Google’s new wireless headphones can translate 40 different languages

Google Pixel Buds.
(Image credit: Courtesy Google)

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.

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Elianna Spitzer

Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q