The official Android Twitter account accidentally leaked the rumored Pixel Buds A, giving buyers an early glimpse at what's to come - including a potential new name, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series.
The news comes way of Gizmodo, which was able to capture a screenshot of the tweet before it was taken down. Apart from a picture and a small blurb, not much else about the Pixel Buds A was detailed.
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As the screengrab shows, the Pixel Buds A will offer a strikingly similar design to the current Pixel Buds 2. Google also is touting the earbuds' fast-pairing abilities.
This is not the first time the Pixel Buds A have shown up on the internet. In March, it seems that sources familiar to the project leaked a slew of details about the Pixel Buds A to 9to5Google.
The report indicated that Google would not opt for naming its next earbuds the Pixel Buds 3, and instead would go with the "A" moniker. The report also stated that the design — as confirmed by the tweet above — would be "almost visually indistinguishable" from the Pixel Buds 2. The report indicates that it would be available in all-white or dark "forest green" colors.
The reason for the shift from 3 to A is not entirely clear. But if the naming scheme follows the pattern with the Pixel phones, then the upcoming Pixel Buds A should be a more affordable option to the Pixel Buds 2. At the moment, the Pixel Buds 2 cost $180. Google recently had a sale on the Buds 2, charging $130, possibly as a way to liquidate inventory. Either way, the sale is now over.
If the Pixel Buds A were to land at a price of $130, it would put the new earbuds below competitors like the Jabra Elite Active 75t and the Apple AirPods by about $20 to $30.
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It's not certain when Google will officially announce the Pixel Buds A, but there's a good chance that the product will land at Google I/O 2021 between May 18-20.
Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.