There's a new chipset that does 802.11, NFC and Bluetooth. According to the date of the press release below, this chip was released sometime in June 2012, so obviously not enough time for Apple to integrate in the new iPhone.
Correct, but NXP, TI (w/ WiLink[1]), Broadcom, Qualcom, Intel,... are shipping similar products.
As someone working in the 'Internet of Things' space, I wasn't so much disappointed with the lack of NFC - as Zigbee/802.15.4. Again, thanks to integrated radios, NFC and Zigbee can be done on the same chip.
The (mass adopted) future will have to wait for another product/hype cycle.
http://www.marvell.com/company/news/pressDetail.do?releaseID...