Apple is preparing its next iPhone device for a late summer or fall release, and the new smartphone will likely come with Near Field Communication technology, according to a report by BrightWire.com.
The report, citing sources familiar with the subject, claims that Apple has reached a deal with China UnionPay to allow users to download the bank card organization's app to Passbook in their iPhones. From there users can make mobile payments on approximately 3 million China UnionPay's "QucikPass POS machines in China.
"Currently China UnionPay is developing a system that follows its PBOC QuickPass standard which is compatible with Apple's iOS. Major Chinese banks have been invited to participate in the project," said BrightWire in a report this week.
The two companies will also reportedly work together on another mobile payment plan that can be used for purchases made in Apple Stores, according to the unnamed source.
China UnionPay is the only interbank network and domestic bank card company in China.
"Its network links ATMs across a number of Chinese banks, including fourteen major banks," according to Bright Wire.
Integrating NFC into the next iPhone, believed to be called the iPhone 6, would be surprising, as the company's Head of Marketing Phil Schiller said in 2012 that the technology was "not the solution to any current problem," according to MacRumors.com.
The rumor also comes as Apple supposedly pursues plans to develop a mobile payment solution, which could be tied to the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, currently found on the most recent iPhone device, the iPhone 5S.
The technology will supposedly be featured on the iPhone 6 and the next-generation iPads.
Apple is expected to debut two iPhone devices this year: 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch devices, which could have different names.
The iPhone 6 is expected to have a faster A8 processor, a thinner profile, bezel-free design, camera upgrades, and a more durable, sapphire screen.
A new operating system that the next iPhone will likely use is expected to debut at the 2014 WWDC this June.
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