Next week, Apple is having an unveiling.  Everyone seems to agree that new phones will be unveiled, but what else does Apple have up its sleeve?  Bills of lading that describe a few recent shipments to Apple may suggest an answer.

• On August 25th, Apple received a shipment described as “Set Top Box with Communication Function” from BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, China.
• On August 18th, Apple received another shipment, again from BYD, described as “Set Top Boxes.”
• And on August 11th, Apple received its first shipment from BYD of “Set Top Box with Communication Function.”

So what are these set top boxes?

A) Apple’s long rumored TV-focused product
B) A new version of the old school Apple TV
C) Something that’s not particularly interesting, but that has an interesting description to throw us all off

A few notes to help you make up your mind:

• About a year and a half ago, news broke that BYD was a new supplier to Apple.
• Since then, we’ve only seen four shipments from BYD to Apple — the three described above, as well as one shipment described as “PC Portable” on August 18th of this year.
• The August 25th shipment weighed 16,628 kilograms.
• The August 18th shipment also weighed 16,628 kilograms.
• The August 11th shipment weighed 7,044 kilograms.
• Apple has received previous shipments for “set top boxes” — most recently, on December 5, 2012, from Hon Hai.  This shipment consisted of old school Apple TV’s, as indicated by the model number listed on the bill of lading: A1427.