I think iBeacon is Apples response to NFC. NFC was poorly executed from the beginning. Google didn't push it hard, and Samsung implemented it wholeheartedly with gimmicky features like file transfer. No major retailer was ever involved that I or anyone I know care about. The most I saw NFC being used for was Samsung bus stop ads. What Apple has in it's hand and what Google is trying so hard to get is 500 million user accounts with CC information already entered via its app and music stores. The payment information is what the companies have a hard time getting. Wallet and Checkout never blossomed and all those reasons are why NFC is so anemic right now.

Also, NFC technology is a little clunky with 'turning on yet another protocol, setting up incoming connections, "it didn't work try again.", etc, etc'. The iPhone is the phone of the masses because they simplified or removed protocols like removable Li-ion, SD, USB, and NFC. The only protocols that remain are the most branded, and the most functional. (They are still working to perfect Siri :)

Developing well established existing technologies that people and phones are already used to (bluetooth) is key to Apple's strategy. NFC was DOA simply because Samsung has a hard time with implementation [ie: eye tracking, tv voice commands, and hand commands].