New Apple Access Control Product?

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Brian Rhodes
•Mar 25, 2017
IPVMU Certified

There are several reports that Apple's newest 'mystery device' is a door access controller:

(image copied from public post)

From one article:

"The manual for model "A1844" —which supports both NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy —includes wiring instructions, and in fact says that users have to "present the company provided credential to the reader," Business Insider noted. The system will flash green or red and play a sound to indicate access."

Considering the niche appeal of access products, it is surprising that Apple - one of the world's largest tech companies - would do any R & D on door access.  One the other hand- if they intend to go to market with it, they'll need little introduction of who they are to potential customers.

What do you think? Could 'Apple Access' be the next big thing?

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
•Mar 25, 2017

They would be an interesting player, especially with their existing customer darabase.  They would give a much needed "face lift", on the software-side, as many platforms have a UI that looks very outdated (in my opinion).  

 

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UE
Undisclosed End User #2
•Mar 25, 2017

The article I read for it made it seem as if it was a custom product to meet the needs of their new mega facility in Silicon Valley.  That is not to say they will not put it out to the public, they already have their eyes on home automation, I cant see it as too much of a stretch to market to the professionals out there.  They would dominate the market in a short period of time, or not?

MC
Marty Calhoun
•Mar 25, 2017
IPVMU Certified

Not, it is a complicated flooded market with many suppliers. At least in the enterprise market it will be a long road to dominate for sure.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #3
•Mar 26, 2017
In reply to Marty Calhoun

I agree.  Apple has classically had very little success in the enterprise market with their current products.  After discontinuing the XServe series and most of the Pro series becoming less and less professional grade Apple has chosen to focus on their much more successful mass market products.  Maybe they are looking to create a reference design for OEMs?  I second the above comment that this is for their campus.  The actual product ID is throwing me off a bit though.

 

 

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Matthew Netardus
•Mar 26, 2017
IPVMU Certified

 That seems like an odd possibility that Apple would spend any time doing ground up R&D into access control. It plays in nicely with their iPhone to make it mobile capable, but the total market for access control is virtually nothing compared to the personal computer and phone market they've been focused on. With analysts saying that their "secret" car project is a stretch and a potential distraction for them, I doubt they'd risk any damage to their stock price by coming out with such a niche product (especially seeings how this would differ from their traditional B2C model). I agree with U#2, this seems like something they may be developing for internal use only; not a marketable product. 

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Mark Hillenburg
•May 14, 2017

I do know that years ago, Steve Jobs was annoyed that there were Windows Servers installed in his Security Office to drive Access Control Software, he was told there were no options that did not use Windows Servers... he took a personal interest in locating a brand that could run on Apple servers. He also took some personal interest in a couple of neat little features for that system once installed and the "last windows servers" were removed from Apple Headquarters.

At least that's how I heard the story told. 

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