Google Pixel Buds update incoming: Beyond the hiss

By Chris Burns/July 14, 2020 9:55 am EST

Today Google announced the first important update for the Pixel Buds wireless earbuds set. This update will be the first in a line of feature drop updates for the earbuds, not unlike said "drops" for Google Pixel smartphones. This means the updates will include features that are interesting and/or FUN, not just incremental, necessary, or in place for security or privacy purposes.

Google Pixel Buds first big update will appear for users in the month of August, 2020. That's anywhere from 18 to 49 days from now. In ADDITION to feature update action, this update (a firmware update) will quite likely introduce some fixes for problems that've cropped up since the earbuds were first released.

There was one June update already, aiming to fix a "hissing" noise that some users experienced in the first few months after the earbuds were first introduced to the public (Generation 2, mind you). It's quite likely Google will also improve connectivity and reliability of connectivity in one way or another – AFTER the version 296 update from just a few days ago that aimed to fix the static.

The next update will include at LEAST the following fixes for the earbuds:

• Decrease instances of phone call cut outs

• Improve autorecovery when one or both earbuds lose connection

• Improve media playback stability for phones that have software audio encoding

To get an update for Pixel Buds hardware, users will need to connect their buds to a smartphone. That phone needs to have the Pixel Bud app installed and connected to said pair of Pixel Buds. Once a pair of Pixel Buds are connected to an Android (Android 6 or higher), open the official Pixel Bud app and go to Settings – More Settings – Firmware Update.

Confirmation on the release of the "first important update" for Pixel Buds in Augusts comes via Forbes where Google provided confirmation to writer Jay McGregor. Per Google, the exact date for the first "feature drop" isn't confirmed beyond "aiming for late August". The details on the features that'll appear are similarly vague.