Pixel 7a or Pixel Fold passes through the FCC, hinting at a mid-year release

A new phone from Google has passed through the standard FCC hurdles in the past few days, and it is most likely the upcoming Pixel 7a that we all expect to be announced at Google I/O 2023 sometime in May. Assuming it follows the cadence of older A-series Pixel phones, we should expect to see it available at least by late July if not before after that likely unveiling.

What’s really interesting about this latest filing in the FCC is the fact that it could be the Pixel Fold. There’s nothing terribly unique about anything contained in the FCC filing that proves that this generic phone from Google is the Pixel 7a, but there is a certain clue that makes me think that is what we’re looking at, here. As a reminder, however, all the solid rumors around the Pixel Fold do have it being announced in May as well, so there’s a chance this latest FCC listing may be for the Fold.

Thanks to a finding by 9to5 Google, we know there are 3 models listed in this FCC filing (G0DZQ, GHL1X, and GWKK3) that all reference one another and one other model that is also mentioned: G82U8. 9to5 Google also notes a document submitted to the FCC by Google that points out “A4RGWKK3 (parent model for BT/WLAN) and FCC ID: A4RGHL1X (variant model) use the same identical internal printed circuit board layouts, while the variant models depopulates mmWave related components and populated a different MHB ENDC module, details are available in the operational description.”

From this, we can gather that the four models being submitted to the FCC are all one and the same phone. You may find yourself thinking that mmWave would discount the Pixel 7a in this circumstance, but the Pixel 6a actually had mmWave on Verizon last year, so there’s no reason to think it won’t be here again for the Pixel 7a that is looking like a major improvement over its predecessor.

Then, if we look at the actual serial numbers from the above listings and compare those with an early hands-on leak of the Pixel 7a, the naming scheme is pretty similar. For instance, the FCC listings include serial numbers like 28291FQHN or 28251FQHN. Compare those with the hands-on leak and the serial number of that device – 2A281FQHN – and you can clearly see a similar pattern emerging. Not hard evidence, but clearly this would make the likelihood of this FCC listing belonging to the Pixel 7a much more certain.

With no info on dimensions to speak of in these listings, we can’t know for sure, but whatever this device is, it will be revealed in the next 6 months for sure. FCC confidentiality only extends that long, so whether announced in an official capacity or not, the world will know what these listings are one way or another within 180 days. My money is on the Pixel 7a and hopefully that means we’ll see some official FCC filings for the Pixel Fold very soon.