Google got in the headphone dongle business when the Pixel 2 infamously axed the 3.5 millimeter headphone jack after Google made a big to-do about Apple's recent iPhone's doing the same thing in its reveal of the original Pixel the preceding year. The company has now quietly refreshed its headphone adapter, with its listing on the Google Store claiming the improved dongle provides 53 percent lower latency and 38 percent longer playback time than its predecessor.
There was hubbub around the launch of the original adapter, which Google was hocking for an almost insulting $20. The price fell to $9 in short order (matching Apple's price for that company's comparable product). This new version is a little pricier at $12, but with the apparent improvements, that seems fair. In addition to sporting better overall performance, the new version is imperceptibly smaller than the old one: it's 2.8 millimeters shorter, 0.6 narrower, 0.7 thinner, and 0.4 grams lighter.
The listing specifically calls out the Pixel when addressing the new dongle's improved listening time and snappier response. That could be because it's currently the company's only product that requires the adapter, although it does also mention "other devices running Android P or higher."
Source: Google Store