Pixel Buds Just Another Pair Of Earbuds, Or A Revolutionary New Concept?

When Google announced their Pixel Buds this week, I pretty much just shrugged at the fact that they were just following Apple's direction in pushing their own agendas. It was even more apparent given the fact that they also announced the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack from their new phones, seemingly herding their loyal sheep consumers into buying their shiny new wireless earbuds. On taking a second look however, their motivations may have some genuine innovation and aren't reliant on just greed alone.

Design: Is it fashionable? Or merely functional?

For any wearable device the first most important factor is how it looks, it's the first form of judgement before functionality. When Apple introduced their Airbuds last year it was met with a lot of ridicule and mockery for it's lazy design and thankfully, Google put in a bit more effort, and created something more akin to the norm in the market. It's not particularly the most stylish looking design, but good enough to be seen with. From a functional perspective, I really like the fact that they didn't go completely wireless and left the cord between each side, this makes it much more manageable when you're in a hurry, and less like gathering marbles which can be easily lost. I also like the clever method of adjusting the strap size, by placing it on each earbud rather than a simple loop at the back.

Wireless is not magic!

My biggest pet peeve against any form of wireless headphones is the fact that they require a charged battery to be fully functional. And with wireless earbuds in particular, they're completely useless when the charge runs out. The mere fact that they need to be charged is an additional hassle and limitation of convenience. My current pair of wireless earbuds, have discharged on me enough times to the point of annoyance. As a result I now always keep an additional (wired) pair on standby wherever I go. The Pixel Buds doesn't do anything new to address that issue. They do have a charging case...but that's yet another device to be charged...

Your Own Personal Translator

The real innovation in the Pixel Buds lies in its connectivity to Google's Assistant. All major tech companies seem to be throwing their digital assistants into every device these days and attaching the 'smart' moniker to it. One might be quick to think that this is just another gimmick, however, Google has integrated their assistant with their translation app to produce a genuinely groundbreaking feature. At the touch of a button it offers real-time translation. If they successfully implement this, it could bridge a major gap between foreign countries. It would be great for travelers and businessmen

This translation feature alone could be enough to be its major selling point. If successful I wouldn't be surprised to see other companies scrambling to create a similar feature of their own, whether it be through collaborations, such as Bose for example, or completely by their own means. Personally I'm very interested to see where this will go, as learning a new language has always been something that has eluded me, what about you? Leave a comment below.