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Google refreshes USB-C headphone adapter for Pixel 2 w/ lower latency, higher price

One big controversy about Google’s Pixel 2 lineup was the company’s decision to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. To remedy the situation Google included a headphone adapter in the box. That adapter has been for sale in the Google Store for a while, and now Google has quietly updated it.

As first spotted by Android Police, the $9 headphone jack adapter that has been for sale in the Google Store for the past several months has been replaced with a new adapter which makes a couple of improvements. Google claims that this new adapter has 53% lower latency and “38% longer playback time.”

Adapter now provides 38% more playback time and has a 53% improvement on plug-in latency than previously available Pixel 2 headphone adapter.

Apparently, the longer playback time is thanks to a more power efficient design that makes less of an impact on your battery life. More than likely this is something you’d never notice in daily use, but it’s certainly a welcome improvement.

This refreshed adapter also has the same basic design, but it’s a bit lighter, shaving off 0.4 grams. The new version is also smaller at 0.7mm thinner, 0.6mm narrower, and 2.8mm shorter. Google charges a bit higher price for this refreshed version as well, coming it at $12 in total.

If you’re interested in picking one up, it’s available on the Google Store and works with Pixel 2 devices as well as anything on “Android P or higher.” Pixel 3 will presumably work too.

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