When Will YubiKey NEO Work with iPhone 6 NFC?

Yubico has heard this question a lot over the past days since the iPhone 6 was released with NFC support.

The answer would be “now” if Apple had an open ecosystem, but that likely won’t be the case for another 12-16 months. But put a pushpin on your roadmap, the YubiKey NEO will be a multi-factor authentication option, based on its current NFC support, for iPhone users once Apple opens it to developers.

And if Apple decides to join the FIDO Alliance, the Yubico promise of one authentication key for many services could get support from another heavyweight in the FIDO standardization effort.

It’s not far-fetched to envision Apple as part of FIDO given that Apple’s Touch ID is built from technology acquired when it bought AuthenTec – which applied for the original trademark on the FIDO name. (The company left FIDO the day it was acquired by Apple).

Apple showed its new willingness to work in international standards settings two weeks ago when it joined the GlobalPlatform, which creates specifications that address standardized infrastructure for securing multiple apps on smart chip technology.

The group has three areas of focus: secure elements, trusted execution environments and messaging that holds it all together. And it adds in security, interoperability, responsibilities, provisioning and a common language to exchange information.

Or as Global Platforms puts it, we’re “a cross industry, non-profit association that identifies, develops and publishes specifications that promote the secure and interoperable deployment and management of multiple applications on secure chip technology. “

Now that’s a mouthful, but what’s important is in a world where standards are the only way to reach Internet scale, it appears Apple is coming out to play.

Bravo Apple!

You can read more about the Apple/GlobalPlatform alliance on my Identity Matters blog on ZDNet.

Talk to our teamTalk to our team

Share this article:


  • Future-proofing authentication: A look at the future of post-quantum cryptographyThe path from passwords to passkeys and beyond In a previous blog I talked about the end of passwords and the rise of passkeys, which promise stronger security and less frustration for both individuals and businesses. The global momentum behind passkeys represents one of the most exciting shifts in authentication history, but realizing their full […]Read more
  • Goodbye master passwords: Dashlane and Yubico enhance credential vault encryption and login with YubiKeysAt Authenticate 2025 this week, the world’s leading experts on modern authentication and securing digital identities gathered, to discuss the future of secure authentication and achieving usable security across the account lifecycle. The message was clear: the future of phishing-resistant authentication is using passkeys for encryption, and the gold standard is device-bound passkeys – YubiKeys. […]Read morecredential vault encryptioncredential vault loginDashlanepartnerpasskey encryptionPRF
  • Piloting Europe’s future ID: Passkeys securing digital walletsOver the last several years, passkeys have become ubiquitous. They are available on every mobile platform, in every leading browser, as part of all major enterprise IAM solutions, and in most major cloud services. Until wwWallet came along, the only place where passkeys hadn’t yet made an impact is in the rapidly developing world of […]Read moredigital identity walletspasskeysSIROSwwWallet
  • We’re excited for what’s to come – meet us in-person to find out whyIt’s been a busy year for our team, filled with exciting company and product updates aimed at better serving our customers and helping them achieve cyber resilience as AI-driven phishing threats continue evolving globally. Between industry award recognitions and key new executive leadership hires to lead Yubico to its next stage of growth and a […]Read more