The Google Pixel Buds 2a are a good option if you're looking for budget-friendly earbuds that don't compromise on essential features like sound quality and active noise cancellation (ANC).They don't do anything extraordinary or new, but what they do, they do well.Google Pixel Buds 2a 7 Battery Life With ANC on, up to 7 hours Charging Case Included? Yes Microphones Two microphones Brand Google The Pixel Buds 2a are fantastic for the budget-conscious.
They offer active noise cancellation, a battery that lasts all day, and Gemini features for hands-free control.Pros & Cons Good sound quality for the price Solid ANC for the price No wireless charging $129 at Amazon $129 at Best Buy $129 at Google Store Expand Collapse See Our Process How We Test and Review Products at How-To Geek We go hands-on with every product to ensure it's worth your time and money.Posts By Justin Duino Price and availability The Pixel Buds 2a earbuds are available directly from Google, Amazon, BestBuy, Walmart, Target, and plenty of other stores.
They normally sell for $130, but you'll frequently find them discounted to $110.When you open up the box, you'll find the earbuds themselves, the case, and some extra ear tips of varying sizes.They're available in two colors: Hazel (which is dark, almost black), and Iris (a blueish color).
Specifications IP Rating IP54 Battery Life With ANC on, up to 7 hours Charging Case Included? Yes Microphones Two microphones Brand Google Bluetooth Version 5.4 Colors Hazel, Iris Charging Port USB-C Earbud weight 4.7g Expand Collapse A fit for any ear The case for the Pixel Buds 2as are very reminiscent of the rest of the Pixel Bud lineup.The case is a smooth, matte, white material that isn't particularly prone to slipping out of your hands.It is slightly lighter than most other entries in the lineup, and it feels a bit more springy when you squeeze it.
The back features the usual button you use to put the earbuds into pairing mode.The earbuds themselves have a slightly different design philosophy from most earbuds I've tried in the past.Unlike most others, the earbuds can be put in your ears on pretty much any orientation, and they're still comfortable.
In practice, that lets you twist them until you find a position that is ideal for the shape of your ear.There is a small silicone ridge along one side of each earbud that can make contact with some parts of your ear.I took them for a short jog and many long walks, and I never had a problem with them coming out.
The one small downside to the relatively symmetric design of the earbuds is that if I mix them up, I can't instantly tell which earbud goes in the corresponding spot in the case—I have to look.It isn't a huge issue, but it is something I caught myself doing on multiple occasions.A nice case with one slight problem On the whole, I like the case, but it has one annoying problem: it tends to "explode" open.
When dropped on any kind of hard surface, the case will aggressively pop open and the earbuds themselves will go flying.Of course, no earbud case will perfectly retain the earbuds every time you drop them, but the Pixel Bud 2as are definitely worse when compared to my Jabra Elite Active 65Ts, the original Pixel Bud Pro, and the Nothing Ear (3)s.Surprisingly good sound and reliable ANC Many earbuds tend to be on the bass-heavy side, but much to my surprise, the Pixel Bud 2a are relatively balanced.
After listening to my usual playlist for several hours, I get the impression that the earbuds do favor bass and highs, with a slightly subdued midrange.However, I didn't find myself reaching for an equalizer to tune out excessive bass, which is something I find myself doing on many other earbuds.Beyond their response curve, I thought the Buds 2as sounded decent.
Critically, they're pretty clear.Nothing I listened to sounded muddy or distorted, even at high volumes.I expected them to be noticeably worse than their more expensive siblings, the Pixel Buds Pro 2s, but they didn't.
The ANC on the Pixel Buds 2a is really the area where it is easy to spot a difference between the 2as, the Pixel Buds Pros, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2.Both the Pro and the Pro 2 have better ANC, especially in environments that have a lot of dynamic noise.The Pro 2s easily blocked out the sound of a slamming door, but the 2as seemed to struggle with that loud, abrupt sound.
However, for regular use, like drowning out the background noise on a flight or the din at a coffee shop, the 2as are perfectly adequate.Reasonable battery life I found that I was able to get a bit more than six hours out of the earbuds before I had to charge them, which is pretty standard for earbuds in this price and size range.I was able to recharge the earbuds completely three times, plus one partial charge, before the case itself needed to be recharged.
That matches with Google's claim that you get about 20 hours of listening out of the case itself.The case recharges via a USB-C port on the bottom, like every other Pixel Buds case.Because this is Google's budget line, there is no wireless charging.
With both the earbuds and the case completely drained, I found they took about two hours to completely recharge when using a standard Pixel charger.Good microphone quality, especially with Pixel Phones The "out of the box" quality of the earbuds is pretty good.In test recordings, my voice was pretty clear.
Their noise cancellation in general was pretty good in loud environments, though recordings are slightly muddier sounding.However, these really shine when paired with a Pixel phone, since Pixels do some AI magic to improve the audio quality during phone calls.Should you buy the Google Pixel Buds 2a? The Google Pixel Buds 2a are priced at $130, which instantly ensures they have a ton of competition.
There are earbuds from Samsung, Sony, Bose, Jabra, Nothing, and pretty much every other manufacturer that either retail around that price point or are frequently discounted into the ballpark.How-To Geek Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters Unlock your tech-savvy potential and master the digital world with How-To Geek.Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You can unsubscribe anytime.If you're able to shop around, you're willing to wait for a deal, then you can do better than the Pixel Bud 2as for around the same $130 price tag.However, the Pixel Bud 2as are solid little earbuds—their sound is nice, I didn't run into issues with the battery life, and the noise-canceling works pretty well.
Besides the problem with the case ejecting the earbuds, I actually have no complaints about them at all.If you're buying from Google directly and have store credit, or if you can get them on sale (about $110), they're a completely reasonable option, especially if you're partial to a more balanced sound profile.They're not the best sounding earbuds in the world, and they're certainly less detailed than many headphones out there, but they're competitive at a discount.
Google Pixel Buds 2a 7 Battery Life With ANC on, up to 7 hours Charging Case Included? Yes Microphones Two microphones Brand Google The Pixel Buds 2a are fantastic for the budget-conscious.They offer active noise cancellation, a battery that lasts all day, and Gemini features for hands-free control.$129 at Amazon $129 at Best Buy $129 at Google Store Expand Collapse
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