WEBVTT - Google's (Nearly) Universal Translator

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<v Speaker 1>Google's new wireless earbuds are the next step toward the

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<v Speaker 1>universal translator in Star Trek. I'm Jonathan Strickland, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is tech Stuff Daily. On October four, Google unveiled some

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<v Speaker 1>new products at a special event, including the second generation

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<v Speaker 1>of the Pixel Android phones and the Google Pixel Buds,

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<v Speaker 1>a pair of wireless earbuds with some nifty extra features. First,

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<v Speaker 1>some Android fans focused on something the new Pixel phones

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<v Speaker 1>expressly lack, which is a headphone jack. Neither the Pixel

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<v Speaker 1>Too nor its larger cousin, the Pixel to XL have

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<v Speaker 1>a three and a half millimeter headphone jack. Instead, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>need to either use a special dongle connected through the

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<v Speaker 1>phone's USB C port, or you'll need to pair a

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<v Speaker 1>wireless headset to the phone if you want to use

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<v Speaker 1>headphones or earbuds. It's a move that's similar to one

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<v Speaker 1>Apple made back in two sixteen. The iPhone seven also

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<v Speaker 1>launched without a headphone AC and while some Android users

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<v Speaker 1>such as myself might have been a bit smug about

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<v Speaker 1>the whole thing, it appears Apple is forging a new

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<v Speaker 1>path into the future, one in which all your headphone

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<v Speaker 1>accessories will either require an adapter or you'll need to

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<v Speaker 1>upgrade to new equipment. Google's explanation for the move is

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<v Speaker 1>all about the display on the phones. According to Mario Quitas,

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<v Speaker 1>a product chief at Google, the reason for the shift

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<v Speaker 1>was that Google wanted to move toward handsets that will

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<v Speaker 1>have the display go all the way right up to

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<v Speaker 1>the edges of the phone, getting rid of the bezel

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<v Speaker 1>as much as possible. This has not stopped some disgruntled

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<v Speaker 1>Android users from pointing out that the basic Pixel too

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<v Speaker 1>still has a bezel on all sides, while the Pixel

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<v Speaker 1>two x l's top and bottom edges also have a

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<v Speaker 1>border on them. Perhaps the more cynical Android fans feel

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<v Speaker 1>that this is a move designed to sell more accessories.

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<v Speaker 1>You can use a special dongle connected to the phone

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<v Speaker 1>to plug in that three and a half millimeter headphone

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<v Speaker 1>set into it, but it also means you can't charge

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<v Speaker 1>the device at the same time, since the charging cable

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<v Speaker 1>normally plug into the USBC port on the phone. If

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<v Speaker 1>you want to listen while charging, you'll need a wireless

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<v Speaker 1>headset that connects via Bluetooth. It seems like a natural

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<v Speaker 1>conclusion that this move was made in order to sell

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<v Speaker 1>those types of headsets, and indeed Google has a pair

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<v Speaker 1>of its own that retails for a cool one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>fifty nine dollars per set. However, Google's earbuds aren't just

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<v Speaker 1>passive listening devices. They serve as an interface for your

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<v Speaker 1>phone and have some cool functions as well. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the website The Verge, you can use swipe gestures and

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<v Speaker 1>the right earbud to control the volume directly, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can press the earbud to activate Google Assistant, the personal

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<v Speaker 1>voice assistant Google developed for the Android platform and Google

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<v Speaker 1>Home devices. You can interact with the assistant by speaking

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<v Speaker 1>directly to it. The assistant has natural language recognition built

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<v Speaker 1>into the system that means you can ask for the

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<v Speaker 1>same information in many different ways and the assistant will,

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<v Speaker 1>in theory, understand what you mean. For example, you could

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<v Speaker 1>say what will the weather be like tomorrow? Or will

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<v Speaker 1>it rain on Wednesday? Or what's tomorrow's forecast, and the

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<v Speaker 1>assistant will retrieve the information for you and speak to

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<v Speaker 1>you over the earbuds. One of the more intriguing features

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<v Speaker 1>Google showed off was the translate feature. Google Translate has

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<v Speaker 1>existed for a while and can automatically detect a language

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<v Speaker 1>based on text and translate it into other languages. Google

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<v Speaker 1>Assistant goes a step further. You can ask the assistant

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<v Speaker 1>to help you speak another language, and it will act

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<v Speaker 1>as a translator between you and someone speaking that language.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, if I wanted to chat with someone who

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<v Speaker 1>only spoke Spanish, I could use my phone to facilitate

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<v Speaker 1>this conversation. I'd activate Google Assistant and tell it to

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<v Speaker 1>help me speak Spanish. When my Spanish friend says something,

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<v Speaker 1>the phone will pick up the audio translated into English

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<v Speaker 1>and send that translation over the earbuds. I could then

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<v Speaker 1>press on the right earbud to activate the assistant and

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<v Speaker 1>speak back in English. The phone would then translate this

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<v Speaker 1>into Spanish, speaking it out to the person I'm chatting with.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not quite the Universal Translator from Star Trek, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's pretty darn close. These translators have been part of

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<v Speaker 1>science fiction for a while, whether in space operas like

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<v Speaker 1>Star Trek or comedies like Hitcheker's Guide to the Galaxy.

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<v Speaker 1>It makes sense because you need some way to address

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<v Speaker 1>the problem of communicating with alien species that would have

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<v Speaker 1>no contact with Earth languages. The Google Pixel buds won't

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<v Speaker 1>help you if you encounter Venusians on holiday, but since

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<v Speaker 1>we still have a heck of a time understanding each

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<v Speaker 1>other down here on Earth. They could come in awfully handy,

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<v Speaker 1>But is it worth the one fifty nine dollars? I

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<v Speaker 1>suppose that depends upon the individual user and how they

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<v Speaker 1>might rely upon the technology. The translate feature is just

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<v Speaker 1>one aspect of the earbuds. Google Assistant has many different

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<v Speaker 1>potential uses, but not all of them are necessarily interesting

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<v Speaker 1>to the average person, and one fifty nine dollars is

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<v Speaker 1>a pretty steep price for wireless headsets. If you're like

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<v Speaker 1>me and have a habit of misplacing your earbuds, you

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<v Speaker 1>may think twice before plopping down the cold, hard cash.

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<v Speaker 1>That's it for to day. To learn more about natural

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<v Speaker 1>language processing, voice recognition, personal assistance, and more, subscribe to

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<v Speaker 1>tech Stuff we published twice a week and do deep

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<v Speaker 1>That's all for today. I'll see you again soon.