Google - Pixel Buds A-Series True Wireless In-Ear Headphones - Clearly White

I use quite a bit of earbuds. I have a “problem,” at least that is why my family tells me. I love using and collecting all types of earbuds / headphones. Anything from some AirPods Max to wired headphones I got with my Note 20. I used the Pixel Buds that came out last summer, and while I loved their sound, I had issues with connectivity so I ended up getting rid of them. Luckily, these don’t suffer from the same issues last year’s version had. Sound quality is great out of these. Punchy bass, and clear mids and highs. Sound is noticeably clear and separated and gets plenty loud to wash outside noises out. They’re even great for audiobooks / podcasts. They don’t have active noise cancellation, but their passive noise cancellation is pretty good. They even have a neat feature you can enable, that will let the buds adjust the volume depending on your environment. It will raise it if you are in a loud area and lower it back down once your environment becomes quieter. It’s a neat feature that I don’t really think about. Pairing it on an Android phone is super simple. This is the closest to pairing AirPods on an iOS device. You open the case near your Android phone, and it pops up a little notification asking if you would like to pair. After, you go through a little tutorial on how to get most of the Buds. I love the built-in assistant and the fact that it can read your incoming messages, again remarkably like what you get on iOS, AirPods, and Siri. You can update the firmware on the buds on your phone, and always see your current battery life. That brings me to the one thing I miss from last year’s version. The case does not support wireless charging, not a deal breaker, but worth noting. The case is small, smooth, and fun to open and close. It feels like a small, smooth rock. You get a hidden LED light on the front of the case right under the seam for the case. You get a pairing button on the back that blends in with the case very well, and the USB-C charging port on the bottom of the case. The built-in magnets do a great job of keeping the buds in place. While you obviously will get the most out of these if you pair them to your Android phone, I was able to pair them to my MacBook, ASUS laptop, and iPad with no issues. You just miss out on the Assistant / Firmware update software. These little Buds are amazing, especially considering their price point. Sound is superb, sounding better than most earbuds that cost more. You get nice integration / software features on Android phones. The battery life is good, case is small, and Buds feel great in the ear and I have no problems keeping them in my ear when I go for a run. You would be hard pressed to find better earbuds at this price point.

The Google Pixel Buds A - Series are a pair of lightweight neatly designed true wireless earphones that I really enjoyed using with my Pixel 4XL and Samsung Note 8. They are light, fit comfortably and securely inside my ears and sport a low profile hence didn’t stick out much from my ears like other true wireless earphones I have used before. Let’s start with inside the box where we have the charging/carrying case in which the pixel buds were seated, a usb type C cable, replacement ear tips and the usual paperwork. When it comes to their design and fit, there is nothing I can complain about. Starting with the case, it seems to be made of a matte like smooth material that so far seems somewhat resistant to scratches and scuffs (personally, since it is white I will most likely still get a protective case). It has a very simple oval design with the charging port found at its base, an easy to flip top section that gives access to the buds and around the back it has a button towards the base that is used for subsequent pairings with other devices. The lid is kept closed magnetically and I have total confidence in the lid staying closed, I tossed and flashed it around for good measure. Also below the opening of the lid there is an LED status indicator light, orange for the case is charging, white for the case is fully charged, and blinking white for when the buds are charging. The buds themselves seem very well made and with a matte finish where the touch controls are and glossy finish everywhere else. They are magnetically held in place inside the charging case, so they wont fall out even if you pop the lid and wiggle the case upside down. They have a rubber like fin that projects from the glossy section that definitely helps to guide the buds for placement while securing the fit. They are very comfortable and I was able to wear them for hours with no issues. When it comes to how they sound, they are average/decent. The thing that stood out the most to me was how clear the vocals were on every track that I tried. It came through clear and crisp despite the overall sound being flat. There is a bass boost and Adaptive Sound toggle inside the Pixel Bud app which does improve my listening experience but the difference doesn't blow you out the water. They have standard touch controls (i.e 1 tap to play/pause/answer, 2 taps to skip to next track etc. sadly no volume controls though) that work from either earbud and they are built with in-ear detection, meaning your music pauses when you take them out and resume when you put them back in. When it comes to call quality, they performed very well. I tested them across multiple apps, such as WhatsApp, Duo, Signal and with a regular phone call and the persons on the other end were able to clearly hear me. Even when I took to noisy areas I was told that it seems the background noise from my end was reduced and my voice was somewhat isolated, which is great. Battery life is just about average and I got about 4.5 hours listening to music at about 60% volume. They also can be charged at least 2 times from the case and they charge very quickly with up to 50% in 30 mins. In conclusion the Pixel Buds-A have decent performance, slim simple design and fit superbly well in-ear. They don't have multipoint bluetooth connect, wireless charging or noise cancelling but come in at a great price for what they offer, especially for Android users.

I own a Pixel 4XL and the Pixel Buds A Series are my new favorite earbuds. You can find better sounding earbuds with active noise canceling (Sony) but the price point, built in Google Assistant, and ease of use/pairing makes this a must have for Pixel Owners. IN THE BOX It’s a tiny box, you get the charging case with two ear buds, three sizes of tips (the medium size are already on the ear buds) and a USB-C to USB-A cable. Note that the case does not have wireless charging. DESIGN I just want to briefly mention the design, both of the case and the ear buds themselves. The case is made of plastic that has some grip to it. Meaning it doesn’t feel “slippery.” The case is pretty small, about the size of a Tic Tac container. The ear buds themselves are pretty small, with a small rubber hook that doesn’t come off that I personally like because it helps them stay secure in my ears. I found the Pixel Buds to be comfortable to wear for hours at a time. EASE OF USE Bluetooth has been around so long, I feel pretty comfortable pairing anything with my phone/computer. That said, pairing the Pixel Buds A Series was incredibly easy (I’ve never used Airpods, but I’m confident it’s a similar process). Just having taken the earbuds out of the box, I simply flipped open the top lid, pulled out the ear buds, and almost immediately I got a notification on my Pixel to pair my headphones. It was that easy. Even better than that, they pair instantaneously every time you take them out of the case. I’ve had other earbuds that sometimes pair immediately when I take them out of the case, other times I have to cycle Bluetooth on/off and sometimes even re-pair them. Not with the Pixel Buds. They simply work every time. FEATURES I mentioned earlier that the case doesn’t have wireless charging like last year’s Pixel Buds model. To me, that is not a big deal. The surface of the Pixel Buds have touch sensitive controls. Much has been made that you can’t control the volume, you can only tap it to stop tracks, double-tap to advance a track and three taps to go back. I’ve always found it hard to use touch controls on earbuds, they just aren’t always responsive. While you can’t control the volume from the Pixel Buds themselves, I found the controls to pause, advance tracks, etc. to be extremely responsive. I’ll take limited functionality (which can be difficult to memorize and use if it’s too complicated) for having features that work every time. Google Assistant is also extremely responsive and frankly, I dig it a lot. I don’t always use it, but when you say “Hey, Google” with the Pixel Buds on, it activates the assistant and you can ask Google to do anything you would ask a Google Nest or your phone (i.e. ask for the news, weather, control lights, play a song, etc.). This is extremely helpful when you’re doing yard work or some other activity that makes accessing your phone difficult. When you take an earbud out, say someone walks up to you and starts talking, the music just pauses. Then, when you put it back in, the music automatically resumes. This worked for me each and every time. Battery life is also on par with what you’d expect. 5 hours on a full charge, with the ability to charge the earbuds in the case 4-5 more times. Honestly, I’ve never used them 5 hours straight, so I can’t say they actually make it that far, but I think you’d be hard pressed to wear them on a full charge and complain they didn’t last long enough. They also have some water resistance. I went running with them and they came out no worse for the wear. And even better, they didn’t fall out or even come loose. I was never concerned that they would fall out. I just want to mention that I heard the older model Pixel Buds suffered from audio connection issues. Meaning they would cut out. I didn’t own those so I can’t validate those concerns, but in the time I’ve owned the Pixel Buds A Series, they’ve yet to drop out even once. Although I admittedly kept my phone in my pocket when I used it; I’ve never walked away from my phone to see how they would work in that scenario. SOUND QUALITY Last but certainly not least, the sound quality. These Pixel Buds don’t have deep bass, but they make up for it with sound accuracy and clarity. I listen to podcasts, audiobooks and all types of music. I found the quality to be pretty solid. The only drawback is that the Pixel Buds let in a lot of noise. So if you’re walking on a sidewalk near a busy road, you’re going to hear background noise (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). When there’s a lot of ambient noise, I found the music to be a little muted. But all-in-all, the sound quality is pretty darn good. CONCLUSION These are must haves for Pixel phone owners and deserve serious consideration for Android users. I can’t say the same for Apple iPhones, but when you combine the sound quality, price, built in Google Assistant, you have a great value. And like I’ve mentioned before, at least speaking from a Pixel phone owner’s perspective, they just simply work, and that means a lot.

The Pixel A Buds are comfortable to wear, great for taking phone calls but the audio quality can be too bright and they lack bass when it comes to music. Because of their tight fit and sweat resistance they are my primary earbuds for workouts. Pros: - Comfortable fit that doesn’t move when you do - IPX4 Sweat and water resistant - Great for phone calls, high quality microphone - Easy set up and fast pairing with Google or Android phones - Integrated Google assistant - Auto pause when earbud is removed from the ear Cons: - Lack of bass even with the Bass Boost turned on - No volume control via earbud touch - No ability to re-assign touch functions - No built- in equalizer in the Pixel Buds app - No Pixel Buds app for Pixel Chromebooks or IOS devices - No ANC – Active Noise Cancellation Performance: The earbuds feel solid and the low profile allows it to sit comfortably in your ear. As soon as you open the case the earbuds automatically pair with an Android phone which is great. There is also a pairing button on the back of the case to turn on pairing if your device is not an Android. Operating the play, pause, forward/reverse functions as well as phone call control is simple and fairly intuitive however you cannot change the volume nor can you change the button’s assigned function. The earbuds use Adaptive Volume if you have an Android phone and this automatically adjust the volume to the environment. I found that often the Adaptive control would set the volume too low for my liking and I eventually just turned the feature off. The auto-pause when one ear bud is removed worked well and it’s a great feature to have especially if you are using these in an office or a gym where people may interrupt you. The battery life of 5 hours for the earbuds and 24 hours for the case are typical of what you get in this price range. There is a light on the front of the case that indicates the charging and paring status of the earbuds. Pixel Buds App: This is a very minimalistic app that is only available on Android phones. It’s not available for Pixel Chromebook or IOS devices. Sadly, it doesn’t include touch function management or an equalizer. You can check the battery levels of each ear bud and the case. There are four areas in the app, Find Device, Touch Controls, Sound and In Ear Detection. In Find Device you can use location info to help locate a missing earbud as well as turn on a ringing sound within the earbud if it’s within range. In Touch Controls you can turn the Touch control on or off but you cannot reassign the functions. In Sound you can turn Bass Boost on or off which is the only equalize control you have in this app. You can also turn Adaptive Sound on or off which automatically adjust the volume based on your environment. In Ear Detection you can turn on or off the detection of the earbud being out of your ear.

GREAT “ALL AROUND” GOOGLE EARBUDS AT A DECENT PRICE REVIEW: GOOGLE - PIXEL BUDS A-SERIES TRUE WIRELESS IN-EAR HEADPHONES - WHITE MODEL:GA02213-US Best Buy Tech Insider Network SUMMARY: You can’t buy audio gear from a review alone. Everyone hears differently. What I can tell you is that these are well built, well designed, and easy to set up and use for music, voice, conference calls and so on. On my Android Phone (One Plus 6), as soon as I turned them on, my phone popped up an install screen. It does not get any easier. For me, I found the PIXEL BUDS A-SERIES a good all-around performer. Music was good, phone calls were good. I paired them with my laptop for video calls and they worked well without sounding hallow. I do wish they could be paired to more than one device at a time, so that I could seamlessly move between using them on my phone and laptop without going into Bluetooth settings on each device. But that is pretty minor, and it is still hit or miss which devices in general support dual pairing. Playing around with equalizer settings on the phone help elevate the music performance closer to my taste. I find the bass a little lacking, but not bad. I even turned on the bass boost in the app, which helped, but was not perfect. Overall, though, they performed well across my music library. It is not fair to compare these to super high-end buds costing 3X to 5X more, but they still very good. My other buds ($3X) have much better bass, but they are giant in comparison and stick out of my ears like Frankenstein’s monster’s bolts. The PIXEL BUDS A-SERIES are small comfortable, almost invisible. I like the auto pause when you remove them. The noise reduction on the microphones is pretty strong. There is no active noise cancellation on the speakers, which is OK at this price point. I’m not a big fan of tapping my ears to skip ahead or reverse or whatever, so I don’t really use those features, but they are there if you do. Use your phone volume controls or your voice (google assistant) to change the volume. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: Everything was packaged in typical google excellent fashion. Easy to unbox and setup right away as they are already charged. SUBJECTIVE SOUND TESTING Listening to Music (HD DVD Audio Eric Clapton – “Ridding with the King”) = 6 (needs about 15% more bass) PC Conference Calls (my listening) = 7 (slight problem with buds trying to mimic stereo cutting out in either left or right ear at times) PC Conference Calls (the other hearing me) = 7 (no problems reported) Phone Calls (my listening) = 6.5 (could hear well, I did need to increase volume on the handset) Phone Calls (the other person hearing me) = 6.5 (no problems came through clearly with a tiny echo) Ease of use = 10 (easy to pair, easy to learn the few controls) App Quality = 9 (minimal settings for sound quality, need to use phone equalizer) Battery Life = 7 (a good balance / trade off of size vs batter life) Size / Fit / Looks = 9. Fits great (slightly twist into your ears). Very small almost invisible. Seems secure enough for light sports (biking, walking, etc) SUMMARY: I think the PIXEL BUDS A-SERIES are going to find a nice spot as my “everyday” earbuds. They do a great all-around job, and I would not be heartbroken if I lost or damaged them due to the affordable price. Just like I have an “everyday” smartwatch that I wear for gardening and exercise and a “luxury” smart watch for dressing up. They both serve a particular need. I would recommend the PIXEL BUDS A-SERIES for everyday use.

The Pixel Buds A-Series takes the Google experience to the max. In the box you get the Pixel Buds, the storage/charging case, a usb-a to usb-c cable and small, medium and large ear tips. My Pixel Buds came with a 100% charge. They are rated by Google to last up to 5 hours per charge, and the case will recharge them multiple times giving you up to 24 hours of total charge. Talk time lasts approximately 2 ½ hours. The case does not have built in wireless charging which is fine with me. I am not a fan of wireless charging as I have accidentally knocked too many devices off of wireless chargers and they create additional heat. The usb-c cable providers fast charging. The case is small and has a nice texture which does not show fingerprints. I have a Pixel 4 phone and as soon as I opened the case the buds immediately paired to my phone. The settings include the following: Notifications and Preferences, which includes setting up voice controls and tutorials Find Device- to locate your buds if you forget where you put them Touch Controls-for Google Assistant, play, pause, skip, and return. Sound- which allows you to use Bass Boost and Adaptive Sound ( automatically raising and lowering volume depending on the noise in your surroundings. In-ear detection which turns on or pauses what you are listening to when putting the buds in or taking them out. You can also turn on HD audio and authorize contact sharing for phone calls and texts. After using the Pixel Buds A-Series for several days I have the following impressions: First, these are the most comfortable ear buds that I have ever used. And I have Sony and Bose QC noise cancelling ear buds. They are small, light and flush to your ears. Sound quality is very subjective, but in my opinion the Pixel Buds A-Series has excellent sound for both music and phone conversation, though it is not on the same level as the Bose. However, the Bose costs almost 3 times as much. Now some people may complain that there is no touch control for volume, however there is simply no need for that. This is where the Google Assistant integration comes in. You can tap and hold either ear bud for the Google assistant, but that isn’t even necessary. You can just say “’Hey Google or “OK Google” and the Assistant will respond without any gestures at all. So now you can simply speak and say “Raise volume 10%” or “Lower volume 30%” or “Mute”. You can tell Google Assistant to call or text nay one of your contacts, and the Assistant can read all of your notifications, emails and texts to you. In addition, I use Google Home to control all of my home devices, such as lights, thermostat,. doorbell and lock. Now that can all be controlled through the Pixel Buds. Another great feature is the language translation. All you have to do is say “Hey Google be my Spanish interpreter”, or any other language, and when you speak in English your phone will speak in the foreign language to the other person, and their response will be translated to English in your Pixel Buds. You can also ask how much power is remaining and it will tell you The only shortcoming is the lack of noise cancelling. But, barring the need for that feature in certain circumstances, the Pixel Buds A-Series have knocked my much more expensive Bose and Sony ear buds into my drawer and have become an indispensable part of my daily life. I love these and heartily recommend them to anyone, but especially to Android and Google Assistant users.

These earbuds came in elegant packaging, and did NOT include a USB charger: just a USB-A to USB-C charging cable. Since everybody is drowning in a sea of USB power adapters, this is a good thing. This was also the easiest pairing of a USB-C device that I have ever done. I pressed the button on the back of the case and my Pixel 4a (5G) immediately started the pairing process, and even identified the model. It had the settings identified immediately. When pairing with my Samsung tablet it went almost as smoothly. I was directed to an app to download to adjust the settings. The sound is great, as expected (it appears to feature the AAC codec). Three tip sizes are included, so you can find a good fit. There is no active noise cancellation, but the physical sound isolation should be good enough for most uses. The sound was natural and flat, which is a good thing. There is a bass boost feature that can be enabled from the app, and the difference is more subtle than earth-pounding (once again, I consider this to be a good thing). The battery life appears to be at around 5 hours the way that I use them (big YMMV), and you can expect maybe three recharges out of the battery in the case. The total of around 20 hours is not so far off from the advertised 24 hours of battery life. Also, by tapping the surface of the buds you can access pause and track skip functions. The only real thing lacking is that there is no way to adjust the volume short of reaching for your phone itself.

This is probably the best wireless earbuds you can find at this price point. I use this with my iPhone and Mac and have no connectivity issue. Before this, I also had Samsung Galaxy Buds+. Comparing the two, I would say the Google Pixel Buds are much lighter, fits my ears better (since the Samsung Galaxy Buds are larger and tends to protrude out of my ears). I typically use them for meetings and run outdoors. With the currently battery capacity, I typically can get through a day and a half with no battery issue. Highly recommend!