Customer Ratings & Reviews

PROS: - Recent firmware update fixes a lot of previous issues (connection/battery/etc) - So many features; most optional, all work well - Good, clean audio playback for music and phone calls - The case is amazing. Small, comfortable in hand, just a delight - Touch controls that actually work and make sense! (and easily turn off if/when you need to) - battery life is not top of it’s class but it is in line with the average and 10min quick charge gives you 2 hours of playback. I tested this personally and it was accurate - comfortable long term wear - an app that actually works and one stop shop for feature controls - quick connect to android devices - Google assistant available by touch OR voice - using google translate you can have conversations in another language with ease - better look that airpods CONS: - Occasional connection issues, mostly fixed with updates. Nothing worse than what I get with other BT devices at this point. After 3 days of excessive use they barely lost connection about two times, always in the same spot of my house due to interference in that room. - battery life is standard, but 5 hours can drain quickly on long trips. Galaxy buds claim closer to 11 hours on one charge but pixel buds can give you 2 hours with just 10 min of charging - No noise canceling but most low noises are blocked out naturally OVERALL/TL;DR: I really tested every aspect of these buds trying to find some faults and issues but it seems google has thought of almost everything after some needed updates. As a person who really likes options and control over those options, I like that just about every feature has the option to be turned off if you don’t like or want it. This means you can customize the buds to your needs and turn off anything you don’t like. For android users, these buds are so much more than headphones to play music or make phone calls. With google assistant turned on (which can be audible triggered or simply touch triggered) you can get notifications from your phone read out to you AND respond to texts or google hangouts (while it’s still alive) or other apps, hear your emails, and just about any app notification you want but, you guessed it, you can turn on or off which apps you want to hear notifications from based on your needs. You can also do all the basic assistant commands like control your smart home devices, or ask questions, play youtube/spotify content, anything you would do with your assistant on your phone is now available in your buds. Along with the buds, the app is great and the case is small, sturdy and just a joy to hold. It’s the new fidget spinner for me. It fits nicely in the small pocket in jeans which prevents it from rubbing on keys or phones and holds extra battery juice to top up your buds when needed, and oh yeah, also has wireless charging for quick and easy recharges. You can’t go wrong with these buds; a lot of complaints were made early, especially with connection issues but recent updates have brought more features and fixes. When I tried to cause bad connections or drop outs, I could not get them to fail, even in some pretty aggressive testing. WHAT'S IN THE BOX/FIRST IMPRESSION: When you open your new pixel buds, you get the case, the buds, some extra sizes for the ear tips, a charging cable (USB-C) and a quick start guide. The packaging is what you expect from google and everything feels clean and sleek. As soon as you hold the case in your hand you understand why everyone is raving about it. It’s close in size to the airpods case, a little smaller than the galaxy “pill” case and considerably smaller than lower cost brands. It almost looks like a flattened egg. The top flips in such a satisfying way and the buds are held with a magnet so strong that shaking the open case as rough as I could did not make them fall out. With the buds still in the case, I flipped it open and my android phone (samsung) immediately recognized the buds and asked me to pair them and prompted me to download the pixel buds app which you definitely want to do to get the most out of these headphones. After pairing I slipped them on to test them out. Once I tried the buds on I could tell I needed to try a different size and found that one ear is smaller than the other, so give those other sizes a try, it helps with sound quality and comfort. Now, about comfort, I have not found any type of in-ear wearing device that I would call comfortable, but these are better than some others that i’ve worn and I was able to wear these for at least 2 to 3 hours straight before I started to get itchy or a slight swollen feeling. In my book that counts as above average comfort. With the buds properly fitted and the walk through done on the app, I started to play some music (afterall, that’s what I want headphones for right?). I tested out some of the usual music I use to test audio quality and felt, for the most part, they sounded pretty good. Google recently added a base boost option in the app and that definitely helped fill the low end that was missing and overall the quality is plenty good that the average user won’t have any complaints. I couldn’t turn them up to 100% without damaging my ears but they did hover around 70 to 80% when I was in a noisy area. While listening to music, I received a hangouts message and was happily surprised to hear the hangouts notification tone followed by a prompt from the google assistant telling me who sent the message and how I could listen and respond. Which brings me to the features. FEATURES AND EXTRAS: Like I said, when I received a google hangouts message (or text message) the buds would notify me and tell me how to hear the message and respond, but what was really nice is if I ignored that prompt and the sender proceeded to send 5 more messages, she mentioned she would be quiet now and just play the notification chime. In other words, the assistant knew she had already explained to me what I could do and didn’t continue to interrupt my music explaining it. That’s a level of intelligence that you don’t find everywhere. When I did choose to reply, I would record my reply, she read it back to me and sent it off. This ended up allowing me to carry on a text conversation with my friend without ever taking out my phone AND still listening to my music. Now, maybe you read that and thought, “that’s stupid, I don’t want that interruption all the time,” well that’s fine, just turn it off in the app. While you're in the app, check out the other features available. You can turn on adaptive sound which will adjust the volume automatically if you go to a louder or quieter room or turn on the (currently experimental) attention alerts that will lower your volume and chime if the buds hear a crying baby, emergency sirens or barking dog; all of which have their own on/off option. I turned on barking dog because my dog barks allllllll the time and noticed it would work better when he was very close to me barking but hit or miss at a distance. As I said, this is still a beta feature they are testing so expect that to get better in time as well. That said, it’s a nice option to have, especially if you’re walking on the street and need to be alert. I don’t have a busy street or a baby so I couldn’t test the other two options. Other notable features include in-ear detection to play/pause when you remove a bud, an option to find your missing buds with either location information or by playing a tone through the buds, a sharing mode which lets you share one bud with a ...bud..dy and gives you both separate volume controls, and lastly a quick guide reminder of the touch controls if you forget what does what. You can also find firmware update info and other important help and device info in the app. As far as touch controls go, I have to say, they work really well and seem to be easy to learn. One tap to play/pause just seems right, swiping forward and back for volume makes sense etc. It’s easy to learn and, unlike other buds I have with touch control, I haven’t had a lot of issues with accidental touch while making minor fit adjustments. If you do have issues, turn touch controls off in the app or better yet, just ask the assistant to turn them off. These buds are packed with features and they actually work as intended and can be controlled rather easily. LAST THOUGHTS: I admit, I am a bit of a google fan, but not so much that I can’t admit when google gets it wrong (it happens...sometimes too much), maybe one would argue the first attempt at pixel buds would be a good example of missing the mark, but these pixel buds 2nd gen are not one of those mistakes. It seems google worked hard to address issues and concerns and although they had a rough start out the gate, some firmware updates have fixed a lot of issues and turned these buds into major contenders to the big names from apple and samsung and have a unique look that some don’t like, some do, and others don’t care. Personally, I think they do look a bit like a mentos mint but I also don’t think that’s bad. I got green...oh sorry, google calls the color “quite mint” and so I just tell people they’re spearmint mentos and embrace it. Hey, anything that isn’t a white twig hanging out of your ear is a win. If you have an android phone and use the google assistant already and enjoy google products, you will not be disappointed in these earbuds. Maybe if you bought them on release day you would have complaints but all the recent updates have turned these buds into Apple killers. Long live android! ….oh and iphone users who don’t like airpods, these buds work for you too, just less features I believe, sorry I can’t tell you more, I don’t have an iphone to test on. Would recommend, if you’re on the fence, buy em.

i love the sound quality of the head phones it definitely fits considerably in my ears the only thing i wish they can do better is the battery life on it dies very quickly my bud plus last longer thats about it and also they should fix the translations because one minute it works next minute it don't work i love the color of my pixels buds and the case .

So far, I'm enjoying my purchase - quality sound and battery!

I bought these after months and months of trying to decide what wireless earbuds to go with my Pixel 4XL. I decided to pull the trigger and buy these ones, after I purchased them I noticed that they would cut out intermittently and I figured it was my movement or just interface with the Bluetooth. Fast forward to the last two weeks, The left ear bud decided to not connect at all unless I reinstall the app but it only last one video with no touch controls and stops afterwards. Maybe it's just this set but I'm disappointed that it would cost so much and not work properly.

I bought these three weeks ago but returned them due to all the cut out issues. They appeared to be resolved according to various sites so I bought it again. After it updated, all issues were resolved. The quality is amazing and I love the assistant integration.

Now that Google has FINALLY fixed the intermittent audio disconnect issue, I can't recommend enough these wireless headphones; especially if you're a Google Pixel phone owner! The seamless integration with Android & Google Assistant is a huge plus. I've read that there isn't much bass but let me state that there actually is; possibly more so with the new "Bass boost" feature. Can't forget the charging case of these buds too; one of the best I've seen on the Android side of things.

Google gestures integration fantastic. Support drops are great, could use a bass boost for my tastes

The pixel buds includes gestures to control your phone without actually touching your phone. Want to turn up to volume? Swipe forward. Want to pause video/music? Tap to pause. Skip track? Triple tap. Want to hear to notification? Long press on buds. Excellent for those who don't want to be distracted!

I'll start off this review with the bottom line. If you own a Pixel, do not even hesitate to purchase these. As far as I am concerned, these should be included in the box with the phone. Continue reading if you care to learn more about why I am saying this. From the moment these are unboxes, the premium look and feel to the experience is evident. The egg shapes housing the buds call home, is made of a rough and easy to handle material. Everything feels extremely solid and well made. The "egg" is on the larger side due to housing a battery which is able to charge the buds on the go. When popping open the top, you are greeted with the buds themselves. I my case, two mint green buds that resemble a candy like appearance. They are really a lot of fun to look at. One of the things that draws me to the Pixel line of product is often this initial feeling of "fun". The buds themselves are small and low profile in design. If you have your Pixel phone near by, one the top is open, you are greeted with a "connect pixel buds" notification that IMMEDIATELY comes up. Clicking "connect" instantly pairs them and they are ready to use. Google calls this "fast pair" and it is quite a magical experience. These also work on iOS devices, though connecting them requires connecting them like you would a typical bluetooth. It also lacks all of the cool features which makes these unique. I'd stick to Android phones, especially Pixel phones for these. While paired to the Pixel, you can check battery life and other features by either dragging down the notifications bar (to check battery life) or opening up the connected devices settings on the phone, so turn on or off specific settings, such as in ear detection (super nice feature), advanced audio, swipe gestures, etc... I found removing the buds from the egg was a little challenging the first time, but once I performed this action a few times, you learn tricks to get them out easier each time. Placing them back in couldn't be simpler. They sort of "drop" back in and click magnetically in place. Placing the buds in the ears is also very pleasant. You insert them, then sort of "twist" to fit. I found these fit very snug in my ears and after a second or two, I didn't even notice they were there. The rubber material is super soft and comfortable. The overall audio experience is excellent. I found regardless of the media I was listening to, the Pixel buds replicated the sound perfectly. Highs, medium, lows, all came through. I found these to sounds more like an over the ear headphone vs. your typical ear buds. The rubber nubs that fit into your ears create a seal which helps with bass and noise cancellation, like an over the ear would. However, the small form factor and lack of pressure against your head, removed the negatives from larger over the ear headphones. Google has updated these since they released with a "bass boost" feature which enhanced bass if you like more of a boomy sound. I found this to be my preference and I found the "boomyness" of the sound very nice. When making calls, these buds also didn't disappoint. These buds are equipped with a "Clear Calls" feature which has two beam forming mics which focus on your voice. There is an accelerometer which detects jaw movement so they know when your talking vs listening. When talking, the mic focuses on your voice and tried to. drown out background noise. Every time I asked "can you hear me ok?" I got replies "yes, you sound VERY clear". These buds also have gesture controls for when on calls. When receiving a call, tap once on either bud to answer the call. To hang up, tap twice on either bud. Tapping twice also rejects a call if you don't want to answer. When not on a call, gestures can also help you to do other things: tap to play or pause music double tap to skip a track or stop the assistant tripe tap to rewind to go to previous track swipe forward to increase volume swipe backwards to decrease volume on Android 6+ press and hold to speak to Google Assistant These buds also have "sharing detection". You can give a bud to a friend (and they must be a good friend, because... well... gross in most cases). This will detect further distances from the buds and enable the feature. This allows gesture controls to be performed independently without affecting the other bud. Pretty cool on plane trips, or in areas where you cannot have the speaker turned onto the phone. Perhaps even a conference call situation where no other devices are present. These buds also connect to Goggle's "Find my device" feature. You can ring the earbuds if they are close and can be picked up by the "Fast Pair" setting. They also will ping the location when paired, and if too far aways, will show you their last known location. The buds support Google's "hotword" features. Saying something like "Ok Google" will initiate the Google Assistant when they are inserted into your ears. They also work with google translate to make language barriers even less of an issue if traveling a broad or to someone who cannot speak (or vice versa) native languages. I find this feature to be really cool, though I have not been able to really test this abroad, it works with my Spanish speaking friends well in tests. The battery life on these could be better, but I found workarounds to make them last all day. For example. Talk time is about 2.5 hours per bud. If I am on calls all day, I put in one bud, talk for 2.5 hours, then swap for the other to keep them going all day. This works great for me. Listening to other things like music, lasts about 5 hours. For this, I wanted both buds. So cycling for this task was less effective, but I don't typically listen to music, with buds in, for more than 5 hours, so this was fine for me. Lastly, these buds are easy to charge. The buds have both wireless and UCB-C port for charging. I found the buds are able to charge while placed on the Pixel stand. I very much have enjoyed the time spent with these buds. These are the ONLY headphones I would use with a Pixel device due to their tight integration and useful features. For iOS devices, I'd look elsewhere however. These are really "made by Google, for Google" and should be considered for that purpose. If you have multiple devices, being able to pair them in a more traditional way is super useful however.

I like it more than Samsung Galaxy Buds, Wear comfortable, firm ears

Could use equalizer and better wing for fit. I have a very difficult time getting the right ear bud to seat firmly. An extra large ear tip may help in this regard and/or adjustable wing.

Having already seen them on the internet, I was still surprised when I took them out of the box. The round, egg-like, matte look and feel just feels great when handling them. They feel premium without being pretentious. It is also quite portable as I can put it in my jeans’ coin pocket easily. The cap opens smoothly and closes with a satisfying snap. The design is just playful yet elegant. The buds themselves also feature this smooth round design. I received the “Quite Mint” greenish and black version and I must say that this makes them even more fun to wear. The case has a USB-C port and a pairing button. There is also an LED light on the outside and on the inside for battery status. The case can also be charged wirelessly which is a huge plus for me. Google claims a battery life of 5 hours listening and 2.5 hours talk time, and 10 minutes in the case gives you 2 hours of listening time with quick charge. I tested this and it fell more or less within range. There are 3 tip sizes and I ended up with the largest, which seal my ear canals the best. The buds feature a non-removable fin which makes me wonder how they would feel on different ear shapes. I must say that did experience some fatigue and slight discomfort after wearing them for a couple of hours. Since I tend not to wear any buds for such long periods of time, this is not really a big issue for me. These feature IPX4 so slight water splashes and sweat are no problem. Pairing the Pixel Buds is extremely easy on Android. Simply open the lid of the case and a message appears guiding you and prompting you to install the software. Featuring 12mm drivers, the sound out of the box is quite enjoyable in my opinion. The highs are a bit recessed allowing the mid frequencies to push through forward. While the bass may not rattle any bass heads ears, it is still impactful. There is good separation and detail. There is a feature on the app that enables bass boost. This certainly adds quite a lot of bass depth to the sound, but in my opinion, it also makes the sound a bit muddy and I prefer clarity instead. The design offers “Adaptive Sound” which in my opinion is not very useful as these do not get all that loud. Personally, I would have liked to have some active noise cancellation, as the passive noise reduction and volume are not all that great. Calls come in loud and clear with the dual microphone and talk detection accelerometer. I was told my voice came in with depth and did not have that “underwater” quality. Touch controls are a joy to use as they are very responsive and intuitive. I love how swiping forward and backward controls volume so well. As far as other features, Google assistant integration works flawlessly. Every command, every notification, and Google Chromecast work as expected. The translation feature is OK and the “find my earbuds” on the app is quite useful. In the end, I am really loving these buds. Although not perfect, the playful, elegant design, coupled with the easy controls, sound signature, and jam-packed features make the Pixel Buds a great value and easy to recommend.

Noise cancelation is well worth the upgrade over OG buds.

Bud Appearance: The design is sleek and light enough to make me question if they are on. To say the least they are comfortable and if I wear them properly they are sure to stay on. The size of the Pixel Buds is perfect for lounging because I can move freely and they remain comfortable even when I lay my head on my pillows. I think with the extra accessories I will be wearing for the winter these Buds will be my #1 choice to wear when it comes to picking a pair of earphones. Since it’s water resistant I can worry less getting it wet by water, moisture and sweat. The case to me feels like a egg in my opinion and that is not a bad thing for me. It is the first thing I thought of when I picked it up. It is nowhere near as fragile but it feels like the shell of an egg. Setting Up: I did not need to charge the case before using the Pixel Buds. Right out the box I was able to go to the Bluetooth settings on my iPhones and selected Pixel Buds from the options of available devices. I was connected and using my Pixel Buds in about a minute. Sound Quality: The Pixel Buds was able to sound impeccable even though it is so small in size. Crisp clear sound with the right amount of bass. To accomplish this I had to do my part and make sure that they are in my ear properly. It is getting a lot easier making sure that they are on the way they intended to be worn. I always do a small pull on the Buds to make sure they are on snug. The design does drown out a lot of the noise but they are noise canceling. During calls I do notice the sound quality is not as clear as the music. I’m not sure if it’s a carrier issue but I was not pleased with my call experiences. A thing I like is that it automatically pause my music during a call and pick up where I left off after completing the calls. I would recommend the Pixel Buds because overall I think they are great to have as a everyday accessory. The gestures are easy to remember and easy to do. They don’t take up much space. I enjoy using it with my iPhone but I know Android users will take advantage of the added features such as finding the Pixel Buds, personal assistant, ear detection and a few more cool features. With time maybe they will roll them out for the iPhone. 4 out of 5 for me because of the minor setbacks but I’m happy.

These are a awesome pair of earbuds. I genuinely love the Google assistant integration and the aesthetics and they sound good. What truly kills my Google experience is the amount of random drop outs, disconnects, and how stupid quick the battery drops in charge. I will be returning these but if Google can fix these in the future I will buy them again.

Google - Pixel Buds True Wireless In-Ear Headphones - Clearly White For any headphone I always put sound quality and comfort as my two most import requirements. The Pixel Buds have a very natural sound at a low volume but they just didn’t impress with that WOW! you would expect. And at higher volumes the sound tended to get muddy. I think not supporting a high definition bluetooth sound codex is a strange oversight on Google's part. Setting the bass boost in the dedicated Android apps helps with the lows but I was missing the sparkle in the highs that gives you the dynamic range you expect in in-ear headphones at this price level. I ended up keeping bass boost off since it does affect overall clarity in the volume levels that sounded best for me. I will say the actual stereo separation was very good. I used the large eartips to get a good seal and prevent the Buds from falling out. Three eartip sizes are provided with the Buds. The fit for me using the large eartips was good but I would have liked a bigger selection to choose from. The two smaller eartips didn’t work for me and couldn’t hold the Buds in my ears. Since sound quality and comfort are very unique to each person it can’t be the two single features that define these Buds. One outstanding feature is the Buds case. It is quite attractive and feels very good in the hand. I easily got five hours of battery life playing music and taking calls. This left me with around 15% of the reported battery left before it was back in the case for recharging. The case supports a quick charge to the Buds so a 10 minute charge should give you another 2 hours of listening. I like that the case uses a type C USB cable and also supports wireless charging. Another outstanding feature is the touch controls which I found to work very well. Because of the design of the Buds the touch controls are very easy to access. You might need a little time to get used to them but simple gestures like swipe and tap worked flawless for me. Other Buds I have tried also might support some of these features but the Pixel Buds just seemed to work very well for me with just a little practice. The paring process was very quick and easy on my Galaxy S10. And once paired I was taken to the Google app store to download the dedicated Pixel Bud app. There you have a lot of control over most of the Buds features. It should be no surprise these Buds work well with Google’s Assistant. And the app gives you very good control over how you want to interact with the Assistant including removing that as a permission or managing its notifications. The Buds themselves have a unique look. I have the Quite Mint color which is an interesting color and they also come in, Clearly White, Almost Black and Oh So Orange, and no, I didn’t make these names up. One of the features I was most interested in is the real time language translation. I travel internationally and I am looking forward to putting this feature to more use. In my testing it seems to work very well and with a little practice I think this will be a great tool and a truly killer feature. I struggled with this review simply because the Pixel Buds are just amazing when you sum up the features available here which I can only touchon. You have full access to Google’s AI, a great physical design and phone companion and although I am not as impressed with the sound as I would like it is not bad. With my prior experience with in-ear headphones the sound can improve over time. I have found that early reviews of sound quality can be deceiving as expectations can be high. But later you may find the sound improves and you wonder how you got it so wrong. One thing is for sure, the Google Pixel Buds are an amazing bit of technology that provides a load of useful features you can use everyday.

I like how they sound but they wouldn’t stay in my ears. So that’s the only reason for my low rating and return. Other the that, if have bigger ears u wouldn’t have any issue with these.

They stay in your ears without a thought. After using them for several days, I find them to be very comfortable. Above all all else, the sound reproduction from these ear buds is simply magnificent. More on that in a moment. I love the attractive white eggshell finish of the charging case. No fingerprints. Quite classy. I was able to pair my Pixel 4a in seconds after opening the box. I have had the buds for two days and can attest that the buds easily provide five hours of music on a single charge. After a day of use, I stuck the buds back in the case and charged them up for another day. The case had a full charge on it out of the box, and I still have not had to recharge it. But I digress. The sound is all important. I read the instructions. I inserted the plugs into my ears, and the sound was... awful: tinny and with no bass at all. I could not believe my ears. My first thought was that I was not situating the buds correctly, and, after playing with them for a minute, all was corrected. When the tips are inserted into your ear canal, you must twist the black wing on each bud it is properly buried in the cavity of your outer ear. When I did that, the sound was... perfect. And I do mean perfect. I am a headphone (and earbud) aficionado, and I am in love with these buds. After two days of listening to my favorite songs, I have heard details and nuances in the music that I never noticed before. The buds have a bass enhancement feature but I prefer not using it. I hear exactly what was recorded. If the sound was warm and lush, I hear it. If the recording is dry and analytical that is what I hear. These buds are completely true to the source. I have had so much fun listening to music old and new. If I am leaving out all the Google assistant features that can be used with this phone, please forgive me. I will play with those later. The only identifiable weakness came occasionally when using the buds for phone conversations. The other speaker was clear, but too low in volume, and I could not hear them as well as I wanted to hear them without maxing the volume on the buds. When the music returned after hang up, it blasted my eardrums. When speaking with the same caller, and the using same smartphones on other occasions, the relative sound level was just fine. I am not exactly sure what caused this intermittent problem. When you pull a bud of of your ear, the song automatically pauses, or you can tap once on a bud to pause. Two taps and you'll go to the next track. You can also swipe up or down on either bud to change the volume level. These Pixel Buds are not inexpensive, but their sound is stupendous, they are attractive, comfortable, have good battery life and recharge quickly and easily. They are also just plain fun to use and to listen to.

Though Pixel buds have great features like increasing volume etc by tapping on the buds, it comes with a lot of connection issues. Connectivity drops every now and then. If we walk past the room in which my phone is I will have connection issues. Sometimes the connection just cuts off when you are on a call.

This is my 3rd set of wireless earbuds that I have used over the years and they are certainly the best. Pros: - First, sound quality is excellent. Music sounded phenomenal! - Set up was extremely easy. After opening the case, my Pixel 3 phone immediately detected the Pixel Buds and initiated the set process. It was quick and painless. - The touch controls work way better than I expected. A quick swipe forward increases volume on your earbud, a swipe back decreases volume. A double tap skips to the next song and a triple tap takes you back to the previous song. This worked reliably which surprised me. Typically these features are testy on wireless earbuds. - If an earbud falls out, there are sensors that realize it and your audio pauses. Not only does this keep you from missing the song or podcast you were listening to, but it basically is telling you "Stop and find your earbud that just fell out". Great feature. - The buds come in a case that will charge them and fit easily in any pocket. USB-C is used to charge the case which does not take long at all. - The integration of Google assistant works really well. You can have notifications read to you, ask about nearby restaurants, etc. Much can be done without removing your phone from your pocket. Cons: - I could not pause songs at first. Tapping the earbuds did not act as intended. But a quick firmware update fixed this problem. You can set the buds to update automatically within the Pixel Buds app. - After using these ear buds for a few hours I did experience audio dropping in and out a few times with my phone just 2-3 feet away. It didn't happen enough to be a bother but if the frequency increases I could see it getting annoying. Overall, these are a great price and the functionality is fantastic. I definitely recommend them for anyone looking for a comfortable wireless option.