Do you want a pair of headphones with built-in Google Assistant?

Until recently, the only stand-out headphones optimised for Google Assistant were the Bose QuietComfort 35 II. However, Google recently launched its own Pixel Buds, which allow you to speak directly with Google Assistant. Using voice commands, you can cue music, create calendar events, make phone calls, receive audible notifications, and reply to incoming messages from SMS apps and chat apps.

Google’s Pixel Buds were only available in the US and Canada when they were first released last autumn, but now, they’re finally available in the UK (£159), Australia ($249 AUD), and Germany (€179), as spotted by Android Police. But here's the thing: when we reviewed them, we weren't very impressed with the design of the earbuds themselves. But we did really like the Google Assistant implementation.

It's easy to use and really fast. Just tap and talk. It's the feature we used the most, whether for transit times, to read the news, to check the weather, and to hear and reply to our texts. Pixel Buds offer a great Google Assistant experience. On the other hand, they're frustratingly designed, don't sound that great, and they don't deliver on the potential of their real-time translation headline feature.

We should also mention that, at CES 2018 in January, Google did reveal Google Assistant would come to more headphones and earbuds from brands like Harman/JBL, Sony, and others. You can check out the full list of supported headphones here.