So, I recently reviewed the new Pixel Buds, and as much as I love them and use them DAILY, they still had some shortfallings.
Well, really the only one was the sound. I found it a bit flatter and quieter than the originals. Well an update that just came out allows it to close that gap.
The new 1.0.5 update to the Pixel Buds app brings a couple updates. Most significantly for me is the ability to add Bass Boost, which now puts it pretty near the quality of the originals. Still not the volume, but the bass enhancement really seems to bring out a nice quality 'punch' to the sound and not just some gimmicky 'boom boom' you sometimes get with others.
Also, with the drop of this update brings the availability of the other colours:
Other updates include the fact you can adjust the adaptive sound (i.e. does it turn up or down based on surrounding noise) to not do that if it detects specific sounds like a baby crying, or an ambulance.
You also have the option to share your earbud with someone else (eww...) and then if you do the buds' volume controls can be done separately.
There are more features I'll share below:
- Bass boost. Need a little more oomph? Just turn on bass boost in the Pixel Buds sound settings.
- Sharing detection. Now, when you share one of your earbuds with a friend, each of you can swipe to control the volume individually.
- Last known location with Find My Device. More easily locate the earbuds by seeing where they were last connected with an Android device. Go to Find device in Pixel Buds settings and tap Last known location to go to Find My Device. While this won’t give you an exact or current location, it can help you determine where to start looking, for example, whether you might have left the earbuds at your home or your workplace.
- Transcribe mode on Google Translate. Building on the helpfulness of Pixel Buds’ conversation mode translate feature, which helps when you’re talking back and forth with another person, the new transcribe mode lets you follow along by reading the translated speech directly into your ear, helping you understand the gist of what’s being said during longer listening experiences. Launching initially for French, German, Italian and Spanish speakers to translate English speech, transcribe mode can help you stay present in the moment and focus on the person speaking. Ask Google Assistant to help you understand English with one of the Google Assistant queries
- Attention Alerts (experimental). This experimental feature uses AI technology that aims to detect a few important sounds — a baby crying, dog barking, or emergency vehicle siren — and makes you aware when you’re wearing your earbuds. The detection will happen locally on your device and data is not collected by Google. When Attention Alerts is on and you are listening to audio with both earbuds in, your audio volume will lower for a moment and a chime will play when your earbuds detect one of the supported sounds. After a few seconds, your volume will return to normal. Individual alerts can be turned on or off, and Attention Alerts will not re-trigger within 1 minute of the same sound.
- Turn touch controls on or off. If you’d rather not use touch controls for your earbuds, now you can turn them off and on in the Pixel Buds touch controls settings.
- New Google Assistant queries.
- “Hey Google, turn on/off touch controls.”
- “Hey Google, what’s the battery on my earbuds?”
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