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CNBC: Google's New 'Pixel Buds' Suck (yahoo.com)
Google's new Pixel Buds "are really bad" and "not worth buying," according to CNBC's technology products editor:
The stand-out feature of Google Pixel Buds is that they're supposed to be able to translate spoken languages in near real-time. In my real-world tests, however, that wasn't the case at all. I took the Pixel Buds out on the streets of Manhattan, speaking to a Hungarian waiter in Little Italy, multiple vendors in Chinatown and more. If you press the right earbud and say "help me speak Chinese," for example, the buds will launch Google Translate, you can speak what you'd like to ask someone in another language, and a voice will read out the translated speech through your smartphone's speakers. Then, when someone replies, you'll hear that response through the Pixel Buds.
The microphone on the Pixel Buds is really bad, so it barely picked up my voice queries that I wanted to translate. I stood on the side of the road in Chinatown repeating myself at least 10 times trying to get the phone to pick up my speech in order to begin translation. It barely worked, even if I took the buds out and spoke directly into the microphone on the right earbud, and often only translated half of what I was trying to ask. In a quiet place, I was able to allow someone to respond to me, after which I'd hear the English translation through the headphones. That was neat, but it barely ever actually worked that way. To mitigate this, I found it was just easier to manually open the Google translate app, speak into my phone's microphone, and then let someone else also speak right into my phone. This executed the translation nearly perfectly, and meant that I didn't need the Pixel Buds at all.
The article ends by answering the question, Should you buy them? "Nope. There's nothing I recommend about the Pixel Buds.
"They're cheap-feeling and uncomfortable, and you're better off using the Google Translate app on a phone instead of trying to fumble with the headphones while trying to translate a conversation. The idea is neat, but it just doesn't work well enough to recommend to anyone on any level."
The microphone on the Pixel Buds is really bad, so it barely picked up my voice queries that I wanted to translate. I stood on the side of the road in Chinatown repeating myself at least 10 times trying to get the phone to pick up my speech in order to begin translation. It barely worked, even if I took the buds out and spoke directly into the microphone on the right earbud, and often only translated half of what I was trying to ask. In a quiet place, I was able to allow someone to respond to me, after which I'd hear the English translation through the headphones. That was neat, but it barely ever actually worked that way. To mitigate this, I found it was just easier to manually open the Google translate app, speak into my phone's microphone, and then let someone else also speak right into my phone. This executed the translation nearly perfectly, and meant that I didn't need the Pixel Buds at all.
The article ends by answering the question, Should you buy them? "Nope. There's nothing I recommend about the Pixel Buds.
"They're cheap-feeling and uncomfortable, and you're better off using the Google Translate app on a phone instead of trying to fumble with the headphones while trying to translate a conversation. The idea is neat, but it just doesn't work well enough to recommend to anyone on any level."
So you didn't read the summary?
Me neither.
The current state of the audio filtering technology is not up snuff.
But all of the complaints are merely bug reports, more or less.
Do not assume this is simply a software problem. To perform proper audio filtering, multiple microphones are required. Dedicated logic would then typically perform the filtering - a CPU would require too much power. If the Pixel Buds do not do this correctly now then it is highly unlikely a future software update will correct the problems. This is not a bug report but a fundamental hardware design flaw.
It is possible future hardware will perform better. But the current hardware is what it is - a poor purchase according to the article. It might be great for you but if not, do not assume the ear-buds you purchase today will improve tomorrow.
Right. I have zero doubt or cynicism as to the sincerity of this post. But all of the complaints are merely bug reports, more or less. That is to say, the goals and approach of the technology is sound, and once the rough edges are worked out, it will be a game changer. The current state of the audio filtering technology is not up snuff. So be it. These real-world tests will only make it stronger. The poster uses strong language (sucks), but the frustrations are helpful and will only improve the tech.
Do we really care if it's a fundamental problem or a bug, as consumers? I care about what it does now, if I'm going to pay for it now... and I would hope that reviews do the same. It may get improved, but there's no guarantee, and indeed Google's habit of dropping products means I really need to be happy with it now. If it gets improved in the future then I'll reconsider, but for now these seem to be dud products.
And I say this while posting from a new Pixelbook... I've been generally pretty positive about Googles slew of new products, but this one seems not ready.