Google - Pixel Buds - Kinda Blue

I'm one of those people who cannot use in-ear-buds, because the silicone tips, even at the smallest setting, are not comfortable over long periods of time. As a result, I've been on the hunt for a nice pair of earbuds, and the Pixel Buds are near perfect. To start, make sure it is charged up properly before you start trying to pair them up. Leaving the buds to charge, and being sure to remove the plastic that blocks the charging pins ON THE BUDS is really important; trying to pair them without that will be a frustrating experience. Once paired, they're really fantastic. I love the charging case, and the buds aren't hard to put back, once you know how. They're actually low-profile enough, in my ears, to sleep with, even on my side, and since they have a cable between them, I don't have to worry about one falling out, and me losing it, and I love just being able to leave one of the buds hanging when I need to listen to someone else talk. The sound is really good for a pair of buds such as these. They're not the highest-fidelity pair, but the soundstage was surprisingly wide, and it's imaging ability was okay. Perfectly good for a very portable pair of earbuds. What really took these from "just a pair of earbuds with Google's branding" to "an amazing pair of earbuds with Google's branding" is the Google Assistant functionality. Forget the live-translation with Google Translate, that's cool and all, but really, the ability to summon the assistant without a hitch, is awesome. Google Assistant even reads out your notifications, and warns you when you have new ones, as opposed to running through your entire list of them. Every command I threw at it worked well, and I almost never had to repeat myself after the initial command. All the interaction is with the right bud's touchpad, and the gestures are natural and simple. I haven't had any mistaps, or any misinterpretations of my actions, once I learned them all. On the negative side, the loop for the buds that helps keep them in your ears will need resetting often, as there's no way to secure them in place. At the moment, there's no way to track skip with a gesture, and this must be done by asking the Google Assistant to play the next song - a definite oversight in my eyes, and the fit isn't going to be perfect the first time - you'll definitely want to play around with it. Overall, I really love these. They're excessively perfect for me, and I don't want to go back to regular earbuds for on-the-go again.

Overall, these are a decent wireless ear bud. The sound quality is pretty good, and the touch button on the side of the bud works pretty well. It took several tries to first set it up on my Pixel 2, which was annoying. Since then though it's been fine pairing. My biggest complaint is with the case. It's kind of a cool, fabric-y type case but also feels a little cheap. The worst thing about it is that it doesn't seem to be quite the right size for the buds. You put the buds in their places, then wrap the nylon cord around the case and tuck it in in the middle. However, the cord has to be taut around the case in order for it to close, and in order for it to be taut, there's about 2 cm of extra cord that then makes it challenging to close the case without loosening the cord around the sides, which then makes the case not close properly. It's a bad design, when it only would have taken the case being like 0.25cm wider/longer for it to fit perfectly. It also makes putting the headphones away a two handed job, where you have to kind of hold the cord taut with one hand and close it with the other. This is annoying when I'm walking to work with a cup of coffee and trying to put my buds away before I get in the office. Overall I like them though. The battery life is pretty good and the case does recharge them several times over. I probably only charge my buds about once per week and I use them for about 2 hours per day.

I was very excited when I bought these. I wanted to use them with my google translate and heard good things about them. Boy did it not live up to its hype. The sound quality is good but that's about it. The ear bud design is weird and does not fit my ears. No matter how I adjust it it will always fall out. So forget about any activities (gym, running, etc...). It also has controls on the left ear bud. This is great in theory but every time the dam thing falls out of my ear or even needs a minor readjustment, I end up hanging up on the person I am talking with or turning off my music or launching google voice. Great in theory but leaves much to be desired. This is a rare fail for Google. You are better off spending your money on a different set of headphones.

If you're like me and run a business, you're always on the phone, so bluetooth with a good mic is a must. These have quickly become my favorite earbuds (I have used apple, bose, sony and others) because of Google's integration. I have a Pixel 2 phone and it's a perfect extension of the phone. The sound is great, but I'm not picky...as long as calls are clear and the sounds come through, I'm good. I've used these with a Samsung 8 phone and it works just fine as well...no pairing problems. I've also not had problems with charging or the case. I LOVE that these have a simple cord connecting the two and they fit nicely into my ears. Lastly, I'm very glad that these don't block out the environment, they don't need to, the sound is loud enough, even on airplanes and in airports. If you have a pixel phone, this is a must.

Let's start this off right: I wanted to love these. I never wanted to see them leave my ear canals...but alas they have left, and my weapon of choice are still my soundsport wired bose earphones (yes, I said wired) . Issues: -Connection issues !!!! (I have to re-sync them whenever a new device connects to my phone), this is huge considering my subaru autopairs when I hop in it, and I go from device to device on a daily basis (I switched from an iPhone to the Pixel 2) -Will get uncomfortable after a period of time -The case is sweet, but the sync button and partnering devices is a pain (so basically a repeat of my first complaint) -Limited functionality... I mean, I can't even skip a song without asking the google assistant and then having it sometimes work (Better control mapping would be super helpful on this one) Good stuff: -Double tap for google notifications -Google will read an email or text if you double tap when one comes in -Nice design, i love the case and its ability to charge the pods -Technically not "wireless" like the apple ones, but the cord connecting the two is nice and adjustable This is tough, i love these and hate them at the same time... I would not recommend them in their current state, give them a few firmware changes and I think we have a bargain (especially for the price, we shouldn't be having these issues, especially connection issues).

I was apprehensive about these pixel buds based off the other reviews I've read and videos I've watched. However I needed a pair of wireless earbuds and being I have a pixel device I decided to take a chance. I have not regretted my purchase. The sound quality is top-notch, battery life is really good, the look and feel good. Really happy with these.

The Assistant feature is great, but only if that is something you use anyway. If not, I wouldn't recommend them. They are comfortable and sound good, but are a bit fiddly to get in and out of the charging case. Not bad, but as far as hardware goes, you can do better at this price point. Assistant is unmatched. Works almost instantly and once you get into the habit is hard to do without.

I got these to go along with my Pixel 2 phone. They took a bit to get used to the controls and get them adjusted to fit comfortably in my ears. The sound quality is really good. I have Bose earbuds and after listening to the Pixel buds for a while when I went back to the Bose they sounded flat. Having Google Assistant in your ear is nice too. I'm happy with my purchase.