Up to date, September 17, 2024 (03:54 PM ET): It’s been a couple of days now since we checked in with Google about this disappearing characteristic, and we’ve acquired some dangerous information for those who have been holding out hope that this modification is likely to be a glitch (regardless of the proof on the contrary). Google has now formally introduced the top of tap-for-notifications performance:
Primarily based in your suggestions, we’re right here to announce that we’ll be making the next modifications to your Google Assistant notifications on Pixel Buds whereas we consider additional modifications to notifications. Assistant will not learn unread notifications when utilizing the press Assistant characteristic. Assistant may even not learn unread notifications routinely and assist you to reply.
In an effort to hear notifications, you’ll be able to activate Google Assistant and say “Learn my notifications.”
We’re nonetheless curious what that suggestions might need seemed like, because it’s not typically that we hear about customers requesting the elimination of extant options.
Unique article, September 12, 2024 (01:21 PM ET): Fashionable earbuds are a lot extra than simply tiny audio system perched in our ears, and the great ones provide quite a few methods to immediately work together with our telephones, from music playback controls, to these related to digital assistants. The unique Pixel Buds Professional are a pair years previous at this level, however have nonetheless been holding up nice — at the least, up to now. However now it seems like Google could possibly be eradicating one of many key methods these earbuds let customers management their telephones.
Over the previous couple days, Reddit customers like hintze85 and fakeaccountt12345 have been sharing stories that their Buds have misplaced the power to learn notifications by urgent and holding on the earbud’s aspect (through 9to5Google). And lest we write this off as a glitch, a few of these customers report listening to an audio message informing them that “contact and maintain wont learn notifications anymore.”
What’s weird is that you simply’re nonetheless in a position to hear your notifications, however simply not in a position to entry them on this means. As an alternative, affected customers want to talk their request aloud to Assistant. And whereas that works in a pinch, it’s a heck of so much much less swish whenever you’re attempting to be barely extra discreet.
We’ve heard some theories for why Google could possibly be altering this habits, and the very best guesses in the mean time are tied to the forthcoming launch of the Pixel Buds Professional 2 and Google’s growing concentrate on Gemini. Even with that in thoughts, this modification nonetheless looks like a step backward, and not one of the Pixel Buds customers we’ve seen speaking about it on-line appear more than happy with the choice.