Google has been on a low-cost device tear lately with its cheaper Pixel 4a and 5 series, plus the lower-cost Nest Thermostat. One area that hasn’t gotten a lower-cost option from the company is its wireless Pixel earbuds, but that seems primed to change.
New leaks from 9to5Google suggest Google is working on a new pair of its fully wireless Pixel Buds 2 that retain the earbuds’ cool design, but at a lower the price. The publication also notes that the new wireless earbuds are likely to be named ‘Pixel Buds a,’ retaining the naming structure from the company’s more budget-minded smartphones.
The new earbuds are rumoured to recolour the hard plastic ear tips and wings from the Pixel Buds 2 to make them all one colour. The leak suggests we’ll see a white pair and a dark green pair. This will be more of a forest green than the mint Google has used in the past.
9to5Google theorizes that these could be the new colours we see on the Pixel 5a, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in this since Google products don’t seem to follow consistent colour themes.
Finally, the leak says the new Pixel Buds will include touch controls, but there’s no mention of what these earbuds are missing compared to the Pixel Buds (2020). If I had to guess, I think the real-time translation feature and ‘Adaptive sound’ might be left on the cutting room floor.
The report seems to think that Google might release new hardware, including a new Nest camera and the Pixel 5a, at some point this summer alongside the new Pixel Buds a. However, there is a chance we don’t see these earbuds until the fall.
Source: 9to5Google
