Apple's next iPhone may indeed include a mobile payment platform, claims WIRED in a report released Thursday. Wired's sources didn't not reveal how the system would work, but the publication was told that near field communications (NFC) technology will be part of the system.
The company’s next iPhone will feature its own payment platform, sources familiar with the matter told WIRED. In fact, that platform will be one of the hallmark features of the device when it’s unveiled on September 9. We’re told the solution will involve NFC.
Rumors of NFC support in the iPhone have been an annual occurrence over the past several years, but things may finally be coming together for Apple with NFC and its rumored mobile payments initiative. Additional evidence for NFC was spotted in schematics leaked by GeekBar, which suggest Apple may be using a version of the PN65 NFC package from NXP, which measures 5 mm x 5 mm and has 32 terminals for connectivity. A comparison of this component with alleged iPhone 6 logic boards published recently by Nowherelse.fr reveal an unused spot on the board that could accommodate this NFC chip.
A growing body of evidence suggests Apple is working on a mobile payments solution with NFC as an important component. NFC has been mentioned along with Bluetooth LE in patent applications that describe possible mobile payment solutions. Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Brightwire, as well as high-profile KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo all believe Apple will be adopting NFC as a core technology for the iPhone 6.
Apple is rumored to be working on an upcoming mobile payment solution that leverages the credit card data stored in millions of iTunes accounts. Apple is said to be working with credit card companies such as Visa about a possible partnership that would allow it to bypass third-party payment processors. Apple CEO Tim Cook also alluded to mobile payments earlier this year, noting that mobile payments were "one of the thoughts" behind Touch ID.
Update 10:17 AM: Re/code's John Paczkowski says he has "been hearing the same" about the iPhone 6 coming equipped with NFC technology needed for a mobile payments solution.
New photos of various components said to be from the iPhone 6 have been shared by Nowhereelse.fr (Google Translate), giving us a glimpse at both internal and external parts to be used in the device.
The first set of images show SIM card trays and home buttons in a range of three different colors, which may indicate that the iPhone 6 will keep the same space grey, gold, and silver options from the iPhone 5s. This is in line with a previous leaks, including one from last month which also showed SIM trays in three different colors. The SIM trays shown in the photos also appear to be slightly curved, and was likely designed with the iPhone 6's thinner, rounded chassis in mind.
Another set of photos shows the embedded Apple logo, which has also surfaced in other leaks. However, Nowhereelse indicates that the logo scratches under regular pressure with a knife, and contrasts prior speculation that the logo was made of scratch-resistant metal. Apple has not used an embedded Apple logo on its mobile devices since the original iPhone back in 2007.
Finally, the last set of photos show the internal speaker and vibrator motor of the iPhone 6. Both components appear to be different than their predecessors found in the iPhone 5s, as the internal speaker appears to be larger while the vibrator motor now sports a rectangular design.
According to Re/code, Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6 on Tuesday, September 9. It is likely that the 4.7-inch version of the device will go on sale about a week later, while the 5.5-inch version may be released at a later time due to production delays. A report yesterday from Re/code also stated that Apple will unveil a wearable device at the event.
The decision comes four years after Apple applied for a trademark related to the store's design, which is still currently pending. The panted granted today was originally filed on October 15, 2012 and credits eight inventors including former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store opened on May 19, 2006 and was designed by architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Due to a structural overhaul that took place in 2011, the location currently uses 15 panes of glass as opposed to 90 used in the original cube. The renovations on the newer cube also did away with nearly all of the hardware that previously held the original panes together, resulting in a "seamless" design.
Following hints of a release earlier this summer, the iOS version of 2K Games' original first person shooter BioShock is now available in the App Store. Rumored since 2008, BioShock on iOS is a port of the full, original game first released in 2007.
Set in 1960, BioShock asks players to take on the role of Jack, a plane crash survivor who finds his way into the defunct underwater city of Rapture. Jack has to fight his way out of the city, battling Big Daddies and other enemies while using an array of heavy weaponry and taking advantage of genetics-altering plasmids that grant him super powers. Over the course of the game, players also discover the rich history behind the creation of Rapture and its eventual fall.
One of the greatest first person shooters of all time, BioShock comes to iOS!
BioShock is the "genetically enhanced" first person shooter where you can turn everything into a weapon: the environment, your body, fire and water, and even your worst enemies.
You are a cast-away in Rapture, an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces, and hunted down by genetically modified "splicers" and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. No encounter ever plays out the same, and no two gamers will play the game the same way.
Earlier this month, our sister site TouchArcade went hands on with BioShock for iOS, and found that it runs "like a dream on iOS hardware" but had somewhat poor virtual controls as is common with first person shooters on a touchscreen. It does, however, work very well with a Bluetooth controller, which makes it "just like playing on a console." The game's graphics were slightly toned down to make it run on iOS, removing the fog and dynamic shadows, but TouchArcade says "you'd be hard-pressed to tell."
BioShock is limited to newer iOS devices, including the iPad Air, Retina iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad, and the iPhone 5/5c/5s.
Apple has again been denied a permanent injunction on Samsung products that infringe on its smartphone patents, reports Bloomberg. Judge Lucy Koh today rejected Apple's plea for a sales ban on nine different Samsung devices involved in the second Apple vs. Samsung patent infringement trial.
According to Koh, Apple did not demonstrate irreparable harm in the form of lost sales, despite efforts to target specific infringing features on the Samsung devices.
"Apple has not satisfied its burden of demonstrating irreparable harm and linking that harm to Samsung's exploitation of any of Apple's three infringed patents," the judge wrote. "Apple has not established that it suffered significant harm in the form of either lost sales or reputational injury."
Earlier this year, a jury ruled that Samsung had willfully infringed on three Apple patents, ordering the company to pay $119.6 million in damages. Devices involved in the lawsuit included the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The $119.6 million that Samsung owes from the second trial is in addition to the damages awarded to Apple in the original Apple vs. Samsung trial, which added up to approximately $890 million after a recalculation.
The sequel to NimbleBit's popular free-to-play tower building game Tiny Tower is now available for download worldwide after soft launching in several countries earlier this summer. Tiny Tower Vegas incorporates the same tower building gameplay found in the original game, melding it with several Las Vegas-themed mini games like poker and slot machines.
As in the previous game, the idea is for players to continually build up and manage a tower filled with various businesses that generate coins. Like many free-to-play titles, Tiny Tower Vegas includes various countdown timers for functions like restocking floors, which can be sped up with the use of real life currency.
Tiny Tower Vegas can, however, be played without investing any real money. There are three types of currency in the game: coins, bux, and poker chips. Coins are earned from the tower's occupants, while bux are won from the included gambling mini games, which are played using poker chips. While poker chips can be purchased in app, there are also continual mini events in the game that reward players with the currency.
The game includes several tower customization options and features that were available in the original Tiny Tower, including a BitBook with funny status updates, elevator upgrades, and multiplayer options that allow users to visit friends' towers and team up with other users in the Players Club.
Tiny Tower is back, and this time we're going to Vegas, baby!
- Build and manage your own hotel & casino filled with shopping, dining & entertainment floors! - Amass a fortune of bux by betting chips in a multitude of casino games! - Earn chips when your friends visit and play the games in your tower! - Customize your tower with impressively themed roofs, elevators and lobbies! - Keep tabs on the thoughts of employees and guests by reading the "BitBook" virtual social network!
Tiny Tower Vegas is a universal app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple today seeded Mavericks 10.9.5 build 13F24 to developers, just over a week after seeding the fourth OS X 10.9.5 beta, build 13F18, and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.9.4 to the public.
The beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Mac Developer Center.
It is unclear what improvements the 10.9.5 update will bring to Mavericks, but it is likely to include bug fixes and stability enhancements. Apple is asking developers to focus on USB, USB Smart Cards, Graphics, Safari, Thunderbolt, and Gatekeeper.
Along with working on improvements to Mavericks, Apple is also beta testing OS X Yosemite, which is due to be released in the fall. The last Mavericks update, 10.9.4, added several Wi-Fi fixes and improved wake from sleep reliability.
Apple has plans to unveil its upcoming wearable device in September, alongside the iPhone 6, reports Re/code. The site previously suggested Apple had planned to debut the device at an October event, but now says that Apple's plans have changed.
iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton, based on the Nike Fuelband
Remember back in June when I said Apple hoped to schedule a special event in October to show off a new wearable device? Remember how I also said this: "Could things change between now and fall? That's certainly possible." Turns out that was a prescient hedge, because things have changed. Apple now plans to unveil a new wearable alongside the two next-generation iPhones we told you the company will debut on September 9th.
According to Re/code, the device will "make good use" of both HealthKit and HomeKit, two sets of APIs that were introduced during WWDC. HealthKit, which ties into Apple's iOS 8 Health app, focuses on health and fitness, while HomeKit is a home automation platform designed to allow users to control a variety connected devices.
Though Apple has plans to introduce a wearable device in September, there is no word on when the device might ship. Given a lack of part leaks and rumors pointing towards a late 2014 or early 2015 launch, it is likely the device will be shown several months before it will be available to consumers.
Apple's upcoming wearable device has been frequently referred to as the iWatch by both MacRumors and other rumor sites, but it remains unclear what Apple will call the device at launch. It is expected to be a wrist worn device, however, and rumors have suggested that it will come in multiple sizes with several different designs available at multiple price points.
Last week, Chinese repair firm GeekBar shared a claimed schematic for the iPhone 6 showing what was claimed to be the pinning diagram for the device's rumored near field communications (NFC) chip. The part addressed on the schematic, PN65V, was thought to be a version of NXP's PN65 NFC package currently used in several Android devices.
The leak is one of several schematics shared by GeekBar over the past week and a half, and while some of the components have been misidentified, it is looking increasingly likely that the schematics themselves are legitimate. Seen in that light, it is worth taking a look back at the NFC claim to see if there is additional evidence for it.
Closeup of 4.7-inch iPhone 6 logic board with likely NFC chip location boxed in red, LTE modem boxed in green
MacRumors forum member chrmjenkins has pointed us toward a document showing the package used by NXP for its PN65, noting that it measures 5 mm x 5 mm with 32 terminals for connectivity. In examining the bare logic boards from the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models, chrmjenkins believes he has spotted where that chip will be located.
The location on the board is a square patch that does not correspond to any component from the iPhone 5s logic board, indicating that it may indeed be for a new component such as an NFC chip. Existing components may of course see changes in shape between generations, but many of the current major components can be mapped reasonably well to locations on the iPhone 6 logic boards, leaving relatively few candidates for this new square patch.
Rumors of NFC for the iPhone have circulated for years, but they have yet to come to fruition. As a result, this year's crop of NFC rumors has understandably been greeted with skepticism, although the volume and specificity of the rumors has seemed greater this time around, with multiple sources pointing toward an NXP chip solution for the iPhone. And with Apple rumored to be making a push into mobile payments as soon as later this year, the time may finally be right for Apple to bring NFC to the iPhone.
LaCie today announced the availability of its 8big Rack storage device. Unveiled earlier this year at the annual NAB trade show, the LaCie 8big Rack is the company’s first Thunderbolt 2 rackmount storage solution.
The 8big Rack includes 48 terabytes of capacity with eight Seagate 6 TB 7200 RPM hard drives that deliver speeds up to 1330 MB/s. Geared towards 4K videographers and other professional media editors, the 8big Rack also features Raid 5/6 data redundancy and dual Thunderbolt 2 ports that expand the storage potential of the Mac Pro to 1.7 petabytes.
The LaCie 8big Rack (48TB) is available today for $4,599.99 through LaCie and its authorized resellers. The storage solution also is available in a four–disk 12 TB or an eight–disk 24 TB configuration for $1,599.99 and $2,599.99, respectively.
Dropbox today announced changes to its Pro subscription, offering a single plan that provides up to 1 terabyte of storage for $9.99 a month or $99 per year. The new Pro plan also improves its sharing controls and adds new security options that make it easier and safer to share your data with friends, family and colleagues.
The new Dropbox Pro makes it easier to secure your shared data with new password and expiration options. Pro plan users now can add a password to a shared link as well as set an expiration date that limits how long files are being shared. When sharing a folder, Dropbox now has a new "View-Only" permission option that controls whether recipients can view or edit files within that shared folder.
For smartphone, tablet and notebook users, Dropbox has added a new remote wipe feature that allows users to delete files from a lost or stolen device. This feature destroys the data on the compromised device, while keeping a copy safely stored on Dropbox's servers.
Dropbox's biggest change is in its pricing, with the Pro plan now offering up to 1 TB (1,000 GB) of data for $9.99 per month. This pricing leapfrogs Amazon with its 1TB/$500 yearly plan and brings Dropbox in line with Google, which also offers a similar 1TB/$10 monthly option. Apple is launching its own iCloud Drive solution later this year alongside iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, but pricing at the 1 TB level has yet to be announced. Apple's 200 GB plan will be priced at $3.99/month.
Apple will launch a thinner MacBook near the end of this year or sometime next year, according to a new report from Digitimes. Citing supply chain sources in Taiwan, the report notes that component production has already begun in small volumes. Apple will also reportedly cease production of the 13-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro by the end of 2014.
A report last month claimed that Intel's continued delays of its Broadwell chip may cause Apple to push back the release of its 12-inch MacBook until late this 2014 or early 2015. The 12-inch MacBook is said to include a Retina display and may either be a successor to the MacBook Air or join Apple's current 11-inch and 13-inch models.
A previous report in June stated that Apple would begin production of a 12-inch MacBook Air in the third quarter of this year, with Quanta Computer in charge of assembly. The 12-inch MacBook Air was also described as appearing similar to the 11-inch and 13-inch models, but featuring a Retina display and internal changes to various components.
Other reports throughout the year have also shared information on a 12-inch MacBook Air, with NPD DisplaySearch and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also stating that the new notebook would feature a Retina display. A user on a Chinese forum who previously shared accurate information noted that the 12-inch MacBook Air would incorporate a new cooling system and button-less trackpad design.
If Apple is indeed looking to launch a new MacBook late this year or early next year, the company may unveil the notebook at an October event following the introduction of the iPhone 6 in September.
Seagate today announced the world's first eight terabyte hard drive, designed to provide high capacity storage for private and cloud-based data centers. The single 3.5-inch hard disk drive surpasses the storage capacity of previously available hard drives, including 6 TB HDDs from both Western Digital and Seagate itself.
Unlike similar high-capacity offerings from Western Digital, Seagate does not use helium in either its 6 TB HDD or its new 8 TB offering. While Seagate has not released the details behind the 8 TB drive, it's likely the HDD uses Seagate's shingled magnetic recording technology, which, according to the company, adds more than 25 percent capacity growth by maximizing the number of tracks per inch on a single disk.
Seagate says that its new 8 TB HDD also uses fewer components to make it more power efficient, which ultimately lowers power costs for enterprise customers.
A cornerstone for growing capacities in multiple applications, the 8TB hard drive delivers bulk data storage solutions for online content storage providing customers with the highest capacity density needed to address an ever increasing amount of unstructured data in an industry-standard 3.5-inch HDD. Providing up to 8TB in a single drive slot, the drive delivers maximum rack density, within an existing footprint, for the most efficient data center floor space usage possible.
The 8TB hard disk drive increases system capacity using fewer components for increased system and staffing efficiencies while lowering power costs. With its low operating power consumption, the drive reliably conserves energy thereby reducing overall operating costs. Helping customers economically store data, it boasts the best Watts/GB for enterprise bulk data storage in the industry.
Seagate is currently shipping the drives to select numbers with wide scale availability coming next quarter. The company did not release pricing on the drives.
After a long delay, the August Smart Lock is finally shipping out to preorder customers beginning today. First introduced in May of 2013, the August Smart Lock is a Bluetooth-based iPhone-compatible locking system designed by Jason Johnson and notable designer Yves Béhar.
At August, our mission is to make beautiful products that allow your physical environment to seamlessly respond to you. Today, we are one step closer to achieving that goal. We are excited to announce that the August Smart Lock has begun shipping in limited quantities.
The August Smart Lock, which allows users to unlock their doors with their iPhones, is crafted from anodized aluminum and looks similar to a standard home lock. It comes with several different faceplates and deadbolt adapters to fit the majority of locks on the market, functioning on four AA batteries.
Like competing products from Lockitron and Kevo, the lock can be programmed remotely to let in visitors through an accompanying iPhone app. It's also designed to monitor when guests enter and it can be customized with specific timers.
Initial preorders of the August Smart Lock, which originally had an estimated shipping date of November or December 2013, were available for $199, but the retail price of the lock is now $249.99. The company plans to fulfill orders for the lock over the course of the next few months, with new orders displaying a prospective shipping date of "late October."
When iOS 8 is released to the public in the fall, iOS users will be able to take advantage of several new operating system features, including system wide third-party keyboards, which will bring fresh functionality to the default iOS keyboard.
Third-party keyboards are available on Android devices and have been long-desired on iOS, so several popular keyboard developers announced plans to bring their software to iOS shortly after third-party keyboard integration was announced at WWDC. After iOS 8 launches, we'll be seeing new keyboards from well-known developers like Fleksy, Swype, SwiftKey, and TouchPal.
iOS 8's third-party keyboard support will also allow new entrants into the customized keyboard arena, with developers bringing us apps that offer all kinds of different functions to improve the way we use our keyboards. One such developer, Kevin Wolkober, has created a quick text insertion keyboard that offers a unique function we haven't seen with previously previewed keyboards.
While keyboards like Swype and Fleksy focus on improving the typing experience through gestures and predictive text, Wolkober's QuickBoard is designed to give users a quicker way to enter the snippets of text that they type repeatedly into their iOS devices, including addresses, credit card information, email signatures, and more.
QuickBoard is actually split by function into three separate keyboard elements, including TextBoard, MeBoard, and LocationBoard. Each of these three keyboard functions lets users to tap to insert often-repeated text elements in any app to save time and effort.
TextBoard allows users to store snippets of text, accommodating any text from a one line signature to a lengthy paragraph. MeBoard stores all of a user's contact info, such as name, email, and home address, and is handy when filling out forms. LocationBoard will automatically determine a user's current location, allowing them to paste in a Google Maps URL or coordinates, or an approximate address, which is useful when a location needs to be shared outside of Messages.
Like any other customized keyboard, QuickBoard operates through an app that's installed on the iOS device and set up in iOS 8's Settings, as described in our hands-on TouchPal installation guide. The personal information and pre-written snippets of text available in the QuickBoard keyboard are created using the installed QuickBoard app.
Inserting text into the QuickBoard app
Chunks of text can be entered into TextBoard section of the app, for example, while the MeBoard pulls in information like name, address, and phone number. Though MeBoard is currently limited to information pulled from the Contacts app, custom information will be added before the app's official launch. Location data isn't inserted in the app itself, since it is pulled from the phone's current location whenever it's used.
The text elements saved in the QuickBoard app can be used in any other app, including Mail, Safari, Messages, Notes, iWork, and more. Inserting saved text into one of these apps is as simple as tapping on the globe icon on the keyboard to activate QuickBoard and then tapping on the relevant block of text.
Personal information, such as name and address, can be inserted by tapping on the person icon, and the arrow will determine a user's approximate location, allowing it to be quickly inserted into a text message, email, or other app. Location information is especially useful, as it cuts out several steps that would normally be necessary when sharing a location an email or other app.
QuickBoard demonstrated in the Notes app
QuickBoard includes access to a space bar, return key, and delete key for formatting purposes, but the rest of the typing is left to another keyboard app or iOS 8's default predictive text function. QuickBoard works seamlessly with any other keyboards installed, and switching between them is as simple as tapping on the globe icon.
Though simpler than most of the other keyboards we've seen before, QuickBoard hints at some of the innovative ways developers will take advantage of third-party keyboard integration in iOS 8. At the current time, QuickBoard is still in the beta testing phases, but Wolkober tells MacRumors that the app will be ready for download shortly after iOS 8 officially launches in the fall, with pricing yet to be determined.
PayPal is currently offering 25 percent off digital iTunes cards in the United Kingdom, allowing users to purchase iTunes codes for the App Store, Mac App Store, iBooks Store, and iTunes Store at a discount.
Under the terms of the deal, an £15 iTunes card drops to £11.25, while a £25 card drops to £18.75. Larger denomination iTunes cards of £50 and £100 are available for £37.50 and £75. Cards are only redeemable in the UK iTunes Store.
The offer lasts until Thursday, August 28 at 11:59 BST, but as with all PayPal iTunes discounts, there are a limited number of codes available and discounts will only be available while supplies last.
Just before news of Apple's upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro was reported by Bloomberg, Re/Code's Walt Mossberg shared a snippet of an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook commenting on the recent state of the tablet market, which has been on the decline. According to Cook, the dip in iPad sales over the past two quarters is just a "speed bump" for Apple.
In a brief interview about tablets I had this week with Apple CEO Tim Cook, he said, "We couldn't be happier with how we've done with the first four years of the iPad," and added that, "I'd call what's going on recently a speed bump, and I've seen that in every category."
The sentiment echoes comments that Cook made during the company's third quarter earnings call, where Apple announced iPad sales of just 13.3 million, down from 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter. The drop followed a Q2 sales dip that saw sales of 16.35 million iPads, down from 19.5 in Q2 2013.
During the call, Cook highlighted overall sales of more than 225 million iPads over the course of the last four years and suggested the tablet market itself was still "in its infancy." The CEO said that "significant innovation can be brought to the iPad," and pointed towards plans to bring improvements to Apple's tablet lineup.
Part of those plans may include the introduction of a larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which will launch in early 2015, according to Bloomberg. Rumors have suggested the larger tablet will include an ultra high-definition display and that it will be marketed towards Apple's enterprise customers.
12.9-inch iPad mockup (left) with fourth-generation iPad (right) and iPad mini (bottom)
While Apple has seen a serious drop in iPad sales over the past two quarters, the company continues to be the world's leading tablet vendor, holding 26.9 percent of the total tablet market. The company's iPad Air and iPad mini have hit 98% and 100% customer satisfaction rankings, respectively, and the iPad holds an 85 percent share of the U.S education market.
Apple is not the only company experiencing a drop in tablet sales, as noted by Mossberg. Microsoft and Samsung have also seen slumping sales, possibly due to the fact that people see less of a need to upgrade their tablets on a regular basis, as suggested by Samsung, or the tablet's position as a want rather than a need.
In addition to kickstarting iPad sales with the introduction of a larger iPad, Apple may see a jump in iPad sales during the last few months of the year, as the company is said to be introducing both a new iPad Air and a new Retina iPad mini with improved processors and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Touch ID proved to be a major draw for the iPhone, and its inclusion in the iPad may entice both new buyers and upgraders.
Apple is planning to launch its much-rumored 12.9-inch iPad in early 2015, reports Bloomberg. Hints of the tablet, which has been dubbed the "iPad Pro" in rumors, first appeared in mid-2013, with a prospective 2014 launch date. Recent rumors, however, suggested plans for the tablet had been put on hold.
Mockup of a 12.9-inch iPad next to a 13-inch MacBook Air
The new iPad will have a screen measuring 12.9 inches diagonally, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren't public. Apple currently produces iPads with 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch displays. The Cupertino, California-based company has been working with suppliers for at least a year to develop a new range of larger touch-screen devices, said the people.
According to rumors, the larger 12.9-inch iPad will include a high pixel density with a display that nears ultra high-definition quality. It will likely adopt many of the design elements offered in the current iPad Air and iPad mini, like an ultrathin chassis and narrow side bezels.
Bloomberg suggests that the larger tablet is an effort to "shake up the iPad line" as sales of the iPad have been on the decline for the past two quarters. The larger tablets may appeal heavily to businesses, a market that Apple is also aiming for with its recent IBM partnership.
Along with a larger "iPad Pro" Apple is also working on a second-generation iPad Air and Retina iPad mini, both of which are expected to include upgraded processors and support for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
Apple's next iPhone may indeed include a mobile payment platform, claims WIRED in a report released Thursday. Wired's sources didn't not reveal how the system would work, but the publication was told that near field communications (NFC) technology will be part of the system. 
