with us for all of the latest news.
