Google's Pixel Buds are new wireless in-ear headphones designed for the newly-minted Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL smartphones.
While they might sound like a rip-off of another product you’ve heard of (cough, Apple AirPods) these could be one of the neatest, smartest wireless headphones we've seen.
- What are these headphones like to use? Read our hands-on: Google Pixel Buds review
The Pixel Buds are smarter because not only do they have the features you’ve come to expect in wireless earbuds at this point, like direct access to Google Assistant with one tap as well as voice commands, they also offer real-time 1-to-1 language translation.
At the company’s Pixel 2 event, the Google Pixel Buds were used to hold a conversation between two of the presenters – one speaking in English, the other in Swedish – and the results were played over a speaker for the audience.
Google Translate in real time
As you’d expect, questions were translated from the English speaker to Swedish and the responses, which were said in Swedish, were translated back to English.
The process was not only seamless, it was genuinely, impressive – the Google Pixel Buds could pose real a threat to products like Logbar, Pilot and Bragi’s Dash Pro Babelfish earbuds, especially since the Pixel Buds will be compatible with over 40 languages, including Italian, French and Japanese, right out of the box.
Like the Apple AirPods, the Google Pixel Buds will launch with a charging case, and will deliver 24 hours of uninterrupted playback when fully charged.
The Google Pixel Buds will come in three colors – Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue – matching the colors of the new Google Pixel 2, and will be available starting in November in the US for $159.
Shortly after the US release the Pixel Buds will be available for £159 in the UK and $249 in Australia, and will also released in Canada, Germany and Singapore.
- Sounds like the Google Pixel Buds could be joining our list of the Best Bluetooth Earbuds sometime in the near future
