It’s been well over four years since Google graced us with a pair of budget-friendly Pixel Buds, but after rejuvenating its Pro entry with a vastly-improved second-gen pair, that’s exactly what we got at this year’s Pixel 10 launch event.
The Pixel Buds 2a offer a refreshed design, ANC, and spatial audio support, all excellent improvements over the original release. But the earbuds market is in a completely different state than it was in 2021, and with a $30 markup over their predecessors, the Pixel Buds 2a aren’t the immediate value proposition you might expect them to be.
Hardware & Design
The Pixel Buds 2a have received a makeover for this generation, with both the buds themselves and their protective case shrinking down in size. It’s still the same rounded pebble-shaped case we’ve come to expect from Google, and unlike other midrange offerings from companies like Bose, they’re small enough to easily squeeze into your pocket. These are small enough to be “why not” earbuds, worthy of grabbing on your way out the door even if you’re not sure you’ll need them.
The matte finish on display here feels grippy and protective, capable of hiding most smudges while the only glossy plastic resides on the inside of the case. It’s a tried-and-true design, and I especially appreciate that Google has managed to hide a replaceable battery under its main shell. While it’s not necessarily hot-swappable, with the right parts, you’ll be able to keep a healthy charge going for many years to come. It’s a shame the same can’t actually be said for the buds themselves, but that’s the price paid for the wireless revolution.
Like the case, the buds themselves are equal parts small and cute, with a pretty significant reduction in size over the first-gen A-series. Those earbuds, while light enough for all-day wear, felt pretty uncomfortable in my ears after less than an hour, thanks to their overall larger size and especially the lengthy wing tip for in-ear stability. Here, the Buds 2a fit into my ears really well; if anything, the smaller wing tip actually does a better job keeping the buds from slipping out of my ear canal. Google’s suggested insert-and-twist instruction works quite well for keeping these earbuds stable, even when exercising.
Obviously, your comfort level’s bound to vary, but I think Google’s done as good a job as possible in crafting comfortable, stem-less earbuds that manage to avoid obvious shortcomings like poor battery life or terrible microphones (more on both in a moment). While you can’t swap out the wing tip, it’s small enough that I can’t imagine anyone feeling massively uncomfortable while using it, while the four eartip sizes should fulfill the needs of most wearers.
This isn’t to say Google doesn’t still have a to-do list for hardware iterations on an eventual follow-up to the Buds 2a. The touch controls, unfortunately, remain a problem on this pair. For the second generation in a row, Google has kept physical volume controls exclusive to the more expensive model. You can tap to pause, play, and skip songs, while pressing and holding allows you to switch ANC on and off or activate Gemini depending on your current settings, but that’s it. Raising or lowering the volume requires either your phone’s physical volume rocker or voice commands, and no one should need to use their voice to change the volume in 2025.
Even putting aside those complaints, though, the touch controls remain inherently flawed. Too many times during my initial week with the earbuds, I’ve had missed reactions, tapping the Pixel Buds multiple times without my music pausing or playing. I’ve had taps mistaken for holds and vice versa, enabling passthrough mode when I meant to pause a podcast or enabling ANC when I’m trying to have a conversation. The Buds 2a aren’t entirely unreliable, but they’re unreliable enough to become frustrating in daily use. There’s a reason the competition has moved to stems, frankly, and it’s because of touch controls like this.
And yet, I’m mostly happy that Google’s keeping this design alive. Sure, there are obvious benefits to following the crowd, but these strike me as earbuds I could lay in bed with, or easily rest my head against the window on my next plane trip without feeling any over-the-top pressure. There’s a lot to like about the Pixel Buds 2a, and it really does largely boil down to some great design chops from Google.
Software and Battery
I’ve been using the Pixel Buds 2a with my Pixel 10 since first taking them out of the box, and to no one’s surprise, it’s just about the best earbuds experience you can have on Android. While I did immediately run into a minor roadblock — the typical Fast Pair process didn’t kick off without manual action on my end — outside of that initial setup process, I’ve been pretty happy with the overall process here. The buds are quick to connect when removing them from the case, and controlling every aspect of the Buds 2a can be done directly within settings, without the need to download a companion app from the Play Store.
While that does mean jumping in to make quick fixes takes a moment longer than usual (unless you add Google’s Pixel Buds widget to your home screen, that is), I’ll take that over a cluttered app drawer every time. There’s nothing particularly new with the app experience this time around, but thanks to Google’s recent iterations of Material Design, it continues to look leagues better than nearly any other competitor’s layout. Checking battery status, toggling between transparency modes, adjusting shortcut or EQ settings — everything is super simple.
There are a couple of settings you’ll want to pay attention to if you’re planning on picking these up. The first is multipoint, which the Pixel Buds 2a do support, but you’ll need to enable it under the “More settings” option at the bottom of the page. You’ll also want to make sure your earbuds are saved to Find Hub, should you misplace them while disconnected. This is part of the setup process Google walks you through after unboxing, but it’s good to double-check before anything goes missing.
Gemini support appears unchanged from last year’s Pixel Buds Pro 2. Frankly, I still think earbuds are the best way to interact with Gemini, especially since it’s an easy way to get around the all-too-clunky wake phrase. However, booting into Gemini Live still requires you to say “Hey Google, let’s chat live,” and that’s just not good enough to me. With Gemini Live seemingly becoming a more important element of Google’s AI-based roadmap, I’d like to see the company figure out a way to minimize that phrase in the future. Then again, most of the requests I’ve made to Gemini — like, say, lowering the volume — work just fine in its default state.
I haven’t had any major connection issues with the Buds 2a during my first week’s worth of use, save for some cutouts in the kitchen with my phone left on the desk in my office. That’s surprising, considering those locations aren’t particularly far away in my house, and I’ve never had an issue like that with other various earbuds, including those from Google itself. I haven’t been able to recreate the issue, so chalk it up to interference — still, something worth noting.
In what has become a pattern for devices rocking the Pixel brand name, battery life here is perfectly fine. I’m actually surprised I haven’t managed to kill the earbuds themselves for as small as they are; Google’s seven-hour estimate with ANC enabled seems accurate based on my own experience. The case, however, is a little more disappointing. While I have (rightfully, I think) praised the size and portability of the Buds 2a case, it results in just 20 hours of reserve battery life. I’ve basically been topping up the case every two to three days to make up for this, and I’m just not sure that meets my own personal modern standard for earbuds, especially without the convenience of wireless charging..
Sound and ANC
“Good, not great” appears to be Google’s theme when it comes to the actual audio components found within these earbuds, as that phrasing applies to practically every aspect here. For example, with the EQ set to Balanced — my personal preference for listening to music — the bass lines on Geese’s “Trinidad” hum along perfectly underneath the refrain without washing out the blasting horns or the never-ending hi-hat march. Still, the entire thing sounds a little muffled, as if, no matter how close I get to the music, it always feels like there’s a paper-thin wall separating myself from the band.
That’s not to say it’s not an enjoyable listen. The guitar riffs on The Beth’s “No Joy” feel as in your face as I would’ve hoped for, and the synths on Magdalena Bay’s “Image” still sound as mysterious and other-worldly as they did on my first listen through that album last year. But I’m certainly not noticing every little breath, every minor musical decision in only the way high-end headphones can usually introduce, nor did I ever feel like I was hearing these songs in a completely fresh state. Like I said, good, but not great.
The same goes for active noise cancellation, a feature that’s quickly transformed from a premium feature limited to the most expensive pairs of earbuds to something you’ll find on practically any $100+ set. Google’s ANC here is best at blocking out anything close to white noise. Air conditioners, fans, air filters — they’re all basically blocked out by these buds. In a similar vein, vacuum cleaners are heavily reduced, though still ultimately prove a little too noisy to completely get blocked by the Buds 2. If you’re spending your Saturday cleaning while binging through podcasts, though, you’ll still be able to hear your episodes without blasting your audio.
But simultaneously, more organic noises prove a much larger challenge. The sound of a TV playing at a normal volume, for example, was muffled but not fully blocked, which could prove challenging with talk-focused media like podcasts or YouTube videos. The same goes for the sound of my keyboard as I write this review; that tactile clicking sound is muffled, but still finds a way to bleed through any streaming music. It’s decent for the price and I’m happy to see it here, but don’t buy these earbuds for ANC.
Passthrough audio, unfortunately, doesn’t fall into the “good, not great” category, because, well, it’s just not very good at all. Google’s transparency mode has a difficult time adjusting sounds to their correct volume; multiple times, I found it difficult to hold a full conversation with my fiancée because a nearby tower fan completely drowned out her voice. It’s fine in a pinch, but if you’re holding a conversation for more than a couple of minutes at a time, you’ll probably want to throw them in the case until you’re finished speaking.
For phone calls, the mic is totally usable. Speaking to an iPhone-owning friend over a call using my Pixel 10, I was told that it doesn’t sound as good as when I call using the phone itself, but he also wouldn’t think the call quality was bad if he wasn’t listening for a test. While the air conditioner running in the background was muted by Google’s mics, he could hear me typing on a nearby keyboard.
Google might’ve taken four years off from the midrange earbuds market, but that doesn’t mean the rest of its competition has stayed still. From Nothing’s stylish lineup to the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 that are frequently discounted well within this $130 price point, you can find plenty of good options from Google’s Android partners that outperform the Pixel Buds 2a in one or more ways.
And yet, much like the Pixel 10, I think Google’s product here is more than the sum of its parts.
I like the Buds 2a significantly more than their predecessors, and none of its shortcomings are enough to push prospective buyers in any other specific direction. Google’s made some really good jack-of-all-trades earbuds here, and frankly, my biggest piece of advice would simply be to wait for a sale. These are a decent-enough buy at $130, but at $99 or less, their place in the market suddenly makes a lot more sense.
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