Apple started seeding iOS 8.1 beta early Monday and hidden references have been discovered pointing to settings for Apple Pay and Touch ID functionality in the new iPad.
Developer Hamza Sood made the discovery, sharing his findings in a tweet. "Pay with iPad using Touch ID. With Apple Pay, you no longer need to type card numbers and shipping information," says the string of code in iOS 8 beta.
Touch ID is present in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and has been a rumored feature for the upcoming iPad. However, this is the closest so far that can be considered a confirmation about the feature finding its way to the new iPad.
But the inclusion of Touch ID on the new iPad shouldn't be surprising. After all, it makes sense given that newer iPads are likely to have Apple Pay capabilities as well.
Sood makes a clarification though. Touch ID on the iPad is for using Apple Pay to make in-app purchases. Just because Apple Pay can be used does not mean that the new iPad will also have NFC capabilities.
Apple has also only so far announced that aside from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Apple Watch is the only other iOS device that will be compatible with Apple Pay.
As for a preview of Apple Pay settings, it show fields for credit or debit cards to be linked to an account, as well as a column for transaction defaults like a user's payment card of choice, billing address, shipping address, email, and phone number. This will expedite transaction processing but addresses and payment options may be changed at the time of a transaction, if needed.
Apple Pay will work by letting users easily authenticate their payments by taking advantage of NFC to connect to points-of-sale. Apple reiterated that it will not be tracking purchases and the transactions will not reveal actual information, thanks to tokenization.
When a transaction is initiated, Apple Pay will be creating "tokens" so that instead of handing over credit card details, for instance, a merchant will only see a string of numbers.
But while transactions will not have records, Apple notes that the location of an iOS device at the time Apple Pay is used for a purchase may be gathered anonymously to help the company accurately identify businesses.
Apple Pay is scheduled to be released in the U.S. in October. When iOS 8.1 rolls out, it is expected to include support for the payment feature.
