xda: Google Pixel Buds are Assistant-Enabled Bluetooth Earbuds that Cost $149

mercredi 4 octobre 2017

Google Pixel Buds are Assistant-Enabled Bluetooth Earbuds that Cost $149

We knew that Google has been wanting to dive into a new accessory market this year with their hardware release. Rumors of Bisto originated as a single device but ended up being a product category all on its own. The company has partnered with Bose to release headphones with Google Assistant built-in, but today they announced their own accessory. Dubbed the Google Pixel Buds, they are a pair of Bluetooth earbuds connected by a fabric braided cable and fit right into their own charging case for easy portability.

Google really is going all in on the fabric design style they started with last year. Not only is the cable that connects these two earbuds wrapped in a unique fabric loop, but the charging case also uses the same material that we’re used to with the Google Home, Home Mini, Daydream View and more. They include a 5-hour charge but paired with the charging case can extend that to 24 hours. Just like with the new headphones from Bose, the Google Pixel Buds also have Google Assistant built-in that can be accessed by touching and holding right on the earbud. So there aren’t any buttons on them and are controlled entirely with touch and gestures.

Along with touching the earbud to enable Google Assistant, you can use gestures to adjust the volume as well as switch between music tracks. With it, all of the Google Assistant features are right there for you including playing music, making a phone call and even getting directions. An interesting demo that Google did on stage with the Pixel Buds is the multilingual feature they have built into it. If you pair these with a Pixel phone, then these earbuds can translate between languages in real time using Google Translate (works with 40 languages) . We’ve seen 3rd-party companies try this in the past with varying success but Google seems to have seamlessly integrated it very well.

The Pixel Buds will be available in three different colors, Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue and some are already going out of stock on the Google Store right now. Initial shipments are said to begin in November (the Google Store says 6-7 weeks) for $159 in the United States. Google will also be bringing the Pixel Buds to Canada, U.K., Germany, Australia and Singapore next month as well.