[6] Follow-up Subaru observations taken between January and July 2012 and covering a wider wavelength range confirmed that Kappa Andromedae is gravitationally bound (not a background star) and had infrared colors consistent with a substellar (possibly planet–mass) companion.

[6] The low resolution near-infrared spectrum of Kappa And b, obtained by extreme adaptive optics system SCExAO with the CHARIS integral field spectrograph, is shaped by broad water and carbon monoxide absorption features.

[7] Based on comparisons to large libraries of spectra for other substellar objects, the companion likely has a spectral type of L0-L1: its sharp H-band (1.65 microns) shape is indicative of low surface gravity.

[1] While only a small portion of the companion's orbital phase has been covered,[8] current limits suggest a semimajor axis likely greater than 75 AU.

[2] The nature of Kappa Andromedae b has been long-debated, specifically whether it is a gas giant planet or a brown dwarf, an object massive enough to fuse deuterium but not protium.

[2][16] The companion's derived carbon to oxygen ratio, thought to be a diagnostic of the object's accretion environment, and the primary's subsolar metallicity may be evidence that Kappa And b formed through a rapid formation process, like gravitational instability.