An FCC listing provides some intriguing details of what appears to be the next Amazon Fire TV (or Stick?) with microSD and other treats.
Amazon is widely expected to update at least one of its Fire TV offerings this fall, if not both. The company has yet to officially announce its plans in this regard, but a few hints may offer valuable clues.
The original Amazon Fire TV is no longer in stock — suggesting that a new generation may be en route. At the same time, a leak earlier this summer revealed the specifications for an "Amazon AFTS" device with 4K video support.
Fast forward to present day: blogger Dave Zatz just stumbled upon an interesting FCC listing that likely details the next media streamer from Amazon. The listing describes the device as an "HDMI Digital Media Receiver," sporting model number DC83YW. It's unclear whether the device that just passed through the FCC is the same "Amazon AFTS" device leaked earlier.
Pretty sure I found the next Fire TV... sadly, the filings don't cover video resolution, so 4k remains a question. https://t.co/6ujmBeMWH7
— Dave Zatz (@davezatz) September 9, 2015
While the FCC listing doesn't indicate the video resolution of the device, it does reveal that the upcoming product will come with a number of neat features and improvements, compared to the current Amazon Fire TV.
More specifically, Amazon's next media streamer will apparently feature a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, an HDMI port and an RJ-45 Ethernet port, as well as a USB port that seems to support additional storage from a USB flash drive.
It's worth pointing out that the paperwork for this FCC filing comes from a company named Quill Royal LLC, but all details regarding this company are hidden. Amazon, meanwhile, often disguises its products in the FCC database by filing paperwork under names of shell companies, not its own name — likely to prevent such leaks.
This technique didn't work on Zatz, however, who managed to discover the listings in spite of the shell company trick. Zatz has a fairly good track record when it comes to outing Amazon's concealed FCC listings and there's a good chance that this new device with FCC ID 2ADU5-4902 is the next Amazon Fire TV.
The listing doesn't detail any other specifications for this purported Fire TV, but more information should come to light shortly. The FCC is typically the last stop before a device is ready to make its official debut, so Amazon may soon be making an announcement.
