FCC filings were once a great way of getting a sneak peak at what Apple is working on, but those little leaks have become more and more rare of late. One has been picked up in the last day or so though, and it’s all about iBeacons.
Announced as part of iOS 7 at last year’s WWDC, iBeacons are Apple’s location-based monitoring tools that allow companies or indeed people to send notifications to people based on their proximity to an iBeacon. Apple doesn’t actually make any that anyone can buy though, meaning actually picking up an iBeacon isn’t as easy as it should be, but a new FCC filing suggests that may change soon enough.
Originally discovered by the wireless router maker Securifi, the FCC filing is for an Apple-made iBeacon.
As the filing’s technical documentation shows, the device runs on a 2.4GHz wireless frequency and is powered by a 5 volt power supply. The schematics show a USB port for good measure, too. As you might expect from a wireless device, the Apple iBeacon has also been through the usual array of tests and, unsurprisingly, it past without issue.
It’s true that an FCC filing doesn’t mean the device is on the verge of a release, but with iOS 8 and it’s home automation software on the horizon, is it possible that Apple’s first iBeacon could be a more user-focused device than something destined to live in a store or other public place?
At this point we wouldn’t dare try and guess, but if Apple were to try and push iBeacons into the home, it stands to reason that it would want to have its own hardware available rather than rely on third parties.
Hopefully we won’t be left guessing for too long.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.
