Google Pixel Buds A-Series Review

The A-Series of Google’s Pixel Buds offer a similarly robust and reasonably priced experience to the Pixel A line of smartphones. Pixel Buds are well-known among listeners for their intuitive design and effortless operation. The A-Series Pixel Buds were designed to show that high-quality, premium earphones don’t have to cost a fortune. It’s easy to overlook the importance of sound quality when considering the high-tech technology and software that powers these headphones. Do Google’s cutting-edge headphones succeed where others have failed? Check out our review of the Google Pixel Buds A-Series to learn more.

Like other Google products, Pixel Buds A-Series are flat and have a little snail-like form to complement the company’s software and technology. The A-Series are differentiated from other Pixel Buds by their protruding wing tips. Touch panels simplify media playback without the need for a mobile device.

Google Pixel Buds A-Series Specs

Pros:

1. To improve bass response,
2. Google’s hands-free companion
3. Less expensive as the Pixel Buds 2

Cons:

1. There is no silence mode
2. Weak and eventually exhausting audio quality

Price

Now available for purchase, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series are significantly less expensive than the Pixel Buds 2, which retailed at $179/£179/AU$279, at $99/£99.99 (about AU$130). Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are inexpensive compared to another major brand, true wireless earbuds.

While you can find some great non-name brands that are on par with or even outperform the Pixel Buds A-Series, you won’t find many true wireless earbuds from Apple, Beats, or Bose at this price. We propose the Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) or the Sony WF-SP800N as superior alternatives that can be bought for about the same price as the Google Pixel Buds A-Series.

Design

When comparing the Google Pixel Buds Series-A to their predecessors, a first glance at the earbuds’ design will reveal little change; they are, after all, still entirely wireless and sport a futuristic style. The casing is sleek and egg-shaped, making it convenient to carry in your hand or carry in your pocket. Meanwhile, the buds are minuscule and stay there thanks to a tiny nub inside the outer ear.

Whether or not the bud’s tinny tip bothers your ears is a personal preference, but we noticed that the new stabilizer fin helped the Pixel Buds 3 we tested last year stay securely in our ears. However, wearing them for long periods can still be a pain. Earbuds require slight strain or shove on the outer ear for optimal retention.

Performance

We didn’t anticipate a huge improvement, as earbud designs haven’t evolved much. Our assumptions were incorrect. The Google Pixel Buds Series-A are an improvement over the Google Pixel Buds 2 in terms of sound quality, thanks to their enhanced bass response.

The bass will be especially noticeable if you listen to electronic dance music (EDM), rap, or hip-hop. While the Google Pixel Buds Series-A doesn’t exactly bring out the best in Deadmau5’s bass-heavy EDM classic Ghosts N Stuff, the low end is noticeably improved over the previous iteration.

If you go to rock and pop, you’ll hear more of the same; for example, Stevie Nicks’s voice and the instrumentation in Dreams by Fleetwood Mac sound nice in the midrange, but the highs are muddy. The soundstage is bigger than I would have guessed, allowing them to present many of your favorite tunes better.

Noise Cancellation

The Pixel Buds app has a feature called Adaptive Sound, which uses auditory masking to counteract the effect of background noise when you’re out and about. All of us are guilty of doing this when riding a crowded subway: cranking up the volume. These headphones automatically adjust the volume, turning it up when the surrounding noise level rises and down when it falls. That’s also why the earbuds have no manual volume controls. Some headphones alleviate this issue by actively canceling out ambient noise, while others use a combination of isolation and ANC.

Adaptive Sound, on the other hand, competes with ambient noise by becoming louder. I am conflicted about how I feel about its implementation.  Adaptive Sound is useful for telephonic conversations. It’s smart for an algorithm to increase the level in response to outside noise, like a passing vehicle, because most of us aren’t in quiet places when we make phone conversations.

Conclusion

If you’re just looking for decent headphones, the Google Pixel Buds A-Series are an excellent choice. These stand out from the rest because of the app’s myriad customization options and the headphones’ silky Android performance. In addition, the Pixel Buds A-Series hardware mimics that of the Pro, giving them a higher-end appearance and feel than their nominal cost would imply. The A-Series are the most minimalist headphones for Android you can get for $99. Earbuds with a higher quality sound and more noise isolation are available, nevertheless. Even I was dissatisfied with the mic’s performance. Due to the absence of software support, we cannot suggest these headphones for use with the iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 ($99.99 on Amazon) are comparable to the Google Pixel Buds A-Series but are more highly regarded. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 have noise cancellation and may be purchased for approximately $100. When paired with a Galaxy phone, the Buds 2 unlock certain additional functionalities. Regardless, these are still excellent Android earbuds to use with any phone, as they come with a built-in ear tip fit test and equalization profiles.