FCC filing reveals Apple still working on Apple TV-shaped NFC, Bluetooth LE device
A new listing on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's regulatory database reveals Apple is still working on an unannounced product equipped with near-field technology that first surfaced in September of 2016.
The latest update concerns a device with the model number A1846, with the documents released including a regulatory label in an FCC drawing. The filing is in general very similar to another database listing uncovered last year, and since the newer model number is incremented by two compared to last time, it strongly suggests this is an update of the same device.
The data on the regulatory label is almost identical, except the stock keeping unit (SKU) is JR2 instead of JR1, the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) has changed from 3133 to 3137, and the model number. The diagram is also very similar to last time, but rather than showing the security screws and the edge of the device's base, the image cuts the base edge off partway through the screw heads.
Just as with the previous version of the device, it has a power draw of 100mA and a peak of 700mA, between 5.5V and 13.2V. The documentation also mentions testing of Bluetooth LE and near-field communication, though like last time it doesn't include Wi-Fi, continuing the theory either Apple is reusing an existing device design or it lacks Wi-Fi completely.
Also as mentioned in the previous report, the diagram points to to a set-top box similar in appearance and dimensions to the fourth-generation Apple TV, but the power requirements suggest that it is something different, with radically different power demands.
AppleInsider's contacts within Apple corporate have refused to comment on the device.
Due to requests for confidentiality filed with the FCC, relatively few documents and little in the way of information about the unnamed device have been published.
The latest update concerns a device with the model number A1846, with the documents released including a regulatory label in an FCC drawing. The filing is in general very similar to another database listing uncovered last year, and since the newer model number is incremented by two compared to last time, it strongly suggests this is an update of the same device.
The data on the regulatory label is almost identical, except the stock keeping unit (SKU) is JR2 instead of JR1, the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) has changed from 3133 to 3137, and the model number. The diagram is also very similar to last time, but rather than showing the security screws and the edge of the device's base, the image cuts the base edge off partway through the screw heads.
Just as with the previous version of the device, it has a power draw of 100mA and a peak of 700mA, between 5.5V and 13.2V. The documentation also mentions testing of Bluetooth LE and near-field communication, though like last time it doesn't include Wi-Fi, continuing the theory either Apple is reusing an existing device design or it lacks Wi-Fi completely.
Also as mentioned in the previous report, the diagram points to to a set-top box similar in appearance and dimensions to the fourth-generation Apple TV, but the power requirements suggest that it is something different, with radically different power demands.
AppleInsider's contacts within Apple corporate have refused to comment on the device.
Due to requests for confidentiality filed with the FCC, relatively few documents and little in the way of information about the unnamed device have been published.
Comments
Would that be wild or what? Plug a small transmitter into the outlet and the Apple TV both receives and transmits electricity. And PLEASE wireless HDMI.
Apple should stop being wusses and release a fully loaded $300 Apple TV with a loaded Siri Remote.
ideas?
-M Chip in Remote for precise motion control.
-Put the Kinect team to work(I'm sure they are)
-A-Gaming chip with graphics that pass iPad capability
-Taptic Engine(Solid state Remote)
-3D Touch
-Open Lightning port to 3rd parties for peripherals etc
http://energous.com/technology/product-overview/
If only we were able to improve rudimentary things into sophisticated things over time...
First, it has an RS485 interface. Serial. Probably only kilobits at most.
Second, it takes a very wide range of voltages from 5 to 13 V. That means the power isn't coming from Apple. If they were building the power supply, they'd know it was 7.5V, or 9V, or 12V, or whatever.
Third, the power consumption is low, typically 1 Watt. So you know there's no GPU. And no top-end CPU. Think of the energy budget you have with a battery powered device, except we know that this uses wired power instead. And you'd probably want more like at least 5 Watts for wireless charging or it'd take forever.
So somebody else is building the power supply, it only needs 1W on average, and it has serial and radio connectivity.
A charger would have USB or maybe just DC power, so I think a charger is highly unlikely. And Mike's right, don't worry about radio. Passes right through you harmlessly or people who live near radio and TV station transmitter sites would all be mutants.
My money is on a contactless payment device. This would sit on the checkout counter next to a payment terminal that would provide the power and receive the payment information via the serial connection. Apple would want to interface with a variety of different payment terminal vendors with a wide range of power supplies, hence the wide voltage range. It doesn't take a GPU or high-power CPU to run the crypto and other payment approval work. And a puck shape is a perfect spot for an Apple Pay logo to be prominently displayed on the checkout counter.
It's been 4 years since I was in Japan, but back then, every newsstand there had these nice little "Passmo" pucks sitting the counter. You just picked up an item from the store, flashed the barcode, and tapped your Passmo contactless payment card and you were done.
I think it'll be Apple's response to Amazon's Echo.
smfh.
Thanks for adding nothing to the discussion
Sometimes I like to imagine I time traveled to the 1980's and describe all the tech we have just to hear the disbelieve and excuses.
Microsoft and Sony are eating Apple's lunch right now.
Whether you like it or not a more capable Apple TV is coming. Sorry.