The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have just passed an important milestone on their way to retail shelves, or at least an official announcement. Both handsets have been certified by the FCC on December 27th, just in time for New Year’s. As expected, there is no information on the phones’ specs listed in the FCC documents. There’s not even a standard design outline in there, which might be because some of the documents were submitted to the FCC way back in mid-November, at a time when the final design may not have been, well, finalized.

Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ by the FCC

The FCC has certified the international unlocked models carrying model number SM-G960F and SM-G965F (for the S9 and S9+ respectively). Naturally, further certifications will be necessary before Samsung can bring the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ to market, including those by the major carriers in the US. The devices were already being tested by authorities in China, and the FCC is another pit stop on the path to an official launch. It’s one of the more important pit stops, though, and the FCC certification suggests things are proceeding as planned as far as development on the two devices is concerned.

Does the December certification also mean that the Galaxy S9 could be unveiled early, as some rumors have suggested? Not really, especially if we consider the additional time Samsung is taking for making sure the batteries inside its flagships are safe after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Not to mention recent rumors have pegged the S9’s launch for MWC 2018, and there’s no logical reason for Samsung to mess with the launch schedule of its mainstream flagship line.