Last week we reported that according to an analytics firm, they predicted that Apple would ship about 60 million iBeacon devices by 2019. However they note that due to the fact that Apple does not actually make the iBeacon devices themselves, the overall profits over the next few years is not as high as it could be, but is that something Apple could be changing in the near future?
Well thanks a recent sighting at the FCC, it reveals that Apple could indeed be working on an iBeacon device of their own making and branding. It is unclear as to what this particular device can do, but it has been speculated that Apple could be using it to tie in with their HomeKit feature which will be part of the iOS 8 platform that is pegged for a release later this year.
With HomeKit, Apple has essentially revealed that they are interested in creating smart homes and getting into the home automation business, so perhaps this upcoming device could be a first-party home automation device by Apple. It has also been speculated that Apple’s iWatch could somehow take advantage of iBeacon technology.
In any case there’s no telling when this device will see the light of day, but hopefully in the not-so-distant future. So far we’ve seen Apple employ iBeacon technology in their retail stores. This helps to guide shoppers around their store, but even then Apple’s deployment uses the Qualcomm Gimbal product.