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.
It's no secret that Apple is looking to greatly improve and revamp the in-store shopping experience for its customers, and iBeacon - Apple's proximity-based, Bluetooth LE-powered communication technology - is steadily becoming an integral part of this concerted push. As well as enhancing the engagement potential of the Apple Retail Store, iBeacon has a much broader scope, and a Japanese company by the name of Tzukuri has just announced a set of MFi spectacles that will embrace Apple's fledgling beacons system.
We've already spoken about our high hopes for what Apple's iBeacon may turn into and we've made no bones about the fact that it may be the best kept secret of iOS 7, considering it got little to no press when the mobile operating system launched a couple of months ago. It seems that some people were paying attention though, and hot on the heels of Major League Baseball's decision to trial iBeacon at ball parks, department store Macy's is also putting Apple's location aware technology through its paces at some of its own stores.
A part of iOS 7 that has received next to no discussion but has the potential to be the biggest addition to the iOS feature set, iBeacon is Apple's attempt at taking location aware apps to the next level and, if the latest tests shown by Major League Baseball are anything to go by, then they might just be onto something.