NFC Music Streaming Blocked On iPhone 6

Do you care?

When Apple announced their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus would feature a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, many longtime iPhone users (including us) thought we’d finally be able to use the “newish" technology instead of Bluetooth to stream music wirelessly to compatible speakers.  For those of you not familiar, NFC is a short-range wireless technology, similar to Bluetooth, which allows for easy and seamless communication between devices.  In addition to streaming music to speakers, it can be used to connect and control “Smart Home” products, share contacts between phones or tablets, easily pay for items (like the new Apple Pay) and much more.

When it comes to NFC vs Bluetooth in wirelessly streaming music, the biggest benefit of NFC is the sheer ease of connectivity.  With Bluetooth, you need to go through the process of enabling each device for Bluetooth use, finding the corresponding device to connect to from the list of “discoverable devices,” and then pairing the units together for use.  When it works without a hitch, it’s pretty easy.  However, as most people who regularly use Bluetooth know, it can also be frustrating when smart devices are “dumb“ about reconnecting and remembering Bluetooth pairings.  NFC streamlines that whole connectivity process with simple “tap and connect” functionality.  You simply touch your phone or tablet to the top of any NFC-enabled speakers and BOOM, you’re connected and ready to stream.  It makes the whole process extremely easy every time.

Since most VOX users tend to be well-informed technology AND music lovers, we’re interested in how you are streaming your music.  Would you use NFC technology for music streaming if you could?  Are you happy with Bluetooth?  Do you use Airplay and don’t care about Bluetooth or NFC?  Are you in love with all things NFC and ready to implant an NFC tag inside your body to control the universe?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.