Google Announces Truly Wireless Pixel Buds 2 for $179

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 15 Oct 2019

Pixel Buds 2

Google today announced the Pixel Buds 2 — its first truly wireless Bluetooth earbuds. The original Pixel Buds were a disaster and did not really do well. With the Pixel Buds 2, Google has made the earphones completely wireless and improved them radically in every aspect.

The Pixel Buds 2 fit flush in your ears and have a design that is similar to Samsung’s Gear Buds rather than AirPods. It also comes with interchangeable ear tips to ensure you get a perfect and comfortable fit. The buds are also sweat and water-resistant.

Google says the hybrid design of the Pixel Buds 2 ensures that most of the noise around you is passively blocked. The buds also have a spatial vent to reduce the feeling of them being plugged into your ears. They also feature Adaptive Sound which can dynamically adjust the volume output depending on the ambient sound.

The buds have two microphones in each earbud and use beam forming to focus on your voice while on calls. They also have a voice accelerometer that can detect speech using vibrations of your jawbone.

Pixel Buds 2

The Pixel Buds 2 comes with a wireless charging case that is very similar to the one that Apple bundles with the AirPods. The Pixel Buds last for around 5 hours on a single charge, with the battery life jumping to around 24 hours with the case.

One of the highlights of the Pixel Buds 2 is that it offers real-time translation, something which no other wireless earbuds in the market currently offers. The Pixel Buds 2 will retail for $179, but the bummer is that they launch in spring 2020. It will be available in four colors: Clearly White, Oh So Orange, Quite Mint, and Almost Black.

While the Pixel Buds 2 look impressive on paper, the launch date of Spring 2020 is a bit too late. Google ideally should have had this product on the shelves before the holiday season this year.