ZDNET Highlights
- The Google Pixel Buds 2a are available in Hazel and Iris for $129.
- They offer a range of software features across a wide list of Android phones, which is one of their biggest strengths.
- They do a lot of things, but none of them particularly well, which is common for midrange earbuds.
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There’s nothing better than having a pocketable pair of buds that you can easily slip into your ears, take phone calls, summon your digital assistant to make a grocery list or add an event to your calendar, or simply listen to music and block out the busy environment around you.
Although my AirPods are my everyday earbuds, I get absolutely frustrated whenever an Android user buys a pair of AirPods – I’d be an angel losing its wings, if you will. Why should the Buds pay $250 to lose access to a long list of their most useful software features?
Plus: These Google earbuds offer a great listening experience for Android users — even on non-Pixel phones
But Google’s Pixel Buds 2a raise another question: Do you need to buy the premium Pixel Buds Pro 2 when the Buds 2a are cheaper and promise some of the best features of the premium model? How many Pixel Buds features are worth the extra $100? To find out, I wore the Buds 2A for a week.
Starting with audio, the Buds 2A sound good. I don’t have anything good or bad to say about their sound profile. There’s noticeable bass that sometimes gets muddy, introducing vocals and becoming very isolated, but even with spatial audio enabled, they have a much narrower soundstage than the Pixel Buds Pro 2. I like to make the treble brighter, and luckily, Google offers a five-band equalizer that helped my cause.
I wouldn’t pick up the Buds 2A for a deep listening session, but they work for passive listening when I’m at the gym or walking to the grocery store. Google has equipped the Buds 2a with the same Tensor AI chip that powers the earbuds’ noise-canceling capabilities. However, Google says the Buds Pro 2 have Silent Seal 2.0 right out of the gate, while the Buds 2A have Silent Seal 1.5.
Also: Your Google Pixel Buds just got 4 free audio upgrades — including a big upgrade for gestures
It’s difficult to measure the perceived half-step improvement in noise cancellation offered by the Buds Pro 2 compared to the Buds 2A, although their lesser performance in noisy environments is noticeable. Apart from the audible noise level, the Buds 2A do a good job at reducing outside noise when active noise cancellation (ANC) is enabled.
In the gym, the overhead music and clanking weights were a formidable rival to the Buds 2A’s ANC. However, if you don’t want to use powerful ANC, whether to avoid the feeling of stuffiness in your ears or to remain semi-aware of your surroundings, the Buds 2A are a solid option. You can rely on them to substantially reduce the noise in your surroundings without creating an ANC bubble around you.
Still, the fit of the Pixel Buds 2a is their biggest strength, and the primary reason why the noise cancellation works as well as it does. Because of the wingtips of the earbuds, they fit well in my ears. They’ve been my go-to ear during bouts on the treadmill, sets of sit-ups, and at-home yoga sessions with minimal adjustments.
The Buds 2a sport an IP54 rating, which keeps them safe from dust and water splashes. So, if you keep the earbuds in your pocket, they should be protected from lint. If you wear these in the gym or in light rain, it will be fine for you. However, the charging case has an IPX4 rating, which means it wasn’t formally tested for dust ingress, so you’ll want to keep its charging port free of dust.
The Buds 2A support Gemini integration, provided your smartphone natively supports it or can download the Gemini app. This feature on the Buds 2A, like any other earbuds with digital assistant compatibility, is less impressive on the buds’ end, since your smartphone does most of the heavy lifting.
Also: I’ve been a longtime Pixel fan — but I’m skipping the latest model, and here’s why
Still, one thing I appreciate a lot about the Pixel Buds line is that they’re extensively compatible not just with Pixel smartphones and tablets, but with Android devices as well. Older Android phones running software like Android 6 can access the Pixel Buds’ in-ear Google Translate compatibility and Google Assistant features, allowing hands-free tasks like making phone calls, sending texts, setting reminders, or checking the weather.
Android devices running Android 10 or later can replace Google Assistant with Gemini to accomplish more complex tasks, such as summarizing emails from Gmail or creating a music playlist. All you need to do is download the Gemini app. For reference, the latest version of Android is 16.
To put this ability into perspective, Samsung and Apple’s earbud translation features are not only limited to Galaxy and iOS devices, respectively, but also require devices to support the latest software. With the recent AI-powered upgrade to Google Translate, a large number of Android devices can now maximize the capabilities of the earbuds.
ZDNET’s shopping advice
Google Pixel Buds 2A A solid midrange option for those who own multiple Android devices and want a pair of earbuds that can meet their daily audio needs without breaking the bank. If you can’t justify the price of Google’s premium earbuds, the Buds 2A are a great second choice.
In the audio department, the Buds 2A don’t do anything particularly spectacular or particularly terrible – their audio, noise cancellation and transparency mode capabilities are absolutely mid-line. The earbuds excel in their software compatibility with a wide range of Android devices, making them ideal for users with older Android devices, as well as those with newer smartphones and older tablets, or those with Pixel phones and Android tablets.
Still, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are $100 more for a reason. They offer advanced features, like conversation detection, low-latency gaming mode, long battery life, wireless charging, beamforming microphones, and more robust hearing protection features.
