New iPhone prototypes have NFC chips and antenna
We've previously been able to pull data from PreEVT iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2 prototypes codenamed N41AP (5,1) and N42AP (5,2), which leads us to believe that the new iPhone will have a bigger 1136×640 display.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the latest turn in a prototype-leak arc that has run since early 2011, when 9to5Mac first spotted iPhone 5 test units with a metal back and larger display, followed by the N94 prototype photos that left readers guessing whether the device was an iPhone 4S or something new — and by Daring Fireball's open skepticism about the 'teardrop' design some leakers were pushing. The new data point comes from PreEVT iPhone 5,1 and 5,2 units (N41AP and N42AP), the same firmware pulls behind the 1136×640 display claim.
What makes this round travel further than the earlier leaks is the subject: NFC. The story was picked up same-day by eight outlets including Wired, BGR, eWeek and ZDNet Australia — and notably MobilePaymentsToday, a signal that the payments trade press, not just gadget blogs, sees Apple's radio decision as consequential. It remains a rumor drawn from prototype data, not a confirmed feature.
First-order effects
- Apple's next iPhone moves from display speculation to payments speculation: if the NFC chips and antenna in the 5,1/5,2 prototypes ship, every carrier, bank and wallet developer building on iOS suddenly has a hardware door that did not exist before.
- The leak itself pressures Apple's announcement cycle — the 1136×640 resolution and NFC details are now public months ahead of launch, shrinking the surprise window the company traditionally controls.
Second-order effects
- Payment-industry players reading the same prototype data (as the MobilePaymentsToday pickup shows) will start positioning services for an iOS NFC arrival, even unconfirmed, because retrofitting wallets onto a closed platform later is far harder than being ready at launch.
- Rival handset makers who have treated NFC as a differentiator lose that edge if Apple adopts it, forcing them to compete on what runs over the radio rather than the radio itself.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — flagship iPhones shipping NFC as standard — near-field communication shifts from an optional feature debated at events like Mobile World Congress to a default expectation of any premium phone, with the merchant terminal build-out following the installed base rather than leading it.
- Prototype leaks are becoming a de facto pre-announcement channel: supply-chain data now shapes market and partner expectations months before Apple speaks, a dynamic that erodes controlled launches across the industry.
The trend: Smartphone component leaks are turning unannounced hardware into a public planning input, and NFC is moving from speculative add-on toward assumed flagship equipment as Apple's adoption looms.