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Google is thought to be launching a lot of phones this year – alongside the Pixel 8 series, we’re likely to see the Pixel 7a and the Pixel Fold, and at least one of the latter two could launch quite soon.
It was previously rumored that both phones will land around the middle of the year, probably in May, and now an unnamed Google phone has been registered with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in the US, something that usually happens within a few months. of launch.
Indeed, if 9to5Google (opens in new tab) — who noticed the entry — points out that the FCC’s confidentiality expires in six months. That confidentiality hides images and other revealing information from the public, so whatever this phone is, it’s likely to launch in less than six months.
That pretty much rules out the Google Pixel 8 as we’re pretty sure the phone will land in or around October.
So we’re almost certainly looking at the Google Pixel 7a or the Google Pixel Fold here. But which? Notably, the FCC listing doesn’t reveal much other than model numbers G0DZQ (opens in new tab), GHL1X (opens in new tab)And GWKK3 (opens in new tab). Judging by the text provided, these all appear to be the same phones, with connectivity differences – some offer mmWave 5G and others don’t.
That tells us the phone offers 5G, and more specifically mmWave, which – if supported – could be faster than sub-6GHz 5G. But the Pixel 6a already offers 5G, and there’s a mmWave version for Verizon, so this doesn’t tell us much, as the Pixel Fold will almost certainly offer 5G as well.
However, the only real clue we have are serial numbers, which start with ‘28291FQHN’ or ‘8251FQHN’. As 9to5Google points out, that looks very similar to a serial number of ‘2A281FQHN’ that was visible on a recent hands-on Pixel 7a leak.
So with that in mind, it’s most likely the Google Pixel 7a that’s listed in the FCC database, but we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s the Google Pixel Fold.
Analysis: When can this phone be launched?
Whether it’s the Google Pixel 7a or the Pixel Fold, we can guess when this upcoming phone will land.
As noted, its presence in the FCC’s database means Google probably wants it out the door within six months – so before September, but we can get more specific. The most likely timing is probably this year’s Google I/O.
That’s the company’s annual developer conference, and sometimes products are announced there. Dates for this year’s event have not yet been announced, but it usually happens in May.
Not only would that be within the six-month time frame, but it would also leave a big gap before the Pixel 8 is likely to launch in October, which is probably preferable for Google than having all of its product launches together.
Additionally, as noted, we’ve seen a number of leaks pointing to early or mid-year launches for both the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold, with some pointing specifically to May. So we may soon have one or even two new entries in our best Pixel phones guide.