The Pixel Buds Pro’ new conversation mode is a game changer

Although I love activating noise cancelation on my true wireless buds to isolate my music, I often end up having to disable it or take the buds out of my ears to talk to people. It’s a decidedly first-world issue, but I’ve been annoyed enough by this, especially on my Pixel Buds Pro where my unruly curly hair makes touch controls quite inconvenient. Pushing the hair aside and then tapping and holding to turn off noise cancelation or switch into transparency mode isn’t seamless, and it always becomes a conversation disruptor.

But the Pixel Buds Pro got an update a couple of days ago that fixes this. Dubbed “Conversation Detection,” the new feature automatically pauses media playback and turns on transparency mode when you talk. Then it resumes playback and switches back to your previous noise cancelation or transparency setting when you’re done talking. Sounds good on paper, right? But how well does it work?