Apple Submits Third Model of Mystery 'Wireless Device' With Bluetooth and NFC to FCC

[benvens2]

Geez does anybody read the spec: high max. current, serial driver? It's a THERMOSTAT !!!!

With the push on HomeKit and SIRI to fight off Alexa, hardly suprising that Apple are going down the Nest route for starters. Expect ambient lights next.

 

[DisRep]

Crazy guess - its automotive - OBD connection hardware. Users get iPhone remote control (features depend on auto model) Apple gets telemetry data and thus a much better understanding of WTF they are doing in auto.

 

[ElSteverino]

It does seem a lot like a smart thermostat.

It is not a thermostat, but I believe it may be another Apple HomeKit product. Something like a cross between a Nest Protect and an Amazon Echo.

 

[kdarling]

Geez does anybody read the spec: high max. current, serial driver? It's a THERMOSTAT !!!!

Anything's possible, but...

If it's a display head for an HVAC control system, then why NFC and Bluetooth?

 

[HammerofTruth]

Anything's possible, but...

If it's a display head for an HVAC control system, then why NFC and Bluetooth?

It's not. It's probably the module for the new payment devices that are replacing the old ones in their retail stores.

 

[Aaargh!]

It's obvious what this is: a payment terminal for Apple Pay.

1) NFC
2) RS485 (commonly found on cash registers)
3) Bluetooth (for using an iDevice as a POS system)

 

[Smartass]

We're on Page 1 and this is where we reached....

don't act like you're not enjoying it

 

[BeefCake 15]

don't act like you're not enjoying it

LOL was hoping we would go through more creative guesses before we hit this path...

 

[longofest]

Do you have an RS-485 serial network in your house? And know how to wire to it?



Agreed. I think it's an NFC door terminal for internal use with their new HQ spaceship and perhaps in Apple Stores.

As noted before, I noticed that the original FCC setup diagram for the Equipment Under Test (EUT) accidentally left in the phrase, "Door SKU". Later versions removed that phrase.

View attachment 688373

Or, as you said, it could be some kind of Beacon / payment terminal, but it's pretty unusual for one to not also support USB, etc, at least if it were to be commercialized.

As someone else noted, most of these also only have a Component certification marking. Meaning they have not been tested as part of an overall system.

Unbelievable that MacRumors editors are still even suggesting anything else at this point. This is absolutely what it is. Everything points to this being an access control reader - likely for campus 2 and not for general distribution because of the integration with alarm panels via RS485 and weigand as indicated. The different models are possibly for different door lock types (mortise, electrified knobset, strike, mag/bolt, etc (some of these can be combined)).

Between the use of RS485 and the specification of D0/D1 (which points to Weigand) and then the file that you noted which had the reference to a door, this is most definitely access control hardware.
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Geez does anybody read the spec: high max. current, serial driver? It's a THERMOSTAT !!!!

With the push on HomeKit and SIRI to fight off Alexa, hardly suprising that Apple are going down the Nest route for starters. Expect ambient lights next.

Then why did the early docs specify that it should be tested connected to a door?
Why the use of low voltage DC wiring? Thermostats generally run off of 24VAC, or sometimes high voltage.
Why the use of RS485? Yes, there are some thermostats that use RS485, but the install base is very small. It would be a tiny market.

 

[Apjspencer]

User manual for A1844 states:

Usage Instructions
1. Present the company provided credential to the reader
2. The reader will indicate granted access by briefly changing color to green and playing a
sound. Declined access is indicated by red color and a second sound.

 

[Arran]

User manual for A1844 states:

Usage Instructions
1. Present the company provided credential to the reader
2. The reader will indicate granted access by briefly changing color to green and playing a
sound. Declined access is indicated by red color and a second sound.

Awesome! Thanks.

Mystery solved:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-mystery-device-a1844-photos-user-manual-2017-3/#-1

 

[SkippyThorson]

Good finds!!! However, how anticlimactic.

 

[CatherineVeraGat]

I think that the Apple Siri-Like speaker will come with an A-series chip that is use in iPhones, iPads and other IOS devices.

 

[Arran]

Good finds!!! However, how anticlimactic.

It is a bit.

I wonder if these modules will make their way into a consumer product? They seem too much like a finished product to be used at Apple's spaceship HQ only.

 

[Bacillus]

User manual for A1844 states:

Usage Instructions
1. Present the company provided credential to the reader
2. The reader will indicate granted access by briefly changing color to green and playing a
sound. Declined access is indicated by red color and a second sound.

It is a bit.

I wonder if these modules will make their way into a consumer product? They seem too much like a finished product to be used at Apple's spaceship HQ only.

Indeed, it's the secretive API (Apple Performance Indicator) that uses AI to monitor and ratify employee's performances.
Whenever the API index comes under a predefined value, it locks up the individual employee to get hungered in his working cell until his API index is restored back to normal.
Exceptions: Eddy Cue - he resides in Las Vegas.
J. Ive - who's performance can only be measured by himself