Apple has asked the USA’s communications regulator to certify a mysterious “wireless device” for the third time since September.
Last year, Apple filed for certification with the FCC for a wireless device with the model number ‘A1844’, followed by a January filing for the ‘A1846’. Now, MacRumors has spotted that a third filing has been made this month for the ‘A1845’, which slots between the other two model numbers. This suggests that all three devices are part of the same series.
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Unfortunately, Apple has requested permanent confidentiality on all three devices, which means we don’t have any idea what they are. There are some clues, mind; they all have NFC and Bluetooth connectivity for instance.
Importantly, the model numbers for the three devices don’t correspond to any existing (or rather, publicly known) Apple products. The fact that Apple is requesting certification means that these new products may be announced shortly; generally, the FCC is only brought in towards the end of a product’s pre-release preparations. That said, there’s still a chance we may never see any of the “wireless devices” that Apple is hoping to certify.
It’s also worth mentioning that these items may not even be actual consumer products. They could, for instance, be used in an Apple Store as part of a display unit. Unfortunately, we won’t know for a while – and perhaps never.
Related: iPhone 7S
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What new launches would you like to see from Apple this year? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
