Last week Foxconn CEO said that iPhones 5 would put Samsung Galaxy S3 to shame. However, to achieve the target, Apple will need groundbreaking hardware and software technology. And, if the recent reports are to be believed, Apple has gone on overdrive to make sure its next iPhone is a big hit by loading it with NFC chip and inductive charging.

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According to folks at 9To5Mac, Apple is ready to join the cause of mobile payments by packing its next-generation iPhone with NFC chip and antenna. The Apple-centric blog claims to have extracted information from PreEVT (Engineering Validation Test) iPhone 5 prototypes. In addition, iPhone 5 prototypes have 3.96-inch display with resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels, the site reported.

Apple has also revealed a NFC-centric app called Passbook in iOS 6. The app can also work without Near Field Communication, but the rumored "iWallet" app cannot. With iWallet, Apple is ready to jump on the mobile payments bandwagon and offer a Google Wallet rival to iOS users.

The second groundbreaking hardware feature in iPhone 5 will be inductive charging. According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino giant has won patent for charging its iGadgets wirelessly, using a dock accessory. Inductive charging could also be a reason behind inclusion of mini dock connector in iPhone 5. For fitting inductive charging components near the dock connector at the bottom, Apple seems to have cleared some space in its next iPhone by slashing the size of dock connector.

If Apple has decided to pack inductive charging in its handheld gadgets, it is likely to see the light of day in iPhone 5.

Nevertheless, inductive charging is not a completely new technology. Palm has been offering this technology in its WebOS devices for ages. Apple's top rival Samsung is also featuring a similar technology in its latest flagship smartphone. The Galaxy S3 supports wireless charging. However, Samsung has delayed the shipping of wireless charging accessory for second half of 2012 (possibly in fall).

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