I'm still with an iPhone 4s, partly because I'm waiting for apple to catch up to NFC (Near Field Communication).
A developer can program an NFC chip to do any number of things, from installing an app to sending someone to a website. You can also program a chip to do things to people's phones (shutting them off, playing music, or bad things). There are quite a few security concerns with NFC. On an Android phone, if looks like the user has to permit just about every action, every step of the way. When the NFC chip is activated, there is a series of prompts that ask the user if they will permit this or that action (open website, install app, etc.), if not otherwise specified in system settings.
I can see why Apple is reticent to provide more user access to NFC for the time being. I would think they could permit access for things that are lower security risks. Apple could be working on some NFC related project, planning a big product launch. That would be in step with their behavior as a company. NFC is kind of long overdue, I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple iPhones have great security features, which is why they don't have the same problems that android phones do. The sacrifice is open public access to development. Accessing a phone via the NFC connection is different than accessing it via wifi or your cell connection. So there would be different security features at work there, I'm sure.
Hope this helps.
Tom
<Links Edited by Host>
