New iPhones Will Allow NFC To Be Used Even When iOS Isn’t Running

We totally understand where companies are coming from these days, where through mobile wallets, companies such as Apple want users to be able to make payments, use loyalty cards, keep their student IDs, use for public transportation, and so on. However there is a problem and that is what if your iPhone is dead or charging? How would you access those features then?

As noted by AppleInsider, it seems that Apple might have a solution that is limited to its new iPhones – the iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR. This comes in the form of “Express Cards with power reserve”, in which it suggests that certain NFC transactions can still be used even if iOS isn’t running at the moment, like when the phone is charging.

According to Apple’s description of the feature, “If iOS isn’t running because iPhone needs to be charged, there may still be enough power in the battery to support Express Card transactions. Supported iPhone devices automatically support this feature with a transit card designated as the Express Transit card [and] student ID cards with Express Mode turned on.”

However like we said, this seems to be limited to those who are buying the new iPhones which suggests that there could be certain hardware barriers that prevents it from being used with older iPhones. This is no doubt a useful feature to have and we’re sure that there will be moments when some of you guys will be able to appreciate it.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iOS, iPhone, iphone xr, iphone xs