Samsung Galaxy Buds swing by the FCC, likely launching soon

In less than a month, Samsung will be holding its latest Unpacked event in San Franciso to officially unveil the Galaxy S10 series. That's exciting enough on its own, but it looks like that may not be the only new tech that gets unveiled.

On January 29, an FCC certification was created for a product called "Samsung Galaxy Buds" with a model number of SM-R170. A few days ago, that same model number appeared via a listing from Bluetooth SIG.

According to the FCC certification, the Galaxy Buds are a "Bluetooth Headset" and will be manufactured by Samsung Vietnam. Per one device mockup, we can see what's likely the bottom of the Galaxy Buds' charging case with a charging port and LED indicator.

We've yet to see any renders or hands-on photos of the Galaxy Buds, but seeing as how they're already passing through the FCC, a launch seems rather imminent. And, with the Galaxy S10 event taking place in just a few short weeks on February 20, that seems like the perfect time for Samsung to officially unveil the new accessory.

As you might be able to guess, we're anticipating the Galaxy Buds to be Samsung's successor to 2018's Gear IconX. This will mark the first time that Samsung's ditched its Gear branding in favor of the Galaxy one for its headphones, and marks a similar shift that we saw last year with the Galaxy Watch being released as a successor to the Gear S3.

The rumor mill has speculated that the Galaxy Buds will ship with 8GB of storage, Bluetooth 5.0, AKG audio tuning, and improved battery life. That's about all we have to look forward to right now, but we shouldn't have to wait too much longer before learning more.

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Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.