While we still have two devices expected from Google, the budget Google Pixel 7a and the Google Pixel Fold, there’s a new appearance of a device labeled “phone” on the FCC website giving the Android community a clue, and yet the uncertainty of whether it’s the Google Pixel 7a or the Google Pixel Fold.
Google Pixel 7a or Google Pixel Fold?
Before any wireless device may be deployed, it must be approved by several governmental agencies throughout the world, such as the FCC in the United States. Last evening, the FCC received three fresh listings, all of which point to a single new “phone” from Google.
The new listings, GODZQ, GHL1X, and GWKK3, all make references to one another, and one mentions another model, G82U8. To emphasize the link, one paper Google submitted to the FCC illustrates the differences between most of the new models.
Given that all four of these model numbers should refer to the same phone, the more pressing question is which device we’re looking at. There have been reports about the impending Pixel 7a, which is expected to considerably improve Google’s previously middling A-Series phones with features such as a better camera, wireless charging, and a 90Hz display.
Meanwhile, the long-awaited Pixel Fold is expected to be released this year, marking Google’s third recent effort to create a foldable phone. We exclusively reported last week that the Pixel Fold will be heavier than the Samsung Fold 4, owing to its higher battery capacity.
However, nothing in the FCC listings indicates the physical dimensions of this new phone, which would tell if it is the Pixel Fold or Pixel 7a. The presence of a mmWave model does not rule out the possibility that this is the Pixel 7a, as the Pixel 6a was also available with mmWave through Verizon.
One possible indication is the presence of serial numbers for the devices examined, which often begin with “28291FQHN” or “28251FQHN.” A serial number beginning with “2A281FQHN” was spotted in a hands-on leak of an early edition of the Pixel 7a, which seems to be pretty comparable.
The only certainty is that the next Pixel phone will be available before the annual fall Made by Google event, as the FCC’s confidentiality (which temporarily shields product photographs and manuals from the public) expires in six months. That indicates we’re almost probably looking at a mid-year release, as A-Series Pixel phones generally do.
The dates for Google I/O have yet to be revealed, but that would be the company’s next most probable opportunity to demonstrate its latest hardware. This appearance before the FCC is only one of several on the road to release. We’ll keep a watch on this mysterious Pixel phone, as well as any other gadgets Google may have in the works between now and Google I/O.
