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Testing for audio quality was more challenging. Everyone’s hearing is different, impacted by biology, our exposure to loud noises and more. What sounds good or clear to one person might not sound the same to another. For that reason, the team increased the number of Googler testers they used compared to other audio products and standardized surveys for more consistent data and to eliminate as much bias as possible.
“We learned a lot from Googlers,” Colin says. “Take transparency mode, for example, which uses microphones to collect sound from the outside environment and replicate it in your ear — like you’re listening to music but can hear your surroundings. We thought people would be very concerned with all aspects of that experience, including how their own voices sounded when they spoke. Our learnings showed us that users were much more concerned about sound artifacts like amplifying natural ambient sounds. Based on this, we shifted our near-term focus to tuning the experience for those factors and plan to focus on aspects like self-voice, which we believe will become more important in the future, later.”
For the team behind Pixel Buds Pro 2, the future of the line lies not just in making pop tunes sound great — and canceling out anything that might get in the way of that. The new buds are also the first to integrate Gemini, allowing you to ask for directions without unlocking your phone and to chat conversationally through Gemini Live.
“We work hard to understand our customers and know what they want, and each successor generation builds from that,” Colin says. “As we look forward, we’re thinking about how we can use sound to go beyond listening, to bring you even more helpful services from Google without touching another device.”
Consider me pumped.