Edible Apple

Apple showed off the iPhone 5 for the first time this past Wednesday and though they introduced a number of new features – 4G support, a larger screen, an upgraded camera – one rumored feature wasn’t mentioned at all. Of course, I’m referring to NFC support.

Still, Apple does have its Passbook feature in iOS 6 which users can use to cash in on gift cards along with things such as airline boarding passes.

But why no NFC, you might be wondering.

Well, Ina Fried of All Things D caught up with Apple’s Phil Schiller who explained that Passbook essentially does what most users want without having to traverse through the sometimes murky world of merchant payment systems, credit cards, and security considerations.

It’s not clear that NFC is the solution to any current problem, Schiller said. “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”

Schiller also touched on the iPhone 5’s lack of a wireless charging option, a feature which first debuted with the Palm Pre way back when. To that end, Schiller explained that “Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated.”

And lastly, Schiller addressed Apple’s new Lightning connector found on the iPhone 5. Of course in doing so the company did away with its legacy 30-pin dock connector which has been the de-facto standard for Apple mobile products since 2003. As was previously rumored, the reason for the switch was to save space to the extent the old dock connector limited the thinness of devices Apple could develop.

via All Things D