When it was announced that Apple was adding TouchID to the next gen iPad, some questioned if it was a precursor to making ApplePay available as well. That seemed unlikely, since the iPad did not seem to come with an NFC Chip.
Surprise!
According to reports from 9to5 Mac “Teardowns of Apple’s new iPad Air 2 revealed an NFC chip that wasn’t officially announced by Apple.” Sources close to the company note that the NFC is only there to act as “a secure element” for in-app purchases.
The good people at iFixit are the ones responsible for tearing the pads apart. According to the 9to5 Mac report, “Fixit used a Wi-Fi only model of the new iPad Air 2, so it couldn’t comment on positioning of cellular components in relation to the repositioned Wi-Fi antennas.
