tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/iphone-6-12289/articlesiPhone 6 – The Conversation2015-09-30T08:28:48Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/464402015-09-30T08:28:48Z2015-09-30T08:28:48ZWhat happens when you try to read Moby Dick on your smartphone?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96111/original/image-20150924-17092-obhch9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new bedside read.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?country_code=US&page_number=1&position=0&safesearch=1&search_group=photos%2C&search_language=en&search_source=search_form&search_type=keyword_search&searchterm=reading%20on%20smartphone%20bed&sort_method=popular&source=search&tracking_id=oLzftvfCtT55HkTvlOhYBA&use_local_boost=1&version=llv1&page=1&inline=259742723">'Phone' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>These days, when most of us think of a “book,” we have in mind something around nine inches by six inches, with mass market paperbacks shaving off an inch or two in each dimension. </p>
<p>But digital reading has redefined presuppositions about size and, more importantly, about what format is best for what’s being read: text messages, news articles, textbooks or fiction.</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom (including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Words-Onscreen-Reading-Digital-World/dp/0199315760">my own</a>) typically suggests that serious digital reading calls for ample screen size (at least a tablet or e-reader), while one-off encounters with sports updates or tweets are fine on mobile phones. </p>
<p>But these rules of thumb are crumbling as users increasingly abandon larger mobile devices like Kindles and Nooks in favor of an all-purpose phone. While sales of e-readers and tablets <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2954317">are slowing</a>, the real growth is in smartphones. In 2014, <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2996817">1.2 billion</a> smartphones were sold worldwide. With many newer generations of smartphones offering <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/22/9368415/apple-iphone-6s-iphone-6s-plus-review">bigger screens</a> – along with continued advancements in screen resolution – readers are turning to their mobiles for more and more of their onscreen reading.</p>
<p>Does size matter? For most of us, yes. When the reading platform size shrinks, it’s harder to focus on complex arguments or story lines. No wonder the bestselling e-books tend to be <a href="http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/romance-ebook-sales-stats-from-europe-dominance-submission/">romance and erotica</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96683/original/image-20150929-31012-1yxwe7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Convenient, yes. But at what cost?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?autocomplete_id=&language=en&lang=en&search_source=&safesearch=1&version=llv1&searchterm=book%20smart%20phone&media_type=images&media_type2=images&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=298149692">'Stack' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>It’s become commonplace to invoke Herman Melville or Leo Tolstoy when arguing about what kinds of reading work (or don’t work) on which digital media. “No one would read War and Peace on a mobile phone,” you might say – but that’s exactly what journalist Clive Thompson <a href="http://bookriot.com/quarterly/bkr07/">did earlier this year</a>. Expediency was his basic motivation – knowing he was unlikely to lug the print version around with him, he turned to the device he was already carrying: his phone. </p>
<p>Thompson’s success story (he went on to polish off Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment on the phone) can be interpreted two ways: “I told you so” or “the exception proves the rule.” Knowing Thompson’s work, I’m confident he proved a serious reader of these meaty texts. But when my university students try the same feat, they often admit the results are more questionable. </p>
<p>To be fair, the main challenge of reading on mobile phones or smartwatches isn’t size, per se. (Historically, readers have been absorbed in books fitting in the palm of their hand – especially prayer books or poetry.) Rather, for the majority of readers, the issue is mindset. For those lacking self-discipline, there is <a href="https://freedom.to">Freedom software</a>, which blocks internet access on digital devices if you’re trying to get some work done. Either way, reading serious literature on a mobile phone (rather than restaurant reviews or gossip) takes a level of concentration and self-discipline that few have. </p>
<p>Five hundred years ago, when people prayed using a book no larger than a mobile phone, there was no chance of being interrupted by a text message or a tweet. Today, our handy pocket devices are laden with temptations that snatch our attention away from an author’s words.</p>
<p>And distractions aside, there’s still the question of whether or not we can comprehend text on small screens at a level comparable to text in printed books or magazines. Here, there are several intertwined components: size, text length and the digital (as opposed to print) medium.</p>
<p>For size, when reading on a small digital device, the number of characters visible at one clip is abridged, from around 200 (on a mini-tablet or large smartphone) to, at best, a few dozen on a smart watch. Digital reading entails continual scrolling, and there’s little prospect of seeing a two-page spread (an essential format of the codex for nearly 2,000 years). Reading specialist Anne Mangen <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/">argues</a> that constant scrolling on digital devices undermines mental absorption. </p>
<p>Now think about how much text people are willing to tackle in the first place. In the age of tl;dr (“too long; didn’t read”), those who read onscreen – even comparatively big screens – <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/The-Plague-of-tl-dr/151635">show less patience with lengthy prose</a> (longreads.com informs time-conscious readers how many words each piece contains and how long it should take to work through them). As screens get smaller, it’s wildly unlikely that even our current attention spans will hold steady. </p>
<p>Finally, consider the medium itself. <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120765/naomi-barons-words-onscreen-fate-reading-digital-world">My research</a> on university students in five countries revealed that 92% believed they could concentrate best when reading in print, not on digital devices. </p>
<p>If you’re reading on a laptop or average-sized tablet or e-reader, at least the physical spread of text offers an in-your-face inducement to read. As screen size shrinks, so, I’ll wager, does the mental holding power of a tiny window that displays only a small amount of text at a time.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/96681/original/image-20150929-30984-jn6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The size of a printed page has an immersive quality, shielding readers from outside distractions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/big+book/search.html?page=1&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=275136494">'Book' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once upon a time, reading was literally a big deal. Children actually learned to read by following the adventures of Dick, Jane and their dog Spot. My own first Dick and Jane primer was physically outsized – picturesquely called an elephant folio – measuring about 20 square inches and set in what seemed like 200 point type.</p>
<p>For me and others of my generation, those mammoth folios were a sign of the importance of reading. With today’s small-screen digital devices, can reading still be a big deal? For most of us mere mortals who yield to distraction and assume size matters, the answer will often be “no.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46440/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi S. Baron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sales of e-readers are on the decline, with more people succumbing to the convenience of reading books on their phones.Naomi S. Baron, Executive Director, Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/317852014-11-12T19:30:51Z2014-11-12T19:30:51ZMind the (iPhone) gap:
your ability to buy an iPhone and its association with where you live<p>With every new product release from Apple comes all the usual media hype we have come to expect from this high-profile sector. While product launches are often discussed in terms of technological advances, competition between companies and platforms, and the apparent human endurance and logistics required to camp for days outside an Apple store to be the first in line, thought is rarely given to the iPhone’s role as an indicator of inequality. </p>
<p>For some time, it has been popular to take the price of a ubiquitous consumer good and use it as a measure of concepts such as purchasing power parity across countries. </p>
<p>The Economist’s <a href="http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index">Big Mac index</a> and more recently <a href="http://qz.com/174700/how-many-hours-of-minimum-wage-work-it-takes-to-earn-a-beer/">Quartz’s</a> international comparison of minimum wages and beer are interesting measures of concepts such as purchasing power parity across countries. </p>
<p>The iPhone Gap index was developed in a similar vein. It takes regional (intra-country) data on average after-tax wages, average weekly working hours and the price of an iPhone 6 plus with 64GB of memory, and calculates the hours or weeks an average worker in a given place has to work to buy the phone. Below is the intra-country data for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64322/original/3bqc27h4-1415754209.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average cost and hours of work needed to buy an iPhone 6 in Australia, United Kingdom and United States.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Baum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On average, Australian workers have to work longer to buy an iPhone (1.52 weeks). Workers in the UK and the US have to work fewer hours (1.17 weeks each), despite the UK’s higher iPhone cost. </p>
<p>But this broad comparison is not the full story. The real meaning of the iPhone gap emerges once intra-country data is considered. The figures below show comparative intra-country regional data for the three countries. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63594/original/f8h8rzfg-1415068831.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">iPhone gap, Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Baum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63595/original/2qvg962c-1415068897.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">iPhone gap, UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Baum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63596/original/h3n3cw3r-1415068948.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">iPhone gap, US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Baum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As might be expected, for all three countries there is a progression of hours or weeks from low to high. For Australia’s highest-income regions (remote windfall mining regions and established leafy Sydney north shore), the amount of work required by the average worker for a new iPhone 6 sits at just under one week.</p>
<p>For the UK, it is just under half a week (mainly in high-income London boroughs) and for the US it is just over half a week (mainly in well-to-do counties around Virginia). </p>
<p>Go to the other end of the graph to lowest-income regions and the time required blows out to over two weeks across all three countries. For Australia, low-income non-metropolitan regions top the list, while for the UK it is boroughs to the north of the country. In the US, low-income counties in the south top the list, with an average worker requiring over three weeks to buy an iPhone 6.</p>
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
<p>While this is all very interesting, it is not really about who can and can’t afford to buy an iPhone. What the iPhone gap is really about is an illustration of the inequalities that exist within society, how the effort required to afford daily necessities shows such marked differences and how the spatiality of the indicator reflects the unevenness of intra-country regional economies.</p>
<p>The take home message associated with the iPhone gap is that for average workers in poorer regions, a larger proportion of the working week will be taken up simply paying for basic necessities, let alone considering luxury items. While these types of inequalities are not new, they have perhaps become more important in the era of falling real wages — a characteristic of all three economies. This means that more and more of the working week’s wages are taken up simply buying the same basic basket of goods and services.</p>
<p>For many regions on the high side of the iPhone gap, the extra work may not translate into equality of access to services. Disadvantaged regions often have poorer access to services and less choice, an outcome that further frustrates and disadvantages individuals, families and communities. </p>
<p>These struggles are likely to become worse as a result of the austerity measures being undertaken in all three countries that disproportionately affect those on lower incomes. The concentration of these outcomes in particular regions and communities can and does have multiplier effects into other areas of society. The growth of particular social pathologies and anti-social activities has often been associated with areas of concentrated disadvantage. </p>
<p>Working out solutions for such problems has become increasingly difficult and falls fairly into the realm of “wicked problems” due to the complex and multi-causal factors involved. However, as a society, tackling inequalities such as these is a worthwhile social endeavour. </p>
<p>In 1890, Englishman <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=DV_2AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22william+booth%22+%22salvation+army%22+%22keep+a+man+out+of+the+mire%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=o_JiVLqGCuPamgX844GgCg&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false">William Booth wrote</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It is better to keep a man out of the mire than to let him fall in first and then risk the chance of plucking him out.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The unfortunate fact is that for many residents, communities and regions caught on the high side of the iPhone gap, being already stuck in the mire is a daily reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Baum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With every new product release from Apple comes all the usual media hype we have come to expect from this high-profile sector. While product launches are often discussed in terms of technological advances…Scott Baum, Professor of Urban and Regional Analysis, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/314132014-09-10T02:03:04Z2014-09-10T02:03:04ZApple Pay heralds a new, safe era of cashless convenience<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58627/original/3vks7rsq-1410312637.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You could soon say goodbye to credit cards and cash – no need to burn them, though.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ishinelike/3500417450/in/photolist-6kjya1-8VHkSg-92jsHa-8p3wVd-8p3x57-8p3wXL-8p3x2E-7G3xBf-8ibvg8-8ibsV4-8ieHZG-8ieJcE-8ibrFK-8ieFFY-8ieE2L-8ieDsu-8ibsbt-8ibtjk-8ieDF5-8ibsLB-8qGHbe-7QMG7N-7QJDQt-7QMBJs-7QMZRf-7QJHSp-7QJKkn-7QJq72-7QMEwo-7QJF1H-7QJm7p-7QMKP9-a32GWs-dmyfCP-aknpsu-8ibt7P-8ibuEP-8ieGBN-8ibtDV-8ieFvW-8ieEPu-8ieEeA-8ieECW-8ieDQo-8ibrXH-8ibrfX-8ieDgN-8p3wZu-bxMVzZ-ddeNXZ">~lauren/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mobile payment systems have been around for years <a href="http://blog.euromonitor.com/2013/10/google-wallets-in-store-payment-feature-all-but-dead.html">without gaining much traction</a>, but this might be about to change with the release of the iPhone 6’s <a href="http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/">Apple Pay</a>. </p>
<p>This latest iPhone uses near field communication (<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-near-field-communication-and-how-secure-is-it-19298">NFC</a>), a well-established technology that allows smartphones to connect and share information with other smartphones and point-of-sale computers. </p>
<p>Apple Pay has the potential to <a href="http://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/what-is-nfc-and-why-is-it-in-your-phone-948410">do away with</a> credit cards, public transit tickets and all those club and loyalty cards that currently make our wallets and purses bulge. </p>
<p>With your phone running a <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/09/09/apples-unveils-touch-id-based-apple-pay-mobile-wallet-included-with-iphone-6">secure application</a> that knows your account details, you simply bring the phone into close proximity to the reader in the store or wherever, and the transaction is done. </p>
<p>So if it’s this easy, why don’t we use NFC now?</p>
<p>Historically, the limited take up of NFC has been a bit of a <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-iphone-6-feature-nfc-5-reasons-iwallet-could-succeed-where-google-failed-1677758">catch-22 situation</a>. Not enough people using the technology so the retailers do not invest in the equipment, which in turn gives people the impression that NFC is not worth having.</p>
<p>That is changing as retail chains such as <a href="http://www.nfcworld.com/tag/mcdonalds/">McDonalds</a> and <a href="http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/disney-installing-nfc-readers-ahead-of-iphone-6-launch">Disney</a> deploy point-of-sale NFC readers in anticipation of the iPhone 6 launch. It doesn’t end there – NFC trials, pilots and tests are <a href="http://www.nfcworld.com/list-of-nfc-trials-pilots-tests-and-commercial-services-around-the-world/">happening</a> all over the world. </p>
<h2>Around 800 million reasons to use NFC</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most persuasive reason that NFC on the iPhone 6 might succeed where Google and others did not is that Apple currently has around <a href="http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/04/24/itunes800m">800 million</a> registered iTunes accounts, many of which include credit card details. </p>
<p>That figure is growing at the phenomenal rate of around <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/14/apple-now-adding-500000-new-itunes-accounts-per-day">500,000</a> new accounts per day, or 44% annual growth. </p>
<p>To put these figures into perspective, Apple has <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-iphone-6-feature-nfc-5-reasons-iwallet-could-succeed-where-google-failed-1677758">more than double</a> the number of credit cards on file than both Amazon and PayPal combined.</p>
<p>Apple is <a href="http://www.techtimes.com/articles/15005/20140907/apple-working-on-nfc-supported-mobile-payment-system-walgreens-and-cvs-expected-to-show-support.htm">entering into agreements</a> with credit card-issuing banks, as well as Visa, MasterCard and <a href="http://recode.net/2014/08/31/apple-9-9/">American Express</a>, to bring their mobile payments plan to fruition. </p>
<h2>Payment by Watch</h2>
<p>Making payments by holding your phone against a reader is easy enough, but using your watch is even easier. Apple’s long-awaited <a href="http://www.apple.com/watch/">Watch</a> will be able to pair with the phone in your pocket to do this.</p>
<p>Other smartwatches on the market have been gaining favour as a health management gadget for their ability to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/11077207/iWatch-everything-you-need-to-know.html">collect data</a> on heart rate and other metrics. </p>
<p>Of course, these watches can also make phone calls, play music, tell you where you are via <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-gps-12248">GPS</a>, check your email, send text messages and update your social media. </p>
<p>In addition to these handy functions, the Apple Watch will also allow users of the new iPhone, as well as earlier models, to also <a href="http://gigaom.com/2014/09/05/how-apple-can-succeed-in-mobile-payments-with-nfc-ibeacon-the-iphone-6-and-iwallet/">make payments</a>. </p>
<p>As long as an iPhone is equipped with <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/bluetooth-4-0-what-is-it-and-does-it-matter/">Bluetooth 4.0</a> – found in the iPhone 4s onwards – they will be able to pair with the Watch and be used to make mobile payments. This backward compatibility will be an appealing feature in the Watch that will give hundreds of millions of older iPhone users a reason to buy one.</p>
<h2>How secure is NFC?</h2>
<p>People are understandably concerned, if not afraid, that using NFC-enabled devices to make mobile payments will open them up to fraud and loss.</p>
<p>As a starting point, NFC mobile payments use similar security features as the existing contact-less payment cards like <a href="http://www.mastercard.com/contactless/index.html">PayPass</a>. </p>
<p>On top of that will be additional <a href="http://www.gemalto.com/nfc/myths">layers of security</a> in order to comply with “post-issuance activation of an NFC payment application”. The user is validated by the credit card company and is issued with a code that is stored on the phone’s SIM card. </p>
<p>The other big fear is: what happens should you lose your phone or have it stolen? This scenario could be handled with one call to your mobile network operator. The lost phone could be remotely locked, and the network operator could also notify your registered service providers so they can bar any further access to your various accounts. A new SIM card would then be issued and secure use restored. </p>
<p>No digital system is 100% safe against hackers, but with these additional security features, NFC payments are arguably safer than current credit card and PayPass arrangements.</p>
<p>The 19th century French writer <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/victor-hugo-9346557">Victor Hugo</a> once <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo">observed</a> that in life there is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. Putting our reluctance aside, it seems that secure mobile payments is an idea whose time has arrived.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Tuffley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mobile payment systems have been around for years without gaining much traction, but this might be about to change with the release of the iPhone 6’s Apple Pay. This latest iPhone uses near field communication…David Tuffley, Lecturer in Applied Ethics and Socio-Technical Studies, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.