The new Apple Watch Series 7 diagnostic dock is wireless

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in Apple Watch
The new Apple Watch Series 7 has received regulatory approval in Brazil, and the filing with the country's compliance agency has revealed details of how Apple troubleshoots it wirelessly.

Credit: Anatel
Credit: Anatel


Apple's GPS + Cellular Apple Watch Series 7 models have officially received regulatory approval from the National Telecommunications Agency, MacMagazine reported Friday. That means the cellular-equipped models can now go on sale in the country.

Interestingly, although the 41mm GPS versions and both GPS + Cellular variants have been given the green light, approval is still pending for Apple's 45mm GPS-only model.

Filing data indicates that the Apple Watch Series 7 lineup has four manufacturing units, including three in China and one in Vietnam.

In addition to the Apple Watch Series 7, Brazilian regulatory agencies have also given approval to a new Apple Watch diagnostic dock that communicates with a device over a 60.5GHz wireless frequency. That device was first spotted in a U.S. FCC filing in September, though its exact purpose was unknown.

The Brazilian regulatory filing includes some images of the device, as well as a graphic demonstrating how an Apple Watch fits within it.

Credit: Anatel
Credit: Anatel


It isn't entirely clear what specific diagnostic purpose the device will serve, though it's pretty clearly a product meant to be used internally by Apple technicians.

The diagnostic dock can communicate with an Apple Watch at speeds of about 200 megabits per second. That's less than half the maximum of USB 2.0, and much less quick than Wi-Fi.

Brazil's regulatory agency also approved Apple's new iPad and iPad mini 6 models.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    Maybe they’ll start rolling those units out to Apple Stores so Apple Watches can be serviced by the Genius Bar instead of being sent out for repair. 
    rcfawilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 4
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Hm, wondering how easily the watches, and consequently an entire AppleID account and its data, can be compromised with such a tool…

    Apple needs to allow security researchers access to these. 

    It’s not like one can assume that everyone working at Apple is trustworthy by virtue of being an Apple employee.
    williamlondoncaladanian
  • Reply 3 of 4
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,875member
    I had my phone serviced a couple weeks ago at Best Buy. For the initial diagnostics they used a hidden Settings screen, ran them on device, then accessed those results via a web browser and private portal, I think. Was pretty nifty. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 4
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Maybe they’ll start rolling those units out to Apple Stores so Apple Watches can be serviced by the Genius Bar instead of being sent out for repair. 

    Yeh,  that's always been both surprising and annoying.

    But, why are they not using the diagnostic port that's always been there?   Is it not able to do the job?  And, if not, why not repurpose it for more productive uses -- such as functional watch bands with sensors, batteries, etc...?
    watto_cobra
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