Why use a phone app to translate a language when your earbuds can do it for you? On Wednesday, Google announced the company's first proprietary headphones, called the Pixel Buds. They're wireless, use touch controls, and can translate up to 40 different languages.
The Verge explains how it works: Pixel Buds pair with Google's voice assistant. To access the assistant, simply tap the earbud. To have a phrase translated, hold a finger on the earbud and ask, for example, "help me speak French." Then repeat the phrase that needs to be translated into French. Once you remove your finger, Google's Translate app will speak the translated phrase through the earbud. The Pixel Buds can also translate foreign languages that are being spoken to you in nearly real time, if the speaker presses a corresponding button on your smartphone.
The earbuds are not quite earbuds, The Verge notes, because they rest on the outer ear and are connected by a cloth rope that loops around the user's neck. When the Pixel Buds make their market debut in November, they will be priced at $159 — the same price as a pair of Apple AirPods.
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