You have to give it to Google, they aren’t interested in introducing new personal audio products when their current ones can be refined, tweaked, and improved. We’ve seen the brand drop updates before, but this latest one is pretty major, bringing big changes to the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Buds 2a.
You’re going to want to grab this update
Now we reported on these features before, but Google has officially announced the “massive” software update on its Pixel Buds Help support page, highlighting software release_6.144. The good news is that most of the features will come to the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Pixel Buds 2a (via Android Authority).
Just to quickly recap, the new update will bring an “Enhanced Live Translate” feature that lets users get on-the-go translations straight from the Pixel Buds without touching their phone. It will use Google Translate to provide seamless translations when conversing or passively taking in the language around you.
You’ll also be able to use your voice to do more, like change the audio settings using Gemini voice commands. Google shares some examples, indicating that you can “use your voice to turn on Active Noise Cancellation, adjust your EQ, or enable touch controls.” Users will also now be able to mute their Pixel Buds with a single tap.
This tap-to-mute feature will require the buds to be paired with a Pixel phone. Perhaps the most interesting feature in this update is the ability for the Pixel Buds to pause your media when it detects you’re sleeping. It can also turn off touch gestures and silence incoming notifications. We’ve all been there; this one can be extremely handy.
And finally, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will get “Dynamic Active Noise Cancellation,” which adjusts audio volume and ANC on the fly based on how well the buds are sealed to your ears. If this update sounds interesting, we recommend you give it a try. Just head to Settings so you can search for and manually apply the update.
If you’re not that curious, you can just leave your Pixel Buds alone, and they’ll get the update naturally when they’re on the charger. We like that Google keeps updating its hardware, adding extra value to its products rather than introducing something completely new. Hopefully, this is a trend that keeps on going because we love to see it.
