Pixel 6 end of October?

I hate being right. I was really hoping I was wrong this time. But, probably a few hours after writing up my last article I found another article by a more reputable source who talked to his sources and reported back that it should be available by end of October and potentially available for pre-order by mid-October-ish.

What is strange is just how many sites jumped on the original bandwagon though. A lot of sites didn't even suggest that the leak might be wrong. Which is a little odd because as I pointed out before; no FCC filing. And no FCC filing means they can't sell it in the US. I sincerely doubt that Google would either launch a phone without launching it in the US or leave the FCC approval until this late in the game if their plan was to launch on the 13th of September.

The lack of any press invites this close to that date would also be suspicious. Though, in COVID times, with everything being virtual it is somewhat more likely that if the event were online only that it could be done rather last minute. But, again, I doubt Google would tempt fate that way. They would much rather be ahead of things and ensure that they can get the press coverage they want. 

So, how about the October timeline? Well, I'm not an insider and don't have any special info. But, the date is, at the very least, much more plausible. Being almost 2 months away it means that there is still plenty of time to sort out the FCC approval and send out press invites for the launch. In fact, more than enough time. It is also much more in line with historical Pixel releases.

If these dates are accurate, then I would expect to see the FCC filing in the coming week or two and the press invites to go out closer to the end of this month or early next month. As I suggested before, you normally see the FCC filing on flagship devices about 6 weeks before launch and the press invites 3-4 weeks ahead of the press event.

Granted, if the actual unveiling of the device is mid-October then the press invites may come almost immediately after the regulatory approval is completed.

But, I don't expect anything to happen until they get approval. Without it, however small the odds may be, there exists a chance that it won't be cleared for sale until after their planned release date. And most large, reputable companies don't want to burn media relations with a botched release event. 

BTW I need to point out that another reason why people expected the 13th to be the date was the leaked post by a Google exec who posted a picture of the device with the clock reading 9:13. Google has historically given a nod to the release dates in the clock in phone renders. And while that did strengthen the argument, it was clear that this screenshot was not an official render or blessed by the marketing team or anyone. The time was almost definitely just the current time. While I concede it did lend more credence to the notion... it simply wasn't strong evidence. 

If these were leaked slides for the launch event that would be another thing entirely.