Android 4.4 KitKat Will Reportedly Include NFC Card Emulation Without Secure Element

If you believe the predictions, Google is going to announce Android 4.4 KitKat (and the Nexus 5) in mere hours. According to a new report based on leaked marketing materials, Android 4.4 is going to tackle some of the biggest issues that have been plaguing the platform and Google's services as a whole.

Part of the updated OS could be a change to the way NFC operates. Android will stop relying on the NFC secure element to store sensitive account details and credentials. Instead, Android might be able to emulate credit cards, transit passes, and secure entry badges in a more straight forward way.

This is a hugely important development, and one that's long overdue. You've probably noticed how Google Wallet has failed to arrive on very many phones. That's because of the requirement that it uses the secure element in NFC chips. Carriers don't like that and have mostly prevented the Wallet app from being bundled. It's been passed off as a security concern by Verizon, but it seems more likely the carriers wanted to give the competing ISIS standard access to the secure element in phones.