Compared to the rest of the Apple products presented today, iOS 8 has not received a part of the attention in the rumor mill, and the truth is that it makes sense. After all, iOS 7 was the version that really revolutionized this operating system, and it was unlikely that its creators were going to start another revolution so soon. Therefore, many of us expected a small update with changes that would fix minor problems or recover lost functionality. Actually, we couldn’t be more wrong, because iOS 8 may well be the most important update for Apple since it started developing the system.
Apple Pay, the revolution of payments
And why is it so important, you say? Why presents Apple as a contender in the payments industry. In effect, iOS will now allow us to pay with our device, with the intention of replacing credit cards, with a system called Apple Pay.
The key is in ease and speed; in a demonstration the process lasted less than a second since the user passed his device and payment was confirmed.
For this, Apple Pay is only compatible with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, since it takes advantage of elements that are only present in these devices: the new NFC chip. Apple finally surrenders to the evidence and implements NFC, but that’s not the only part of the process. There is also what is called a secure element within the device itself which is responsible for ensuring security and privacy.
This is something that is stressed: Apple does not record our payments or know what we are doing. In case the device is stolen, we can easily disable the function in Find My iPhone, and thus we will not have to cancel the credit cards.
Apple Pay will not only work with physical stores (for now American), but we can also buy with a single touch on the web with our device.
iOS 8 will be available from next September 17.
