We’re less than a month out from the launch of the Pixel 9, and the coming weeks should see a whole host of new leaks pop out of the woodwork. Regulatory documents from agencies like the FCC are a good source of those leaks, and they seem to have revealed a few interesting facts about the Pixel 9.
9to5Google uncovered what seem to be FCC e-labels for the entire Pixel 9 series — the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. These labels don’t reveal full specs for the phone, but it does mention that all four models will be getting Thread radios — a hardware feature that first appeared on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.
Thread radios offer support for the Thread network stack— a mesh networking standard built for Matter-compatible smart home products. Thread is supposed to use significantly less power than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which should help minimize whatever impact controlling your smart home might have on your phone’s battery life.
Thread is still very new and it’s not really going to take off until more devices actually support the standard. The iPhone 15 Pro series was a great start, and adding it to the Pixel 9 series would be an excellent second step. It’s also worth noting that Android 15 adds support for Thread as well, meaning other Android phone makers can start doing the same.
The e-labels also reveal that one Pixel 9 model will support mmWave 5G, and if I were to guess I’d pick the Pixel 9 Pro XL as the most likely candidate for that particular modem. The other three are apparently skipping mmWave, but all four should have Ultra WideBand (UWB) support.
Dimensions also suggest that one of the latter three is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold — also known as the Pixel Fold 2. Considering FCC approval only happens close to a phone’;s official release, this suggests that the phone will be launching alongside the rest of the Pixel 9 series. But that has been rumored for many months, and honestly makes a lot more sense than launching alongside the Pixel 8a.
We’ll likely find out everything else at the Made by Google event on August 13. You can keep up to date with all the latest news and rumors in our official hubs for the Google Pixel 9, Google Pixel 9 Pro, the super-sized Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
