A set of premium wireless headphones that can support live language translations is among the new products announced by Google on Wednesday.
The headphones, called Google Pixel Buds, can tap into Google Assistant—the company’s artificially intelligent, voice activated product—when paired with the new Google Pixel 2 handset. The Google Pixel Buds can give planners a boost, not only by translating between 40 languages, but also by alerting them of notifications, sending texts and giving directions.
If you are waiting to receive a text from a friend or have an upcoming meeting, Google Assistant can alert you to a calendar event or an incoming message, and read it to you if you can’t look at your phone at that moment.
All the audio controls are in a touchpad on the right earbud, so no buttons hang on the cord. Users just need to swipe forward or backward to control volume, and tap to play or pause music. Pixel Buds have a unique fabric loop that makes them comfortable, secure and easy to adjust without having to swap out pieces. They fit into a pocket-sized charging case that provides up to 24 hours of listening time.
They can be paired by opening the charging case near a Pixel or Android phone running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher with the Google Assistant. The phone will automatically detect them and ask if you want to connect.
Google Pixel Buds come in three colors—kinda blue, just black and clearly white—to match your Pixel 2. They can be preordered now and will be available in November for $159 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Singapore.
Among the other new products is the Google Pixel 2 smartphone. It comes with 6-inch and 5.5-inch displays. It will be available in the same colors as the Pixel Buds. The 6-inch Pixel 2 XL features a plastic-OLED curved display that runs nearly to the edges. It closely resembles the LG V30 smartphone on which it is based. The Pixel 2 XL will be available in black or black and white.
