In FCC filings, a strange battery-powered Google device can be seen
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| In FCC filings, a strange battery-powered Google device can be seen |
We're now in the month of August, which means the autumn hardware season is rapidly approaching. Two new FCC filings from Google and Amazon may indicate a few goods that the companies may or may not announce. We have more confidence in the Amazon file, which seems to indicate a recently updated model of the company's high-end Echo Studio smart speaker.
The new gadget is generically referred to as a "Digital Media Receiver," and upon closer inspection, it appears to include both a Zigbee radio, which is frequently used to control smart home items, and an AC power line, which allows it to plug into an outlet. The actual filing itself doesn't even appear to be from Amazon; rather, it was made by a business with the ambiguous name of Flake LLC. The only information provided about Google's product is that it is a "wireless device."
Though it can be powered by a 5V USB connection and one diagram shows it linked to a laptop for testing, it appears to be battery-powered since there is no AC connection. According to 9to5Google, the file may suggest that this is a Nest gadget because, for instance, some Nest cameras have been known to use 3.65V rechargeable batteries.
Whatever this "wireless device" is, Google may expose it when it provides more information about the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch, which are all expected to launch this fall. Google didn't respond right away when asked for comment.
However, in order to conceal its products, Amazon frequently files FCC applications through fictitious shell businesses, and the images of Flake's sole other product, a different "Digital Media Receiver" that was submitted to the commission, exactly match those of the Echo Studio.
In fact, the more recent petition claims that except for a different MediaTek wireless chip, the Echo Studio and the second item are "electrically [sic] identical." Although the precise reason for the swap is unknown, it's possible that Amazon is doing it to address supply chain issues, as some other businesses have done in the past. For example, Tesla substituted different chips to help maintain production, and Panic announced last year that it would need to use a different CPU in later shipments of its Playdate gaming handheld.
Amazon didn't respond right away when asked for comment. Given how minor the change appears to be, there's a chance Amazon won't say anything at all. The company regularly holds a September event jam-packed with device news.
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