Google Pixel buds mean smarter ears

Google Pixel Buds offer more than music to your ears.

Google Pixel Bids (version 2).

Google’s original Pixel Buds were awkward. The 2017 first generation buds were tethered by a cord that you’d tuck into your shirt from behind your neck. It was fiddly.

Generation 2 ear buds are much better. I have been trying them and for one, they fit my ears. They are small, round and unobtrusive, and come with three sets of covers to fit large, medium and small ear holes. I have been taking them on daily exercise walks and slow jogs, and they show no sign of falling out.

They also deliver very good sound, clear with decent bass, although you don’t get the power you would from good headphones. Each earbud has a 12mm dynamic speaker driver and beamforming microphones. I could easily hold conversations with the Pixel Buds on and my phone in my pocket.

Google doesn’t offer some features other vendors do such as isolation mode or discrete noise profiles for different environments, such as when you travel in aircraft, or trains, are walking on a crowded street or in the office. Instead, you get a tad of background noise but this didn’t worry me. I use earbuds mainly when out and about and need to be conscious of ambient sound in the environment any way. I prefer to use headphones at home.

Google makes up for this absence of sound profiles with what it calls adaptive sound. It automatically adjusts the level of background noise depending on your environment. I wasn’t even conscious of the changes but felt I could hear clearly in different circumstances.

The Pixel Buds come in a small oval shaped, solid case, and they pair with Apple iPhones and Android phones alike, but especially well with Google Pixel Phones.

Google Pixel Bids (version 2)

Pairing with Google phones involves opening the case and pressing the sync button on the back. My Google Pixel 4 recognised it and displayed a notification on the screen.

For other phones, after pressing the sync button, the buds will appear In your Bluetooth device list settings. You need a recent phone with at least Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 6.0.

One set of Pixel Buds will pair with up to six devices, but you have to re-select Pixel Buds in settings when you swap between devices. They don’t support Bluetooth multipoint for simultaneous connections.

Pixel Buds are versatile when it comes to recharging. The case supports fast charging using the supplied USB-C cable and wireless charging. You can place the Pixel Buds in their case on a standard Qi-charger.

Google says the buds deliver five hours of listening on a single charge before you have to pop them back into the case for a power top-up. It says you will get around 24-hour of playtime before you recharge the case. A quick 10 minute charge delivers about two hours of music.

Controls on Pixel Buds are simple. You tap either bud once for pause/play, twice for the next track and thrice for rewind. You swipe to adjust the volume. Even I can remember that.

Google Pixel Bids (version 2)

However you have to tap with some finesse so that your three taps aren’t interpreted as two. You need to have the buds in your ear with the touch sensitive section facing outwards. The little aerial section points upwards for that orientation.

The crème de la crème of Pixel Buds is the interaction with Google Assistant on Android handsets. You hold your finger on a bud and issue a request. You can ask for information or use voice commands to operate the phone such as make a call or play music. I asked it to tell me my calendar entries for the week and it did.

The real-time translation offered by Pixel Buds is back but updated. You can say: “Help me speak Russian” and the phone opens Google Translate. I press the bud and say “How are you today?” and the phone speaks it in Russian. Simple. A button on the screen pops up for your friend to reply. Of course, this will be only as accurate as Google Translate is for specific languages. You also need a phone with a decently loud speaker so your friend will hear the translation.

Pixel buds are available in Australia in “clearly white”. In the end, you get decent value for your $279 outlay. You can buy them through the Google Store.