Google has started rolling out its December Feature Drop updates to Pixel devices, including Pixel smartphones, the Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds. The search giant is also bringing Quick Phrases to the Pixel Buds Pro wireless earbuds. This feature, which allows users to skip saying “Hey Google” before issuing a command, was first introduced on Pixel 6 phones. However, for now, the capabilities of Quick Phrases on the Pixel Buds seem to be limited.

For those unaware, Quick Phrases eliminate the need to wake the Google Assistant before asking it to complete simple tasks. Users can just speak preset phrases aloud to trigger actions instead. This streamlines basic requests and makes using the Assistant more seamless.

Google announced on the Assistant Help Page that Quick Phrases is launching on the Pixel Buds Pro. With this activated, users won’t need to first say “Hey Google” to access Assistant features. Unfortunately, the capabilities are only for a handful of incoming call commands at the moment. Owners can say “answer,” “silence,” or “decline” when receiving a call, and the earbuds will carry out their request.

While handy for managing calls, Quick Phrases is still restricted compared to what’s offered on Pixel phones. Google says it is working on expanding the feature to support more Assistant capabilities already available on Pixel 6 and newer devices. However, it remains unclear which additional actions will come to the Pixel Buds Pro and when. We may see options to control music playback, set alarms, send messages hands-free, and more in the future.

It is also unknown if basic Quick Phrases for calls are available on older Pixel Buds models, like the Pixel Buds A-Series. For now, it seems to be a Pixel Buds Pro exclusive.

Quick Phrases supports English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish languages. Users can enable the incoming call features in Assistant settings on their paired phone under Quick Phrases.

So while Pixel Buds Pro owners now have streamlined access to a few key Assistant features, Quick Phrases is still in its early stages for earbuds. We will have to wait and see if and when Google expands its capabilities to be on par with Pixel smartphones. For now, functionality is quite limited.