Apple News: 2014 at 07:48AM

Apple will feature near field communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 6 with a chip provided by Dutch company NXP Semiconductors, according to a report from the Financial Times. The chip will allow the iPhone to be scanned by payment terminals and ticket systems, while also allowing for further integration with other methods.

Throughout the past week, a number of rumors and reports from various sources have claimed that the iPhone 6 will gain NFC support. Evidence of NFC capabilities provided by NXP first surfaced earlier this week in a claimed schematic, which showed the company's PN65 chip on the iPhone 6's logic board.

Yesterday, technology news website WIRED and Apple blogger John Gruber also suggested that the iPhone 6 would feature NFC, with the latter stating that Apple's NFC-based mobile payment system would use a new secure enclave coprocessor built into the company's new A8 chip, which was also suggested by previous reports.

Last month, it was reported that Apple was in talks with major credit card companies like Visa over a mobile payment solution that would utilize the credit card data already stored in millions of iTunes accounts. Apple also was said to be interviewing senior payments industry executives to take on roles within the company, possibly indicating that the company has been hard at work on creating its own mobile payments service.

Apple is expected to debut the iPhone 6 and a wearable device at an event on September 9.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:48AM, August 29

United Airlines today updated its official app for iOS with the ability to scan passports to check-in for international flights using a device's camera. The new feature can be accessed when a user checks in within 24 hours of a departing flight, as all passports uploaded are verified by credential management service Jumio. Once a passport is verified, users can obtain their boarding passes and save them to the app.

united_airlines_international_passports

- Customers can now use the United app to scan their passport for international check-in

- Upon check-in, verify your existing stored passport data (if already in our system) or scan your passport.

- Your device camera will be accessed, similar to many mobile banking deposit functions, and the scanned passport information will be verified for additional security. Once the image is validated, you will be able to complete your check-in and receive your boarding pass, saving you time at the airport.

United notes that flyers who require additional travel documentation such as a visa will still have to physically check-in at the airport. Passports that are scanned and uploaded can also be stored by United MileagePlus members for later flights. The app also includes additional bug fixes and more information on cards regarding flight boarding times.

United Airlines is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]