What Does Apple

What Does Apple's NFC-enabled iPhone 6 Really Mean for Access Control and Identity Management?

  • By Jim McHale
  • Sep 29, 2014

Not very much it would seem, as the NFC chip inside the new iPhone 6 smartphones is for now restricted to ApplePay only.

What Does Apple's NFC-enabled iPhone 6 Really Mean for Access Control and Identity Management?Both the new Apple Watch and iPhone 6 will have NFC capability and enable payments. However, the documentation for iOS 8 seems to confirm that there is no open access for developers to the NFC controller in the phone, and there are currently no NFC APIs in the iOS 8 SDK. So, currently, it's bad news for users and manufacturers of NFC-enabled accessories, like access control readers. Apple’s primary motivation for including NFC at this point seems to be keeping other payment wallets, like Google Wallet, off the iPhone.

Apple has some history in limiting developer access to new technology features. Access to the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5s was initially limited, but now they have opened up APIs so other apps can take advantage of it. Expect them to open up NFC access at some point in the near future.

Apple also gave a use case where their watch was used to enter a hotel room using the NFC chip. So, it would seem the watch will have some developer access when it launches next year, even if it is only to selected partners.

But really, what difference does this all make to the physical access control industry? NFC is just another communications option for manufacturers, and the reality is that other technologies provide the same security and convenience.

“Happily, Bluetooth Low-energy is actually a great technology for accomplishing the same tasks,” commented Steve Van Till, president & CEO of Brivo. “By the same token, QR codes are a lowest-common-denominator fallback across most mobile platforms when Bluetooth Low-energy is not available.”

(Brivo has developed their own API platform for social access management.)

Van Till continued, “So, in my view, the question isn't so much about NFC as it is about mobile credentials, and, yes, those are going to change access control considerably. Perhaps even more significant than the credential itself, and the possibility of 'frictionless' access, is the fact that system providers can now have an ‘app relationship’ with users as opposed to merely a ‘card relationship’. That's a game changer.”

With or without NFC, mobile credentials are inherently more secure for users than a smart card or fob. Users have an existing ‘close’ relationship with their smartphones; they are carried everywhere and used almost constantly.

“NFC technology and use of Mobile Phones as an Access Credential will continue to grow…, observed Mike Sussman, operations director at access control manufacturer, TDSi. “The key element in this will be the logistics and ease-of-use for the user, along with the end customer in terms of registering the users’ phone onto the access control system.

“The next 12 months will give us a better indication of where this technology is going, and the take up in the market place.”

About the Author

Jim McHale BSc is the founder of Memoori, a consultancy company that provides market research, business intelligence and financial deal tracking services to clients across several industries.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.