Mystery Google ‘phone’ appears on FCC; likely to be Pixel 7a or Pixel Fold

Highlights
  • A mysterious device at the FCC listings indicates an upcoming Pixel device.
  • It is unsure whether it is the Google Pixel 7a or the Google Pixel Fold.
  • The upcoming Google Pixel 7a will likely be powered by the Tensor G2 chipset.

Are you a Google Pixel fan? If so, there might be good news for you as a new Google device labelled a “phone” has appeared for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, bringing the Google Pixel 7a or the Google Pixel Fold launch closer. Any wirelessly connected electronic equipment must first receive approval from various governmental agencies, including the FCC in the US, before it can be released. And according to a 9To5Google report, three new filings have been made at the FCC, all of which indicate that Google will shortly release a single new “phone”.

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Google Pixel 7a or Pixel Fold?

The listings — G0DZQ, GHL1X, and GWKK3 — all mention one another, and one mentions another model, G82U8. According to the report, a document by the tech giant explained the differences.

FCC ID: A4RG0DZQ (parent model for NFC), FCC ID: 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 depopulate mmWave related components and populated a different MHB ENDC module, details are available in the operational description.

However, nothing in the FCC listings indicates the physical dimensions of this new phone, which would indicate 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 tested, which often begin with “28291FQHN” or “28251FQHN.” As per the report, a serial number beginning with “2A281FQHN” was visible in a hands-on leak of an early edition of the Pixel 7a, which appears to be similar.

Google Pixel 7a design, specifications (expected)

A recent 49-second video clip shared by Slashleaks indicated that the Google Pixel 7a’s camera module looks similar to the one on the Google Pixel 6a. The screen of the device is symmetrical, and it comes with a punch hole in the top center for the selfie shooter. It was seen that the device name was set as Pixel 7a, and the language was Vietnamese. It also showed that the refresh rate could be adjusted from 60Hz to 90Hz.

The Google Pixel 7a will likely feature an FHD+ display with up to 90Hz refresh rate and will be powered by a Tensor G2 chipset paired with at least 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The smartphone will likely run on Android 13 OS out of the box.

Key Specs

Google Pixel 7A
Google Tensor G2 | 8 GBProcessor
6.1 inches (15.49 cm) Display
64 MP + 13 MPRear camera
13 MPSelfie camera
4385 mAh Battery
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Review Summary

Expert Rating
3.5/5

Design
★  
3.5
/5
Display
★  
4.0
/5
Software
★  
4.0
/5
Camera
★  
4.0
/5
Performance
★  
3.5
/5
Battery
★  
3.5
/5

Pros

  • Top-notch photography
  • Refined, bloat-free UI 
  • Decent battery life
  • Good display

Cons

  • Performance can feel lacking
  • Slow charging speeds
  • Comes only in 128GB storage
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