Exynos Samsung Galaxy S21 FE FCC papers are filed and we are very confused

Well, color us as confused right now. Earlier this week, unconfirmed reports stated that Samsung may decide to cancel plans to release the Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) smartphone. Now, it appears that the Exynos Galaxy S21 FE FCC papers have been filed with the US government regulatory bureau.

The filing shows the phone has the version number SM-G990E. This is reportedly the model of the smartphone with Samsung’s own in-house Exynos processor inside. The limited amount of info in the FCC filing is not 100% conclusive that this is indeed the Galaxy S21 FE, but all the evidence points to that particular phone.

See also: What we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

The status of the Galaxy S21 FE has been up in the air for some time. We have seen lots of leaks for the smartphone over the summer, including previously filed papers with the Bluetooth SIG and a mention on the Google Play Console. Even the phone’s user manual has made its way on the internet.

However, rumors about the phone’s possible launch delay started cropping up about a month ago. The blame was put firmly on the technology industry’s current worldwide chip shortage which has affected many industries. A planned September launch was reportedly pushed back to mid-October. Last week, an unconfirmed report claimed the S21 FE was back in full production. However, earlier this week, another story claimed that, according to an unnamed Samsung spokesperson, the mid-October launch event for the phone was not going to happen after all. Furthermore, the story claimed Samsung was “reviewing the smartphone launch itself.”

The Galaxy S21 FE FCC filing does nothing to solve the mysterious path that this phone has apparently taken. Will we actually see this phone released? Will the chip shortage sink the phone? At this point, your guess is as good as ours.