Tuesday Apple Rumors: New iPhone to Have NFC Chip

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daily apple rumors AAPLHere are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Next iPhone Could Be an iWallet: Photos allegedly showing a production model of Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest iPhone appear to reveal the presence of a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip, the Washington Post notes. NFC chips are designed to securely process mobile payments, turning a smartphone into a digital wallet consumers can used to make purchases. The photos of the alleged new iPhone show a square enclosure near the front-facing camera that resembles NFC chips already embedded in other smartphones. Apple’s recent purchase of fingerprint technology firm AuthenTec sparked speculation that the company is planning to join other smartphone makers, including Samsung, in developing a mobile payment system. The latest iPhone is expected to debut at a special media event on September 12.

Bans Requested: In the wake of last Friday’s jury verdict in its patent lawsuit against Samsung, Apple has asked the court to issue an injunction barring the sale of eight Samsung smartphones found to have infringed on its patents, Reuters noted. Included in the request were the Galaxy S2 and Droid Charge. Apple had named 28 Samsung products in its lawsuit, but most are no longer on sale in the U.S. Apple will likely also press for restrictions on the new Galaxy S3, which uses software found to violate Apple patents by the jury. Analysts predicted that Apple stood an excellent chance of obtaining injunctions against the products named in its request. Samsung said it would appeal the verdict and is reportedly working to alter its smartphones to avoid additional injunctions.

Unhappy Apple Stores: More reports have surfaced of employee dissatisfaction and changes at Apple’s highly-profitable retail outlets, CNET notes. A new report suggests that Apple’s management is altering the way it assesses employee performance to concentrate on sales rather than customer satisfaction. Apple Stores have also reportedly had their budgets reduced, squeezing employees further. Previous rumors noted that part time employees were having their hours cut back and new hires had been fired. Apple subsequently admitted that it had made errors in calculating employee schedules at the stores and promised to restore prior schedules. Apple Stores flourished under the management of Ron Johnson, who left to rebuild struggling retail chain J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP). The recent changes have been introduced by new retail vice president, John Browett.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


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