Apple is always publishing a new patent, and this one reminds us a little too much of Android’s Beam. NFC (near-field communications) has been embraced by Google and now it seems iOS is on the road to using the technology as well. Apple’s “Device-to-device workflows” patent would set up a handshake between two devices that would exchange data in a multi-step script when the two get near. As an example, a primary device could request contact information, bring up the camera app to take a photo of the contact, and get a bookmark in the web browser to the new contact’s website.
Similar to the way Bluetooth 3.0 works, the NFC could be used to simplify the pairing for a much faster Wi-Fi connection.
The short-range wireless feature might clash with similar services that already exist. Android Beam on the Galaxy Nexus and other Android 4.0 devices with NFC may be the closest parallel: users can send websites and other information with a workflow for granting permission and launching relevant apps on both sides. Nokia uses NFC for pairing Bluetooth devices, and individual iOS apps that don’t use NFC, like Bump, still rely on similar exchanges.
Via Electronista
