Earbuds demand a lot. High performance audio, Active Noise Cancellation, and increasing amounts of machine learning, all in a tiny package. Our biggest challenge was maximizing all of these without compromise. To do this, we first defined the ideal user experience, then created the algorithms and systems around that, which we then translated into the final product. It was a long journey, but customizing every part of the system was the best path to optimizing the product.

One of the more challenging components of Audio Magic Eraser is the sound separation engine, which allows sounds to be pulled into individual tracks, processed individually, and remixed together to make the final audio. There were many early iterations of the system that were either too slow, or where we processed too quickly and crashed different processing cores. We had to pivot numerous times to find the right balance that we have today.

I listen to people who are excited about our devices, and I read reviews from people who are critical of our products or our competitors. I look at development opportunities and think, what problem might we solve for our customers? What could we give them that would be exciting in their daily lives? All this helps me create a mental model about how technology is perceived today, and opportunities that might exist in the future.

Working on the integration of Gemini Live for Pixel Buds Pro 2 offered a glimpse of what we might accomplish by combining this sort of technology with custom hardware. Google is in a very unique position as we create advanced AI like Gemini, and can deploy it to internally developed hardware that contains custom silicon. I believe we might be the only company in the world that can do all of those things simultaneously.

Caity: I’m especially excited about bringing together Fitbit and Google’s machine learning expertise. As you know, having an accurate heart rate throughout your day – not just when you’re exercising – gives you a really good insight into your health and fitness.¹

The watch brings the best of Google to your wrist, in an LTE² connected smartwatch, which means that you can track your runs,³ buy your groceries with Google Pay,⁴ do turn-by-turn directions,² and we’ve added interactive maps modes. You can actually see where you are in the map on your wrist, and you can pan through to see what turns you need to take.

Caity: Well, we designed this watch during a pandemic. Engineers and designers really like to be in the room together when designing beautiful hardware products, but we didn’t have that opportunity. So we had a lot of meetings over video conferences where we got very good at drawing pictures and then holding them up to the camera. We even had to pass parts around to each other’s homes.

Also, as something that you wear on your wrist, you want to make sure it’s comfortable. So we sent lots of watches and prototypes out to our testers at their homes to wear. We’re all very glad that we get to be back in person again.

DeCarlos: Readiness and HRV tracking. There’s a lot of work around providing data and motivating people to do more work. But we know that if we want to see improvements, rest is just as important. Knowing how to optimize your routine, when to turn up the dial or when to rest or when to make changes in your daily life, are possible with features like Readiness and HRV.

DeCarlos: Technology has always been a way to solve problems and to help people achieve goals. In the space of wearables we’re excited about creating products that help people live healthier and more productive lives. As technology continues to improve, we’re able to do things that were once only possible in clinical settings and sports science labs. We’re bringing those right to your wrist.

Xinxing: That varies based on how many TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) cores we use and how large the model is. The Google Translate team constantly improves the models’ quality by finding more and higher-quality training data, tuning the model parameters, and experimenting with new technologies.

Xinxing: There are a lot of translations on the open web. The Google Translate team can mine the web data to find those translations, and use them to train the machine translation model. More and more data are created everyday, and we keep improving how effectively we can find useful data online to help make improvements.

Vince: Everyone on the team, from engineer to designer, speaks more than one language. Our conversation designer even speaks over a dozen, and tests everything himself.

Vince: Recently, I’ve been touched by hearing how Live Translate helps those fleeing crises and bringing people together, like what’s happened in Ukraine.

Alan: We live in an exciting age of technology, where each decade brings more big changes from the previous one. We look forward to what the next few years will bring for Live Translate and the translation landscape!

Nidhi: They’re the first Pixel Buds with Active Noise Cancellation. To make ANC effective, you need to process outside sound faster than it reaches your eardrum, and cancel it with extremely low latency. To achieve this we’re using a custom 6-core audio chip. Additionally, how well the eartip seals in your ear canal can make a big difference in how much noise gets canceled. Our Silent Seal technology compensates for audio leakage, helping to maximize the amount of noise that’s being canceled for a blank canvas with no distractions, so you can zone into your music and silence everything else.

Nidhi: I’m excited about being able to leave my window open for a breeze this summer while canceling out the traffic outside.

‌Laura: I’m looking forward to time to concentrate in loud surroundings. There are so many distractions in a day, so I’m looking forward to finding balance. While I’m tuning out, I’ll let Google help let me know when to tune in and switch to Transparency mode to have quick conversations.

Laura: Testing and refining details, including optimizing the snout and cap angles, was a major focus to ensure sound quality and comfort. The team was determined to get it right, so there must have been over 1,000 prototypes throughout development.

Laura: People don’t realize that your ear is as unique as a fingerprint, and the inner architecture of your left ear can differ from your right ear. Every ear is different, so we recommend trying different sized eartips in each ear until you get the right fit. Pixel Buds Pro offer an eartip seal test – we’ll play music for a few seconds and then recommend which eartip size might work best for you.

Nidhi: I’m looking forward to a future where mundane tasks are sped up and automated, so that I can have more time to do the things I love with the people I love.

Laura: Technology is going to get even more helpful, accessible, and inclusive as time goes by, and I can’t wait to see the ease and joy that brings currently underserved communities.