It looks like Samsung is preparing to launch a pair of wireless earphones to rival the hugely popular Apple AirPods.

Thought to be called the Galaxy Buds, they are expected to be revealed at Samsung's Unpacked event, taking place in San Francisco and London on February 20, and where the Galaxy S10 will be announced.

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The Galaxy Buds were spotted passing through the Bluetooth Special Interest Group last week - a process required for all Bluetooth-enabled devices - and now they have gained clearance by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The device carries the same SM-R170 model name in both sets of documents (those from Bluetooth SIG and the FCC). Passing through both processes means the product is very close to launching and going on sale.

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy Buds will be available in black, white and yellow, and come with support for Bluetooth 5.0. They are also said to have 8GB of internal storage, likely so music can be played without needing to be within Bluetooth range of a smartphone.

The Galaxy Buds are to replace the IconX from 2018Samsung

The Galaxy Buds are expected to replace the IconX (2018), Samsungs last truly wireless earphones, and compete against the hugely popular Apple AirPods. They will likely be launched alongside a trio of Galaxy S10 smartphones, although they are not expected to be bundled with the smartphone. They will instead be sold separately, as the IconX and AirPods are.

Samsung will likely incorporate audio technology from its partner AKG with the Galaxy Buds. AKG is part of the Harman group, which Samsung purchased in 2018.

Samsung is also tipped to be revealing more of its folding smartphone at the February 20 event, and it is likely that everything revealed there will be shown off at the Mobile World Congress technology show, which kicks off in Barcelona a few days later.

A fitness wearing called the Galaxy Fit also passed through the Bluetooth certification process this month, and could also be launched at the Unpacked event.