Google is rolling out a software update that lets its Pixel Buds respond when a wearer falls asleep. The feature relies on sleep detection powered by the Pixel Watch and is reaching both the Pixel Buds 2A and the Pixel Buds Pro 2. When a wearer drifts off, the earbuds will pause music, silence notifications, and disable touch controls.
The sleep behavior is the largest piece of the update, which Google detailed in a post on its Pixel Buds community forum. It applies to both pairs of earbuds covered by the rollout. The change is aimed at listeners who keep their earbuds in after dozing off.
Both the Buds 2A and the Buds Pro 2 are also gaining several other capabilities. A tap-to-mute function lets users mute or unmute the microphone with a quick tap during calls, though it works only when paired with a Pixel phone. A single tap can now activate live translation, and new Gemini voice commands allow control of active noise cancellation, EQ adjustments, and touch controls.
The Buds Pro 2 are getting one feature on their own: Dynamic ANC. That system adjusts audio and noise cancellation levels according to how well the earbuds are sealed inside the wearer's ears.
The original version of the community forum announcement, posted yesterday, stated that every feature except Dynamic ANC would also come to the original Pixel Buds Pro. All mention of those earbuds has since been removed from the post. Google has not commented on the change, and the company has been contacted for a response.
The update touches several parts of Google's hardware lineup at once, tying the earbuds to the Pixel Watch and the Pixel phone for sleep detection, call muting, and voice control. All of the features described apply to the Pixel Buds 2A and the Pixel Buds Pro 2, with Dynamic ANC limited to the Pro 2. For US buyers of those two models, the new tools arrive through the same update.
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