After making a recent appearance on an official database in Taiwan, the Pixel Buds 2 have now been spotted on the Federal Communications Commission.
When the buds were first unveiled back in 2019, we were promised a 2020 release but not given a firm launch date. The sudden flurry of listings on official databases suggests that we might see the new buds in spring, given that this sort of activity tends to immediately precede an official reveal.
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The Pixel buds were also previously spotted on the Wireless Charging Consortium (WCC), although that listing has now mysteriously disappeared.
Most of the new listings don’t give much away, although the WCC listing suggests that the new buds will come packed with a wireless-charging case. The latest FCC appearance confirms that the new buds come with separate model numbers: G1007 and G1008.
Back in October, Google announced that it was giving the Pixel Buds a much needed makeover, after the first-gen earphones were very poorly received. Reviewing them in 2018, we described the buds as “an ambitious attempt at high-tech headphones but poorly executed, and limited by a need for a Pixel phone if you want to use them to their full potential.”
The new Pixel Buds will – according to Google – have better sound isolation, so you should be able to hear your tunes clearly even in noisy situations. The buds will also come with huge 12mm dynamic drivers, which could deliver some better quality audio.
Related: Best headphones 2020
Like the original buds, the new generation will have a five-hour battery life, in-built translation services, and access to Google Assistant. The company claims that assistant-access is even quicker with the new buds.
The boldest claim from Google is that the new buds will be able to connect at great distances, apparently across the length of an entire football field. We’ll wait until we’ve been able to test them out to confirm this – and to see how the buds connectivity fares in busy signal areas.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
