Google Pixel Buds • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#211

Post by look_lookatme » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:45 PM UTC

tabs_masterrace wrote: post #72

The question is, is the battery replaceable? As with Airpods, I won't buy any product that automatically becomes trash after 2 years, and I hope others will too. It is not sustainable and it is time for consumers to refuse this notion. Sure, these little pods won't tip the scale very much, but the practice is sending all the wrong messages.

> Wireless headphones are a solution to a manufactured problem, because Apple started removing the headphone port, and everyone copied them, as they always do. Now everyone is selling their own crappy AirPods.

I wear wireless headphones all the time when I am working in the yard, garage, garden, organizing my outdoors gear, cleaning my house, doing laundry, etc. I used to wear QC35s but they are hot (particular issue if you are mowing the yard) and top-heavy. I disliked the aesthetics of AirPods and the fashion-y aspect of wearing them in public, but when they gained noise cancellation, I bought some and now I use them all the time. Battery life sucks, but the overall experience has been excellent.

Prior to this, I had some $40 jbuds wireless earbuds and they were not bad, honestly. They were a little heavy and the sound quality was not great, but they were a great proof of concept that gave me the confidence to drop the money on the airpods pro. I still use the QC35s when I'm coding.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#212

Post by microtonal » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:46 PM UTC

fxleach wrote: post #199

mikestew wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As for product pages, I sadly don't have paper trail Good, I would hate for you to waste effort on something few but yourself care about. Because I doubt you'd find many that would agree that Google is really ripping off "The Dash" because they were "first!!11". As much as it will pain some to admit, Google is ripping off Apple, not some Kickstarter project no one has heard about.

There were many wireless earbuds around the time Apple came out with the AirPods so you're really not selling your point here. Just because a company wants to get into that market now doesn't automatically make it derivative from Apple. The Dash was very popular, people have heard about it. Samsung Gear IconX earbuds were also popular and out before AirPods. Should we say that Apple is derivative of Samsung because t…

None of my friends outside tech circles have heard of "The Dash". They all know and most of them bought or want AirPods. An estimated 60 million AirPods were sold in 2019, nobody else in the category comes close.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#213

Post by _ea1k » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:46 PM UTC

choward wrote: post #159

The scrolling on that site is atrocious. What's up with the "Pixel" branding on the headphones? After the Nexus 6P, I'm never buying another of their phones again. I see "Pixel" and immediately think "not buying that". Do I need a Pixel for these to work? Will I be missing out on features of I don't have one? I can't find anything mentioning what makes these "Pixel" headphones. Google's marketing is awful.

If the name "Nexus" made you dislike things named "Pixel", what name would have worked better?

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#214

Post by kadoban » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:48 PM UTC

kelw22 wrote: post #175

cat199 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The entire product is a copy of the AirPods. as if airpods were the 1st rechargable wireless earbuds anyway

Genuine question: has anyone ever made the claim that being rechargeable is what makes AirPods unique?

What _is_ unique about AirPods?

All I can come up with is the look. These ones from Google look way different. Are they really clones in some way?

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#215

Post by plantain » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:48 PM UTC

marcus_holmes wrote: post #192

Please Google, just because my browser is in Berlin, that doesn't mean I speak German. I'd like to look at your product. I might even be interested. But I can't understand what you're telling me. I have language preferences in my account, and you definitely know who I am because you're showing my picture in the top right corner. So why does where I am take precedence over who I am?

And for the bonus - changing your language at the bottom takes you back to the home page rather than staying on the screen you were looking at.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#216

Post by shrimpx » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:52 PM UTC

These prices are horrendous. I bought some GoNovation Demi buds for $40 and they are ipx7 with aptX and sound amazing with great battery life. No way in hell these pixel buds are 4.5x better. Apple Google and Samsung are using propaganda to spread the lie that $150-200 is the price point of earbuds. Look at GoNovation, MEE, Anker, and other companies doing amazing work delivering quality under $50.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#217

Post by 333c » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:52 PM UTC

fxleach wrote: post #186

crazygringo wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The entire product is a copy of the AirPods. But you know what? I'm fine with that. That's how competition works, and competition is what brings down prices. And I personally find the scrolling page design (both Apple's and Google's) pretty cool. It would drive me nuts if a site I used daily implemented something like that, like if it became a trend for news sites. But to show off a new product where I'll scroll thro…

How are they a copy of the AirPods? The AirPods, to me, look hideous. You take the original Apple headphones and cut off the wire. But putting that aside I'm finding it hard to see how these headphones resemble anything like AirPods. I mean, they're wireless headphones...? Is that the issue?

The (rounded, white, shiny) charging/carrying case is definitely heavily inspired by the AirPods. While the headphones, visually, don't look a lot like the AirPods, in terms of functionality they're very similar, as they're wireless earbuds that don't have a wire even between the earbuds, and they feature noise cancellation that adapts to the environment.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#218

Post by somerandomness » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:53 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #148

clusmore wrote: post #20

Off-topic but this website is such a blatant rip-off of the AirPods Pro landing page[1] (EDIT: Discussed at the time [2]), and I _hate_ the UX. I'm not sure what device this is optimised for, but it requires a tonn of scrolling, it's janky, you end up scrolling past the info you want, it breaks basic functionality like Ctrl+F. Why not just make a video instead of a webpage, since that's clearly the effect they're goi…

The entire product is a copy of the AirPods. But you know what? I'm fine with that. That's how competition works, and competition is what brings down prices. And I personally find the scrolling page design (both Apple's and Google's) pretty cool. It would drive me nuts if a site I used daily implemented something like that, like if it became a trend for news sites. But to show off a new product where I'll scroll thro…

To be fair it looks quite different in shape.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#219

Post by jan_Inkepa » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:55 PM UTC

encom wrote: post #103

matwood wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wireless headphones are a solution to a manufactured problem, You can think that, but getting rid of wires is an improvement over nearly any situation other than sitting at a desk. And even then, I still sometimes slide away from the desk and yank on the cord.

On the face of it, no wires seem like a good thing, but it brings with it a range of drawbacks. Compatibility: Bluetooth isn't supported on all devices. And Bluetooth setup and pairing can still be a mess. Analog means round peg goes in round hole and it always works. Sound quality: Bluetooth, as far as I know, still doesn't transmit PCM, so audio is compressed, which may or may not be perceptible to you. Latency: Un…

Latency is such a killer for me. Admittedly android phones have bad audio latency anyway IIRC - because of this only iOS has decent music creation software available for it (I don't think my knowledge is out of date here?), so it's more a sin on iOS than Android to not have wired support built-in.

Re: Google Pixel Buds

#220

Post by jmcnulty » Tue, Apr 28, 2020, 3:56 PM UTC

I have a pair of the first generation Pixel Buds in my draw. One of my most frustrating product experiences of recent years. They didn't last that long in use (~5 hrs IIRC) so would frequently have to go back into the case to recharge, if I was lucky. The connections to the charge points in the case were so flakey that it was hit and miss if they would charge at all. Sometimes I'd pop them in at night, think it was ok as the LED was pulsing. But come the morning they'd be as flat as they were the night before. This happened SO many times I really started to hate them.

And they didn't block any ambient sound, so were pretty much useless in noisy environments.

Eventually I gave up, went in a different direction and purchased a pair of SONY WH-1000XM3 over ear headphones. What a world of difference. Gorgeous sound, comfortable, noise cancelling (or ambient sound) and 30 hours of battery life. My buds have just sat gathering dust ever since. Don't want to use them ever again, and it's put me off buying anything like them in future.