Secret information about the iPhone 16e published in US database
Due to an error, technical blueprints of the entry-level iPhone were released in the database of the US communications authority – with many details.
Apple's iPhone 16e.
(Image: Apple)
In addition to unintentional leaks about new Apple products—including iPads, MacBooks, and a new Vision Pro—the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also made another mistake when it comes to hardware from Cupertino. At the end of September, a detailed 163-page technical paper on Apple's latest entry-level mobile phone, the iPhone 16e, was leaked. The information could be found both on the official FCC website, which, however, is considered difficult to search, and on the data mining site FCCID.IO. They are now no longer downloadable there either.
Many pages with details
It remains unclear how the release came about. The FCC actually has routines to provide documents that are only intended for internal use with a so-called FCC ID but only release them to the officials themselves. The PDF concerned all iPhone 16e models bearing the model numbers A3212, A3408, A3409, and A3410. According to the cover letter, the document came directly from Apple and was sent to the FCC on September 16, 2024—including, of course, the request for confidentiality. The document contains block diagrams, technical descriptions, circuit diagrams, antenna position, the tune-up procedure, and much more. It also includes information on software security.
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It is impossible to say whether the information provides potential targets for hackers, but competitors are likely to have a keen interest in such data. Apple's secrecy protocol is notoriously sharp, which makes this leak all the more annoying, even if the 16e is not the very latest device. It was launched in spring 2025 and was the first iPhone with Apple's own mobile phone chip, the Apple C1. Competitors are likely to be particularly interested in this information.
FCC cuts staff
The hardware otherwise includes a then-current A18 chip as well as the look and feel of the iPhone 14, including its display and camera notch (without Dynamic Island). Neither Apple nor the FCC commented on the leak.
The US government is currently in a so-called shutdown due to an unreleased budget. The authority is, like numerous other federal institutions, currently unable to work. It is said to have already cut staff beforehand, which could have contributed to such errors occurring, observers suspect.
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