Matt Drance on why the iPhone doesn’t have NFC and why Apple is all about iterating and solving real-world problems that most people face:
It’s not the technology that matters — it’s the utility that the technology provides.
This is very much in line with what I wrote in my iOS 6 and Every-Day Life article:
The mobile phone industry has is no shortage of impressive, whizbang features which sound great and make fun ads but which rarely get used by real people in their day-to-day lives.
The niceties shipping as part if iOS 6 are great because they’re the sorts of little things that will play big, unsung roles in our everyday lives.
See also: Feature checklist dysfunction.