Apple is working behind the scenes on various new products, which we do not always see become reality. There can be several reasons for this. For example, a product cannot turn out the way Apple intended, problems arise during production (such as with the AirPower) or it is a product that is not intended for the ordinary consumer. It could just be that the latter is the fate of this mysterious Network Adapter from Apple. Or is there more to it?
FCC leaks Apple's Network Adapter
The FCC must pre-approve products that involve radio frequency and wireless connectivity (such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). In this way, new products can sometimes leak early as the FCC publishes its findings online. This also applies to the product described as a ‘Network Adapter’. The product is codenamed A2657, which corresponds to Apple's usual product codes. Some details of this mysterious product become clear from the documentation.
It is a device with WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, two Gigabit Ethernet ports and USB-C. It would have 32GB of storage and 1.5GB of RAM. There is also a second variant that has a Lightning port instead of USB-C. This version has 1GB of RAM. What's interesting is that this adapter runs on iOS. The test concerns firmware 19F47. That's an internal version of iOS 15.5. Recently, Apple has been using a modified version of iOS more often as firmware for products other than the iPhone. A good example is the Studio Display. The FCC has tested the adapter with an iMac and MacBook Pro.
Apple's former AirPort routers.
What product is this?
The FCC has several documents with testing, but unfortunately no images of the product or other relevant information can be found. As a result, it remains a guess as to what kind of product it is. Apple has had its own AirPort routers in the past, but stopped using them years ago. But there is a good chance that we will never hear from this product again and that it is a device for internal use. This can be at the repair services, but also, for example, in the Apple Store or at the head office. Years ago, an NFC-and-Bluetooth Apple product surfaced at the FCC, which we haven't heard from since. The product number was not used with another product later either.