Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds

Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by djrogers on Monday October 09, 2017 @11:39AM (#15434770)

Googles don't translate anything though - all they bring to the party is a button that works with Google's translation software on your phone. Previous HN threads included responses from googles who worked on the feature that confirm this.

Also, which earbuds do you think the AirPods are copy-cats of? The only real wire-free buds out when they were announced were the original Bragi ones which were priced over $100 higher, had lower battery life, and were larger.

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15404918

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by cptskippy on Monday October 09, 2017 @07:50PM (#15438322)

There were several different wireless earbuds before AirPods including Earin, Bragi, HearNotes and many more you've never heard of but they're all inferior to AirPods.

Apple is never the first or second or even third entrant into a new market, but when they do enter they're usually the best by a significant margin.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by connorl33t on Monday October 09, 2017 @11:55AM (#15434918)

I seem to remember FreeWavz & HearNotes before Apple's "AirPods"

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by allwein on Monday October 09, 2017 @02:20PM (#15436183)

You mean the FreeWavz that still aren't shipping or the HearNotes which ripped off all their Kickstarter backers before getting sued into oblivion?

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by cptskippy on Monday October 09, 2017 @07:53PM (#15438335)

Earin actually shipped and so did Bragi.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by macintux on Tuesday October 10, 2017 @10:32PM (#15446896)

Earin: no microphone. Bragi did ship first but with lots of flaws.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by KekDemaga on Monday October 09, 2017 @11:42AM (#15434798)

By what mechanism does Apples headphones translate speech?

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by ballenf on Monday October 09, 2017 @11:56AM (#15434930)

Neither product translates anything. They're both heavy on marketing (Apple's proprietary bluetooth chip, Google's on-phone-but-locked-to-one-BT-headset translation capability) and both are incremental improvements on existing tech.

The tit-for-tat here is getting silly. If you have a Pixel, buy Google's if you have an iPhone buy Apple's. If you have neither buy a few pair for $3 and laugh at the fools wearing the $160 ones.

That being said, I've used the Apple ones and actually feel like they're a reasonable value at the price. The ease of pairing them (open the box with an iPhone nearby) will spoil you. They also are findable with the "Find my iPhone" app, based on their last known position which is a critical feature for such an easy to lose item.

Haven't tried the Google ones, but do think real time translation is a "magical" feature that Jobs would have loved -- assuming it's easy to use and works well. I'm the type to work my ass off learning a new language when traveling, so it does make me feel like people are cheating. But that's a feeling that we should all be getting used with tech advancements.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by euyyn on Monday October 09, 2017 @12:51PM (#15435436)

You don't need a Pixel to use these headphones, though, do you? I would think any Android phone lets you do the real-time translation with them.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by jclardy on Monday October 09, 2017 @02:08PM (#15436087)

I don't believe so, but that isn't their point. The point being that Google is tying the translation feature into these headphones to upsell them, even though it could be done without headphones at all.

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Re:Hands-On with the $159 Google Pixel Buds by euyyn on Monday October 09, 2017 @06:13PM (#15437886)

Yeah I used Google Translate that way in Japan earlier this summer, it was life-saving. I do see the point of convenience the earbuds bring to it, though, not having to hand the phone forth and back.

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