Customer Ratings & Reviews

As long as I have the Pixel 10 Pro, I wanted to try some pixel buds to see if keeping in the same ecosystem is worth it. After trying the 2a's out, I'd say there's nothing really special about doing that specifically. That said, these are good buds. They sound great for the size and are very comfortable. You can twist them to have a looser or more snug fit and there are several ear tip sizes included. They never even tried popping out of my ears. Battery life is good. I get around 7 hrs of use on a charge. The charging case (which is just USB C not wireless) got me 2 more charges. The case charges in about an hour and a half and the buds in just under an hour to full. Setup was easy but a bit of a let down. I figured pixel to pixel would be a breeze but I had to go and set up Bluetooth the "old fashioned" way. I did also try these on a Z fold 5 and they popped right up on screen and basically set themselves up. Weird. The noise cancelling for ear buds is definitely noticeable. It blocks out quite a bit. Sound quality is good as well. Not big bass but decent and nice clear audio. The only thing I noticed is that if specifically using a pixel phone, a spacial audio toggle pops up in settings. I tried it out and didn't really notice anything special. I even tried specific videos on YouTube for it and couldn't tell. The app tells you how the touch controls work but are not customizable. As long as these don't have the swipe for volume, I'd like the option to change what some of the taps do. Play/pause and volume up/down are my main wants. These Pixel 2a buds sound good and are comfortable. Definitely worth a try at this price point.

I like these earbuds a lot and wanted to rate the 5 stars, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Let me outline the good and bad so you can decide for yourself: PROS: - The buds themselves are so lightweight that I honestly forget they're in - Battery life on the buds (not the case) will probably last an 8 hour day easily - Google will constantly improve everything with updates - "Immerse" sound profile (as a sort of opposite of noise canceling) is a nice feature, as you can hear your music except when someone else is trying to talk to you. I didn't feel like I should only wear one earbud so I can hear when people are trying to get my attention at work - Sound quality is almost perfect, I could definitely hear the bass notes well which isn't as common with earbuds - The mic for phone calls seemed to be good - no one I spoke with had any trouble hearing me although I did have a quiet background when making phone calls CONS: - Noise canceling couldn't handle a gentle wind when I was going for a walk, as I heard the wind noise as much as my music. This was much worse when listening to a podcast (which makes sense), but I have other earbuds with noise canceling that don't have these problems with so little wind. Granted, those are twice the price of these, but maybe it's worth paying more for. I do think this will improve with updates from Google over time. There is a feature in the app that helps you ensure you're getting a good fit, which I think is supposed to help with this, but it didn't seem to make any difference - The downside of their light weight is that they're somewhat easy to knock out of your ear and they don't really make noise when they land on the ground so they can be hard to find - The case seems to only hold enough to recharge the buds 4 times. Maybe that's not the worst as you can always recharge the case reasonably quickly, but it just seemed low for how little I used the buds and put them back in the case to see it drop so much - This is a total nit-pick, but the white case can easily get stained (like by my black pants, so it now has a black ring on it)

I usually cannot wear in ear monitors for a long time. For one reason or another, I do not find them conformable. I do own a few of them but they tend to be used a lot less than the headphones just because of the comfort. That said, these are the most comfortable IEM I have used so far. My direct comparison will be Samsing Buds FE and these are for sure better for sustained period of listening. Buds FE are slightly heavier than these and you can feel it when you are wearing them. The light weight helps the Pixel Buds 2A. After the twist, they stay in the ear, do not drop and I still do not feel any heft. So, a 100% from my end on the comfort. ANC worked as well as the Buds FE, though Buds FE have three mics vs the two in Buds 2A. Please note that my main test is in house as that is where I typically wear them. Both were able to filter most of the noise of my loud HVAC system. My specific unit unfortunately had an issue where the left earbud has a humming noise when the ANC is active. I reached out to google but so far, I have not received a response. I may end up claiming the warranty on these and will update how that works out. Music quality wise, Samsung Buds FE sounded slightly better because of the extra oomph in the base region, but the difference is not huge. I do not use these mainly for music but to listen to audiobooks and take calls, so for my use case comfort, ANC and mic quality matters more and these are just great for all those. In summary, I will recommend these if your main usage is not music. Do note that the bass response in IEM is a lot about how the fit is, since these are really comfortable in my ears, that might mean that they are not too deep and hence not making a seal as good as Samsung Buds Fe. So YMMV.

Normally to get good sound with active noise cancelling (ANC) for earbuds, you’d have to spend a lot to get them. Google manages to bring ANC to their budget earbuds in the form of Pixel Buds 2a. The case is simple and straightforward. It doesn’t have wireless charging like its big brother but that’s fine. It also lacks some of the advanced features its big brother has. But again that is fine. Google designed the Buds 2a to have the basic essentials. The earbuds are uniquely designed and I am finding it tricky to put into my ears. The pre-installed tips are medium-sized and come with 3 other sizes - extra-small, small, and large. I’ve settled on small to fit my ears. Using a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, the setup process is very easy. The first time you open up the case lid, the phone picks it up and starts the pairing process for you. After the pairing connection is made, it walks you through a couple of preference settings and any other optional settings. Settings and preferences are handled through the Connected Devices section. This may be different if you use a different Android phone (likely via the Pixel Buds app). In it, there are 3 ANC settings: on, off, and transparency. It’s a shame that there is no custom level of ANC for transparency. But for a budget ANC earbuds, I suppose that’s acceptable for now. Sound EQ has 5 adjustment values which is nice for fine tuning the sound profile. Some only give you a mere 3 which doesn’t help much for audio tuning. Sound is quite nice for budget earbuds. But getting them to sound good depends on how well they fit into your ears. In the short time I’ve used them and the music I’ve used for playback, I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, which is quite a surprise. I am definitely happy that people can purchase these earbuds and not worry about bad audio tuning. I wasn’t able to determine battery life for the earbuds. Unfortunately time constraints prevent me from being able to use them for long sessions. But the expected battery life means it is long enough to endure an extended trip like a long flight or train ride. At the end of the day, the Buds 2a is a great basic ANC earbuds that comes at an affordable price. You’re only missing the advanced features found in its higher tiered sibling. While there are other potential products that could provide the same functionality as the Buds 2a, there is a risk in purchasing from a brand that you may never heard of. If I am looking for earbuds that complement the smartphone, then the Buds 2a is the way to go. The Good: comfortable, 5 level EQ, good sound The Bad: tricky to put on, only 3 ANC modes The Ugly: trying to find that right fit with the included tip sizes Verdict: highly recommended for basic ANC earbuds

These are my first Pixel buds. I have been looking for an Android ecosystem friendly pair of buds that would give me some additional functionality beyond just a Bluetooth connection. The Pixel Buds 2A come in at a reasonable price, but are they good. In a few words, I was shocked. These hit way above the quality line that I expected for being the lower priced option below the “Pro” line. First off, I anticipated that I would have to figure out the size of the tips for my ears, generally needing the large tip for my right ear and the medium for my left. This set was no different. The tips are silicone, and are pretty typical. The first thing I did notice that was pleasing to me was that these are very lightweight. Noticeably so in my ears, with them staying in and not feeling a dragging down sensation that gives me concern they might fall out. They are small too, so they are very low footprint in my ears. I paired them with my phone and the quick pair function built into Android was streamlined. Immediately I was pushed a firmware update which I appreciate. Quick update and I then opened my music app. Initially I had them in aware mode and it was fine, nothing hugely different from other experiences, especially in the budget friendly tier. What did amaze me though was when I went into ANC mode. The immediate and effective silence from these blew me away. I tested them with a YouTube track of aircraft cabin noise from my surround sound system to see how they would do, and there was no sound. I walked around outside and had no people noise that interrupted me, even without music playing. Such a good value already! So then I put on some music. There is no way these are not more expensive. The separation of lows, mids, and highs was crazy. The bass lines were clean and not overblown. The highs were bright but not overly so, giving me good feeling of voices and things like cymbals and brass. The mids pushed the lows and highs out of the way, but not too much giving me a broad soundstage that felt surround like. Without an immersion setting. It was wild. I didn’t think this would be the case at all. I’m now completely sold on Google’s tuning. These go toe to toe with competition I didn’t even think would be possible. Overall, I have no hesitation recommending these. The one caveat I would give is that if you plan to use these with the iOS ecosystem, they still sound amazing, but you can’t do things like update the firmware or tune the eq if you want. That takes an Android based device. Otherwise, if you just want a solid Bluetooth performing set of buds, these are it.

I’ve had a lot of different earbuds from a lot of different manufacturers, but never ones designed specifically for smooth integration with my Pixel phone. The release of the Pixel Buds 2A brings most of the advantages of the Pixel Buds Pro at a wallet-friendly price. The initial setup is amazingly simple. Unbox the buds, open the flip-top of the charging case, and press the button on the back of the case. A few seconds later, a pop-up appears on the phone telling you that the buds have connected to the phone and are now associated with your account. That was literally the easiest earbud setup I’ve ever experienced! What would normally take a few steps to open settings, go to Bluetooth settings, etc. is now handled by that single button press. This is how it should be! Once connected, you can tweak the settings for the buds in the Pixel Buds app. This is where you can set the behavior of long presses, turn on ANC, and choose the levels on the 5-band equalizer. The app is intuitive and makes it easy to find what you need, including links to videos with further instructions. Google touts its new “twist to fit” feature of the Pixel Buds 2A. It’s basically a rounded fin on the back of the ear bud. Twisting the bud counterclockwise allows the fin to nestle into the back of your ear, making for a more secure fit. Twisting clockwise will create a looser fit and presumably not seal as tightly in the ear canal. Personally, I prefer the tighter fit all the time. Part of the reason for my preference is that these are very comfortable to wear. The app also includes an ear seal fit check to ensure that you’re using the optimal ear tips and are wearing them properly. After choosing my EQ settings, I was ready for some music. The sound is clear and has a somewhat neutral signature. What I mean by that is that the bass is solid but not muddy and the highs are clear but not overly crisp. In other words, the sound signature is probably designed to appeal to most people. After listening to several different musical genres, I was very pleased with the sound these buds produced. Active noise cancellation works quite well, and it’s easy to toggle it on and off with a long press on your choice of earbuds. The other one can be set up to start your phone’s digital assistant. In addition to ANC, there is also a transparency mode, where the sounds around you are slightly amplified to overcome the fact that you’ve got something in your ears. This version sounds more real than what I’ve experienced on lots of other buds. Lastly, you can turn off all noise processing and just get the natural sounds that you get with buds in your ears. Call quality was surprisingly good. Unlike many other earbuds, callers could not tell I was using the buds. The sound on my end was just as good. Many buds focus on music quality at the expense of call quality, but I’m happy to report that the Pixel Buds 2A do not. That’s refreshing, especially at this price point. Speaking of price point, it’s also refreshing that Google is offering such a quality product at a reasonable price. I’ve been bothered by the recent trend of ever-higher prices for ear buds, so I hope this strikes a blow for more reasonable pricing. I don’t have the Pixel Buds Pro, but reviews I’ve read say that 2A buds provide most of the same performance for a lot less money. These are solid earbuds that won’t break the bank. A nice touch was the addition of a “find my buds” feature. This allows you to have the case start chirping, even if it’s closed. Not only that, but the app can also pinpoint the location of the case on a map. I expect that kind of tech to be on my phone, but it was impressive to find it on earbuds, especially at this price point. Lastly, the Buds 2A also support multipoint pairing, which I think is a must these days. This allows you to pair the buds with both your phone and laptop. Once that’s done, the buds will automatically switch to whichever device is putting out sound. It also prioritizes calls, so that if you’re listening to something on your laptop when a call comes in to your phone, it will prioritize the call and switch automatically to it. This is very convenient. Overall, I think the Pixel Buds 2A are an incredible value with performance beyond what you’d expect. These don’t feel like a step down from the Pro, so you can feel good about choosing these.

It didn't take long for me to ditch my over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones in favor of the Pixel Buds 2a. While I absolutely love my over-the-ears for their phenomenal sound quality and isolation, the Pixel Buds are among the best fitting, best sounding, best ANC IN-EAR buds I have ever tried. Flying frequently, I thought that over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones were the only way to get peace and quiet on a plane. However, they aren't the best for falling asleep against the window as vibrations would work their way into the headband effectively cancelling the ANC feature of my over-the-ears, or the headrest would dislodge a muff from an ear. With the in-ear buds, I don't have that concern on a plane anymore. The Pixel 2a buds have noise cancelling that is nearly as good as my Sony over-the-ear, the sound quality is impressive (and EQ-able from the app), the fit is well balanced and snug thanks in part to their "twist to fit" design (I don't fear them falling out if I fall asleep, or while hustling through an airport to catch a connecting flight), and the touch controls are responsive and on par with other touch commands for headphones (i.e. one-tap to pause/resume music or answer a call, long-press to start voice commands, etc.). That being said, there are a couple of disappointments moving from an over-the-ear to in-ear noise cancelling buds starting with battery life. These tiny buds can only hold so much juice--and they do a good job of providing 7-8hrs (my testing) battery life with ANC on about 80% of the time, which is less than your standard over-the-ear headphones. Fortunately, the storage case is also a battery pack that charges the buds fairly quickly--up to an hour for 5 minutes in the case is what Google claims...or 1.5 hours to fully charge the buds from the case. 1hr to fully charge the case. I also had some issues with noise bleed-thru that I don't have with over-the-ear headphones. Usually that comes from the "seal" of the earbud losing its "snugness" which just requires a little twisting or re-inserting of the bud affected, but I also feel like some noises sneak through that I shouldn't hear--usually things with a higher pitch/frequency. Nonetheless, constant noise (think lawnmower, airplane engine, crowds, etc.) is well cancelled. Price is about right for the quality and features. The Pixel Buds app shows you how much juice you have for each bud, plus the case. Location finding works just fine with the Google Find Hub in case you misplace your buds...or wonder if you left them back at the hotel by accident. The app lets you customize the touch controls, but again, you cannot use touch to control volume which is a disappointment for me. You can pair the buds to multiple devices and "real-time" switch between which device is active ("multipoint"--but you have to pair your buds to multiple devices first before multipoint works, of course). I definitely recommend these buds for everyday use.

After using the Google Pixel Buds 2a for about a week now, I am very impressed with what they deliver, especially compared to ear buds near the same price point. There are better ear buds on the market for a significantly higher cost, but these will satisfy a lot of customers with their features and performance. These are definitely keepers for me. The Pixel Buds 2a are compact and lightweight, and the case they come in can be easily stashed in my front jeans pocket. They come with three different sized ear inserts, with the medium size already installed on the ear buds. For me, the medium size was perfect, and the Pixel Buds app verified that they created a good fir to my ear. These ear buds are easy to remove from and replace into the case--it can be a one-handed operation. Fitment in the ear requires a counter-clockwise twist for more secure and sealed fit. I have gone walking, running, and cycling with these ear buds in, and they don't budge when twisted in fully. As a side note, this is the first set of ear buds that I can wear with a full-face motorcycle helmet. I can put my helmet on and take it off with the ear buds staying firmly in place. This is huge for me, as I often use navigation on the bike or have to take an emergency call from my boss (more about call quality on the motorcycle later). I have worn them for several hours at a time with no ear discomfort. Even with the small size, the sound these ear buds put out is quite impressive. The bass is deeper, the treble is richer, and the overall sound is much crisper than any ear buds in the same price range--and I will argue that they are just as good as several ear buds in a much higher price range. The app comes with some pre-programmed sound settings and a 5-band equalizer, which provides a decent amount of sound customization. Noise cancellation is a big deal for some, and these ear buds do have a noise cancelling feature. You will not get a full immersice experience like you will with really expensive ear buds, but the Pixel Buds 2a do drown out a lot of background noise--and wearing them in the office provides a nice experience. I tried the noise cancellation on my motorcycle, and these ear buds do make the ride quieter, while still alllowing me to hear enough of what is going on around me to be safely aware. When mountain biking, the experience is the same. There is enough awareness to be safe, yet enough noise cancellation to hear what you want to hear from the ear buds. There is also a "transparency" feature, where the ambient sounds are amplified. This feature works somewhat well. When the ambient noise is at a constant level, the feature works well, but when the ambient noise has a lot of variation, the ear buds will initially amplify the environment when the noise first gets louder, and then it will adjust a few moments later. For example, when mountain biking and I turn my head so that the wind direction into my ears changes, the wind noise amplifies for a few moments before settling down. I actually find that mountain biking and motorcycling with the noise cancellation works a lot better, as it provides the perfect balance between awareness and ambient noise cancellation. I actually have yet to find a pair of ear buds--regardless of price--that does this "transparency" feature well. However, these are buds do it better than most. Integration with my Google Pixel phone is awesome. Pairing and installation was super easy, and the integration of "Hey Google" works really well. When on my motorcycle, I tested the "Hey Google" and the earbuds heard me without issue. I could request navigation, hear the top new stories, get stock market information, skip music tracks, adjust the volume, you name it. I actually called my wife while on the motorcycle and she said she couldn't even tell I was on my bike. That's just a snippet about the voice and call quality! I was also able to use "Hey Google" while on my mountain bike--but at faster speeds, I did have to slightly cup my ear with my hand for the earbuds to pick up my voice. No big deal. I do have the Pixel Buds 2a connected to both my computer and my phone. Switching between the two works well, and audio quality through both is really good. After using these ear buds for about a week, I am literally going to sell nearly every other pair of ear buds I have accumulated over the last few years. This set of ear buds does everything I want them to do--at worst well, and at best, exceptionally. What a great value - I highly recommend them.

It’s nice to have this Pixel Buds “economy” version when shopping, and I wanted to try this 2a model out. Don’t mind not having wireless charging, as everything else I have is wired charging so no problem adding one more – I’m used to it. Interesting that there is no volume control on the touch pad, which I would really expect from buds at any price point. Other than that, to sound quality is very nice, and the ANC is quite effective – as good or better than any others I have tried in the same price range. Good connections to multiple devices, and I can switch from phone to laptop back to phone with no problems. The buds seem to sync with whatever device I am using – even switching back and forth with volume control. Battery life is good, and combined with the “low profile” and “twist in” to tighten the fit, these work nicely for overnight use and stay in the ears even with side-sleeping on the pillow. Added a separate high-impact case and with that I expect to be using these buds for a long time. Greetings from Central Georgia!

These earbuds are less expensive than the pro model and they sound like they are. I wore them through a long workout, and they performed fine as far as resisting sweat, but I was plagued by inadvertent touches which would stop my music whenever I would wipe sweat from around my ears. They also suffered from the tendency for the fit to loosen as I moved around. When I could get a hand free to reseat them in my ears, such as when I was on the elliptical, they performed fine, but there was serious degradation in sound quality by the time I was finished with my rowing workout. These are also the only buds I recently tried that required me to use the larger tips to get a good fit. Usually, the medium tips work right out of the box, but I had to swap the larger tips onto these buds to get them to fit decently. Even then, they would tend to loosen up over time. That whole "twist to fit" feature only works if you can keep twisting them as they work their way loose over time. Bass response was decent, but not overly impressive as long as you kept adjusting them, but the sound was kind of tinny after they loosened up, and the noise-cancelling performance degraded as well. Compared to other buds in this price range, they're fine, but there are much better performing buds if you're willing to pay a little more.

Best headphones, especially if you have pixel devices, noise cancelling works great, no complaints