The N94 iPhone prototype has been widely discussed since evidence was found of its existence inside the iOS 4.3 firmware. Now the latest beta, iOS 5 beta 7, has revealed that the device has gotten an FCC ID, reports Macrumors.
The FCC ID of the device is BCG-E2430A and is laid out in a file called Regulatoryinfo-N94AP@2X~iphone.png, which is a graphic that you can display on your iPhone through the About>Regulatory menu in Settings. The FCC gives these IDs out to devices that have been submitted to it for regulatory inspection, suggesting that the device is not vaporware and will in fact be coming to the market in one fashion or another.
The ID has not shown up in the FCC’s database yet, although this isn’t surprising, given the fact that Apple often requests that filings be made private until the devices are released so that the specifications of the device aren’t exposed to the public. The N94 prototype has been a hotly discussed topic as of late, as it appears to have the same size and shape as the current iPhone, as you can see by the image below, posted by Macpost. The N94 has also been identified as operating on Apple’s new A5 processor, the one currently used in the iPad. This pins it as a next-generation iPhone, most likely to be released later this year.
Although the name ‘iPhone 4S’ has been bandied about, we don’t believe that the N94 will be called that, especially as this is just a convenient name coined by a source of Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac that just happened to catch on. Instead, it is likely that the N94 prototype is an iPhone 4 that has been redesigned for cost-effectiveness, allowing Apple to sell a cheaper variant of the current iPhone 4 alongside a redesigned iPhone 5.
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The FCC approval doesn’t give us a ton of additional information, but it does almost ensure that we will be seeing the N94 prototype in the flesh at some point.
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