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Review: 36-Hours With Google's Pixel Buds

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Despite a less than ideal out of box experience I'm quite impressed by Google's new Pixel Buds. Other reviewers had no problems with the set-up issue that I'll get to later.

To begin with, they sound great - better than any earbuds I've tested. The sounds were rich and clear and with surprisingly good bass and there is more than enough volume if you crank them up. Unlike some earbuds, they don't fit tightly into the ear so they won't suppress noise around you. For this reason, they might not be optimal for wearing on a plane or train, but they sounded great at home and when I took my dog for a walk. Google also came up with a clever way to keep them from falling out -- a common problem with earbuds. The cord that connects the left and right earbud also serves as a mechanism for holding them in place. The cord has a loop that extends from the earpiece to easily allow you to adjust the fit. That eliminated the necessity of extra adapters for different size ear canals.

Some people might be annoyed that there is a cord between the left and right earpiece but I like it. Not only does it serve as a neck strap, but I think it will make it harder to lose one or both earbuds.

At $159, they're pricey, but there's a lot of great sound and technology packed into them.

Google Assistant in your ear

The other thing I like is the ability to bring up Google Assistant simply by touching the right earpiece. That allows you to order-up a song or other audio program, ask a question or turn on the unique and very cool translation feature. With the the Pixel Buds in place, you never have to take your phone out of your pocket and can even control what you hear if your phone is a room away as I discovered as I selected and listened to music while shaving with my phone in the next room.

As is the case with the phone itself, Google Assistant allows you to ask questions and hear the answers. As I was listening to a podcast, I heard an interview with someone and was curious about her bio so I held my finger on the right earbud for a second, asked about her and got a shortened version of her Wikipedia bio. And the podcast automatically resumed as soon as Google Assistant finished reading the bio.

The integration with Google Assistant isn't quite as impressive as what Google tried (and pretty much failed) to do with Google Glass, but it does enable you to wear a device that can help you understand the world around you through voice and has great long-term promise.

Translation feature

The translation feature works as advertised. If you press the right earbud for a second and say "Help me speak Spanish (or any supported language), she'll say "Sure, opening Google Translate." Then whatever you say while holding the earbud will be spoken aloud and displayed on your phone's screen. There is also an easy way for the person you're speaking with to respond through your phone in that language so you can hear it in your own language through the Pixel Buds.  There are still enough steps to not completely allow for a totally smooth conversation, but it's about as useful as having a simultaneous translator by your side.

Control with a touch

You can start and stop your music by pressing once on the right earbud and adjust the volume by swiping forward for louder and backward for software. You can also check the time and see if you have any notifications by double tapping the right earbud. I found the volume adjustment a bit tricky. It's not as smooth as I like, but you can also adjust the volume from your phone.

A case for and against the case

Google says that the Pixel Buds will play for about 5 hours between charges, but the case has a built-in battery that will allow you to re-charge it several times without having to plug it into an outlet.

And that brings us to the case. Its covered in fabric, which avoids that plastic feel and it's very light, though a little bigger than I'd like. You need it to both set-up and charge the Pixel Buds so you had better remember to take it with you and be sure not to lose it. Maybe it's just me, but I have a tendency to misplace things, which is why I prefer that my devices plug directly into off-the-shelf cables. It's cheap and easy to get extra USB cables and even possible to get your hands on one from where you happen to be if you lose the one you have. I'm not sure what Google plans to charge for a replacement case, but I hope it's inexpensive and easy to get.

To charge the Pixel Buds you need to insert both the left and right one into the appropriate hole so that its magnetic prongs touch their counterparts in the case. Then you have to wrap the cord around the case and carefully insert the end into the case itself. Now that I've done it a few times, it only takes a few seconds but I had to practice a bit before getting it right.

Out of box experience

Other early reviewers have marvelled at the out-of-box set-up experience, which for them worked as Google intended. In theory, all you have to do is remove a couple of small stickers from the earbuds to allow them to connect and then put them back in the case, charge it for about 10 minutes and then open up the case next to your phone which must be unlocked with Bluetooth turned on. Then you're supposed to see a dialog box pop-up that enables you to quickly and easily get started.

I wasn't so lucky. When I followed the rather sparse instruction in the little booklet that came with the buds, nothing happened even though I dutifully went through all the steps including "open the charging case next to your phone with the Google Pixel Buds still inside," and "follow the on-screen steps to finish setup." There were no on-screen steps. The manual does refer you to a support page if you have a different phone or a problem, which suggested that I manually set-up Bluetooth from the phone's Bluetooth set-up app. That worked at first but when I decided to give set-up another try by having my phone "forget" the connection, I couldn't even get that to work and the support page was no help. Fortunately, I was able to reach a Google executive who advised me to hold down the button on the top right of the inside of the case to re-set the Pixel Buds and that enabled me to pair them again, though I  never was able to get it to automatically bring up that set-up dialog.  Still, the manual process worked just fine and my Pixel Buds and my Pixel 2 XL are now working together well.

Hopefully most users won't have this problem, but if you do, remember that support page and remember that reset button. They're life savers.

All in all I've enjoyed my 36 hours with the Pixel Buds. As I said, they sound great and they offer some very cool features. Now it's time to take my dog for another walk and listen to some music, all without having to take my phone out of my pocket.