Following the launch of iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 this month, a mysterious wireless Apple device has passed through the FCC that doesn’t seem to line up with any known Apple products (via Consomac). Referred to in the filings as simply a wireless device with model number A1844, what we do know is that the product includes Bluetooth and NFC functionality. It’s also a low-powered device rated to draw between 100mA and 700mA and between 5.5V and 13.2V. Compare that with the current Apple TV rated at 12V at 0.917A or the iPhone 5 V at 2.4A. In addition, we see only two torx screws visible on the bottom plate of the device where the regulatory markings are shown (pictured below), the positioning of which seem to hint at a rather small Apple TV-size device, although exact dimensions aren’t shown. Apple made sure that the filing leaked minimal details with its usual permanent confidentiality request that removed documents showing block diagrams, electrical schematic diagrams, technical descriptions, antenna gain and antenna locations.
The report also notes references to color-coded cables, which doesn’t seem very Apple-like for a consumer facing product, but likely related to Apple’s testing procedures only. With Apple’s iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 debut behind us, the next rumored product that seems like could line up with this mystery wireless device is the Siri-powered Amazon Echo competitor. Interestingly, this morning Bloomberg reported that the in-development device is now in prototype testing. The rumored device is expected to compete with Amazon Echo and Google’s recently unveiled Home platform that offers dedicated hardware for controlling home accessories and more via voice commands. Apple’s product is expected to offer a similar experience using Siri, but it’s unclear exactly how it plans to implement the hardware. The report from Bloomberg claimed Apple had considered integrating it with Apple TV, but later opted for a different approach with a standalone speaker device more like Amazon and Google’s offerings.
Submitting a tip constitutes permission to publish and syndicate. Please view our tips policy or see all contact options.Digitial Door ViewersYale Digital Door Viewers let family members of any age easily see who’s at the door. Choose from smartphone connected products and simple LCD screen viewers. Assure Lock™Never worry about carrying around, or losing, keys again. Lock and unlock your home with ease using these touchscreen and push button deadbolts. Choose the connected solution that’s right for your... B1L and T1L LockThese push button and touchscreen deadbolts are designed to seamlessly integrate into your smart home to provide you and your family with security and convenience. LeversYale Real Living™ Lever Locks, the next generation of electronic residential locks from Yale, provide versatility and convenient access. Use on interior or exterior, single hole, doors.Where to buy NFC enabled locks? There's only one sort on Ebay (uk) - anyone know a good source in the UK?
I have been looking hard too, but it's hard to find. My problem is, as most have in the UK, is the good old UPVC door. For me to keep my house insurers happy I have to have a 5 point locking system on my door. /product/security_a-opener_6-29720-11-0-1/[/url:2l6c9ui8] but obviously the NFC reader is not part of it. I could make an NFC reader I guess which is not that hard really but it all gets a little expensive by then. Anyway if someone has other info to share...... SAMSUNG EZON Digital Door Lock SHS-2920 +2 Tag keys, PIN number, NFC Smart phone On ebay and it was shippable to the UK - however it was clear that the 'box' on the back of the door was too big for our front door.! SAMSUNG DIGITAL SECURITY LOCK (SHS-1321) - on Amazon UK - but it £189! Sorry guys, I assumed you were aware of the Samsung locks. Yea those are the bread and butter on ebay/amazon :lol: But why don't we build it on our own? Lets build our own NFC lock :) I don't think lockitron is truly NFC enabled.
Their website talks about a NFC tag and an android phone. I could be wrong but I think they are using something like a NFC tasker to then activate the bluetooth on the phone to activate the lock. If this is the case, then the ring won't work on lockitron. Do you know how? It must be secure enough to use it on a door to your home. I live in germany, and we have other doors / door locks than american have. I will have a NFC enabled lock too :( I thought I'd posted this here, but must have only commented on the kickstarter site - if you're having trouble finding NFC lock mechanisms another alternative would be to purchase some electric strike plates and a reader unit. It's possibly an easier installation and shouldn't alter the fire rating of your entry point as long as you re-seal any holes with retardant as you go. Both fail-open and fail-close versions are available and don't affect normal key based entry. a few good options for a NFC lock will be available soon. sorry I do not have the links in front of me
Lets build our own NFC lock :)[/quote:1jmzh8ga] Yes I do, we, my team and I build electronics all the time. It wouldn't be a problem to build and program our own lock it's just matter of would anyone be interested in buying the lock after? Some things to note/consider when doing your design: a) It would need to compete on pricing with Samsung units ~100$ b) It would need to be diverse enough to handle different type of door frames c) It should support graceful fallback to a code unlock type d) Code unlock should provide two random digits prior to the request of the code e) It needs to notify a user of low battery f) It needs to be mutable g) It needs to be put into sleep mode and enabled on user interaction as to not constantly be looking for an NFC Device h) It needs a simple UX for adding/remove NFC tags i) It should retrofit over an existing Yale lock j) It should be open source and fully documented so others can add to it / build on it.
Hope that helps :) If you can do what John said, I'll buy a few. Competing on price will be the real issue, you'll want to build quite a lot. Supporting international market demands and also persuading insurance companies they should provide pay outs should the door lock be exploited are other challenges.. At the moment the door lock / security situation most households face is dire and this is because insurance companies in the UK will only cover mortis and deadlock style locks, they basically say if someone can get in then not have to break out then you are uninsured.. A digital door lock always provides a single button exit (mostly for safety).. Check out August.co, they are working on a BLE digital door lock, they are under the same VC as us but they don't seem very chatty, I don't know how they are getting on.. There are a few other BLE digital door locks and they aren't doing great, it's a really tough market because it's an incredibly old market.. Think about it, even Samsung haven't made a dent and their pockets are rediculously deep..
From what I can tell Samsung don't even really care about their digital door lock division, it's tiny... Imho to launch an NFC door lock real world product would need ~1M funding and even then you aren't beginning to persuade people it's what they need. Personally I can say it's for me the killer feature of the NFC Ring, the other stuff isn't anywhere near as practical.. Other people prefer using their ring to unlock their phone, it's each to their own but I use my ring on my door about 10 times a day and I love how simple it is and how I no longer have to worry about losing my keys.. So maybe an open source / community run digital door lock is a better solution, that way the development costs can be kept low.. It wont be as polished because it will have to use something like th ATMega328... You have to ask yourself though, do people really want to DIY their house door lock? It's a tough sell... Me, I'll likely go the DIY route and as you mentioned use an atmega328.
Purely because I love using atmegas in things though, the common reaction to me saying 'I will build my own door lock' tends to be first disbelief, then distaste, possibly at all the hassle involved. "But why do that when you can just go down to the hardware store and buy one." If someone designed a relatively friendly version, cheap, that'd be a start. Maybe they could then sort out some kind of bundle arrangement with the NFC ring team. The consumer loves the easy solution, couple that with a hefty dose of cool factor and a light sprinkling of 'oh hey we can use that on the phone too'. If it happens sometime I'll support it and put my kludge away in the parts bin. I will order parts first to build interface using Arduino and then create, if prototype looks promising a custom version with ATmega128. Will take some time, need to gather some money first, shouldn't be a big problem :) Problem is competition, I think johnny is right, this should be completely open source project so anyone could build it on it's own.
If you are going to make a commercially viable NFC door lock - my advice: make it accessible via Wi-Fi. That would be an absolute must. Similar in functionality to lockitron with NFC. Otherwise, it will be too limited. Also, if you really want to reach the largest market... Add bluetooth to the mix. Then the user would have the option to choose entry method... Those things would be nice, but easiest would just be NFC and leave an option to connect other things, arduino style controller would make this possible or perhaps use arduino compatible data lines. But the 'KISS' protocol is always the best one to follow in the first instance. The one I am designing uses electric strikes which are relatively cheap and allow you to keep the original hardware on the door (keys still work). I was planning on integrating with lockitron or something down the road to control the deadbolt. The reason for designing it like this is for something that doesn't require modification to your door or frame and still allows your original keys to work.