Apple Patents New iPhone Antenna with Integrated NFC

Before each iPhone launch, rumours that Apple will adopt near field communication (NFC) technology surface. This year is no exception, but there is much more: now, with the latest patent related to NFC published by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has spilt gas on the fire (via Patently Apple).

Patent number 20140139380 is just one that Apple has submitted in relation to this technology. This particular patent warrants special attention, however, as the iPhone maker has allegedly inked a deal with China UnionPay to launch iWallet. Apple’s mobile payment services is said to use NFC in order to be compatible with China UnionPay’s system based on Gemalto’s secure platform.

Apple’s filing states that “The “Antenna structures may be formed at opposing ends of an electronic device. The combining of circuitry may allow the near field communications circuitry and the non-near-field communications circuitry to be coupled to common antenna structures.”

The above image is a cross-section of an electronic device and shows how antenna signals may be emitted and received from both ends of the handset.

Since the aforementioned NFC rumour surfaced, analyst firm Morgan Stanley have updated their earlier forecast about the technology heading to the iPhone, and predict 2014 as the year of change.