First-generation Pixel Buds | |
Developer | |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Goertek (first-generation) |
Product family | Pixel |
Type | Wireless earbuds |
Release date | First-generation:
November 2017
February 2018
Second-generation: April 2020 Pixel Buds A-Series: June 2021 |
Input | Microphone, accelerometer, capacitive touchpad[1] |
Connectivity | |
Current firmware | 553 (February 2021) |
Dimensions |
|
Mass |
|
Website | Google Store |
The Pixel Buds is a line of wireless earbuds developed and marketed by Google. The first-generation Pixel Buds were launched on October 4, 2017, at the Made by Google launch event, and became available for preorder on the Google Store the same day.[1][2] They have the Google Assistant built-in and support Google Translate. The second-generation Pixel Buds were announced at the Pixel 4 hardware event on October 15, 2019. They were released on April 27, 2020 and debuted to positive reviews.[3][4][5]
In June 2021, Google announced the Pixel Buds A-Series, a mid-range variant of the Pixel Buds. In May 2022, Google announced the Pixel Buds Pro, a premium variant of the Pixel Buds.
The distinguishing feature of Pixel Buds is their inclusion of the Google Assistant, a smart voice assistant. This allows the earbuds to translate conversations in real-time, among other standard features such as web search and media connectivity.[6][7][8] It supports translation of 40 different languages.[8]
Reception of the Pixel Buds was mostly negative, with much of the criticism being aimed towards its seemingly bad case design.[9][10][11] Recent sources announced, "Google Translate is available on all Assistant-optimized headphones and Android phones."[12]
The second generation Pixel Buds were first announced at a Google hardware event on October 15, 2019 and released in the United States in April 2020. They were released in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom in July 2020.[13] Initially, only the Clearly White color model was released with the other three color models, Oh So Orange, Quite Mint, and Almost Black, released four months later in the United States on August 20, 2020.[14][15][16]
On June 3, 2021, Google announced the Pixel Buds A-Series, a mid-range variant of the Pixel Buds.[17] They were released on June 17, 2021 in the United States and Canada.[18] In August, they were further released in France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[19]
On May 11, 2022, Google announced the Pixel Buds Pro, a premium variant of the Pixel Buds, during the 2022 Google I/O keynote.[20]