Hello, Google Pixel Buds (And Real-Time Translation)

Hello, Google Pixel Buds (and real-time translation). Goodbye, headphone jack. 6 October 2017, by Jessica Guynn, Usa Today

Apple wasn't the first to whack the decades-old technology but it was the first to have to explain it to millions of people. Apple exec Phil Schiller's rationale was widely mocked ("It comes down to one word: courage") as protests abounded on the Internet.

Many headphone-jack fans rejoiced when Google unveiled the Pixels last year, proudly declaring: "3.5mm headphone jack satisfyingly not new."

But now in an about face, Google has gone over to the other side, placing its bets on wireless audio.

Google Pixel Buds, which comes in the same colors as the Pixels, are wireless earbuds connected by a cable that can go behind your head or around your neck (so they are a little harder to Hey, Google: Say it ain't so. misplace).

At a splashy event in San Francisco to unveil its They have a control on the right bud that you can latest generation of Pixel smartphones, Google tap to play or pause music or answer phone calls, debuted Google Pixel Buds, its own Bluetooth swipe to change volume or press to talk to Google earbuds priced at $159. Assistant. The Pixel Buds can alert you to new notifications and can read new messages to you. Their biggest selling point of the Pixel Buds is that they come equipped with the smarts of Google Basically the Pixel Buds allow you to do stuff you'd Assistant (though they don't come with the do with your phone without ever having to look at purchase of a Pixel phone) and a really nifty your phone—and one really impressive trick: real- feature: real-time translations of conversations time translations of conversations. through Google Translate in 40 languages. The Pixel Buds hear you speak and your Pixel The downside: Google has jettisoned the speaker plays the translation in another language. headphone jack on the Pixel, leaving just a USB-C When the other person speaks, you hear the data/charge port. If this sounds familiar, it's translation in your ear. because the headphone jack is increasingly an endangered feature on smartphones, thanks in An onstage demo at Google's event Wednesday large part to Apple. showed off a conversation in English and Dutch translated on the spot. Apple began pushing people toward wireless earphones with the iPhone 7 and the introduction The Pixel Buds battery lasts five hours. The of AirPods, Bluetooth headphones that are not charging case holds four charges. attached by a wire. You just pop each bud into your ear. For those of you outraged by the jackphone-less

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Pixel, here's your consolation prize: The phone comes with an adapter.

©2017 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. APA citation: Hello, Google Pixel Buds (and real-time translation). Goodbye, headphone jack. (2017, October 6) retrieved 27 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2017-10-google-pixel-buds-real-time- goodbye.html

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