Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus visit the FCC, revealing minor details

Following the recent leak of the alleged Galaxy S9 retail box, Samsung’s upcoming flagship duo has passed through the FCC, giving us a vague idea of what to expect from the company’s S-series this year.

Samsung has already confirmed that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would be unveiled in February at the MWC 2018 instead of holding its own event in New York after the MWC. In other words, this year’s announcement would happen a month earlier than it normally would, and the timing of the recent FCC filing seems to confirm this. While the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus’ visit to the FCC doesn’t reveal much, I think it’s still worth examining for several reasons.

First, the filing is for model numbers SM-G960 and SM-G965, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus respectively. There are a few variants listed here, all of which end with U, U1, W, or XU. U indicates that it’s US-bound, and U1 is specifically for unlocked models. W is for Canada, and XU is for demo units. The FCC ID also provides the full list of supported GSM, CDMA, LTE, and UMTS bands, which you can view here for the Galaxy S9 and here for the Galaxy S9 Plus. Essentially, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will support all major bands, regardless of carrier.

Second, Samsung’s vague diagram (see above) shows that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will have the FCC label in the exact same position as previous Galaxy models: on the back of the device at the very bottom. Not too surprising. What is interesting here, however, is the fact that the FCC label clearly states the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are manufactured in Vietnam. If you recall, the image of the alleged Galaxy S9 retail box was first reported by a Vietnamese publication. It could be a coincidence, but the list of specs we saw on that box – including the variable aperture feature – may indeed be the real deal.