FCC filing reveals mysterious Apple ‘network adapter’ running iOS

FCC filing reveals mysterious Apple ‘network adapter’ running iOS

FCC filing reveals mysterious Apple ‘network adapter’ running iOS

Whenever a company makes a product with radio frequencies like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, it has to get approval from regulators like the FCC.

Interestingly, new FCC filings this week reveal that Apple is preparing a mysterious new “network adapter” that runs iOS.

The product codenamed “A2657” was simply described as “Network Adapter”.

According to documents shared by the FCC, Apple sent samples of the device to the agency on January 22, 2022.

While there are no pictures of the adapter, the documents describe details of its internal hardware, which has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, includes an NFC antenna, plus a USB-C port.

Interestingly, the FCC filing also revealed that the accessory has 32GB of internal storage and 1.5GB of RAM.

A second version of the same product has a Lightning port instead of a USB-C port, and only 1GB of RAM.

According to the documents, the adapter runs firmware “19F47,” an early build of iOS 15.5. With that in mind, let’s assume the adapter runs on Apple ‘s own chips, like Apple’s Studio Display.

Further details about the network adapter are unclear, as Apple has asked for a non-disclosure agreement that runs until November 2022, perhaps related to the axed Apple AirPort base station-branded device.