Google Pixel Buds 2a review: premium sound and ANC for less
For less than $150, Google has a pair of earbuds that are (almost) as good as the best
š Review score: 4/5
ā
Pros
š Great design thatās super comfortable
š ANC is impressive for the price
š¤ Gemini integration for easy voice commands
š§ Good sound quality thatās suitable for average listeners
š Solid battery life
š¦ IP54 certification for sweat resistance
ā Cons
š¤ Narrow soundstage and muffled highs
ā”ļø No wireless charging
šļø Underwhelming microphone quality
š Not ideal for anyone outside of Android users
The Shortcut review
I review a lot of earbuds, and I was excited to try the Pixel Buds 2a when Google announced them alongside the Pixel 10 series this summer. For less than $150, the buds offer almost as many perks as the flagship Pixel Buds Pro 2, which remains one of the best wireless earbuds you can get. Once I received my sample, I paired it with my Pixel 10 Pro XL and fired up Spotify, and Iām very impressed.
Between the sound quality, battery life, and ANC (a first for Googleās Pixel Buds A-series), the Pixel Buds 2a offer a great value for Android users. You also get smart features thanks to integration with Gemini AI, compatibility with Googleās Find Hub, multi-device connectivity, and auto-switching between other Android devices you have.
Like a lot of earbuds, though, these arenāt for everyone. Thereās no wireless charging here, and the soundstage is a bit too focused for those who listen to a lot of acoustic music. The buds are also heavily tied into the Android ecosystem, which means if your primary phone runs iOS or if you only have a single Android device, you wonāt get the full experience Google provides.
Still, the Pixel Buds 2a are an easy recommendation for Android users on a budget, and a no-brainer for Pixel fans.
Full review
š Familiar design with a comfy twist. The Pixel Buds 2a look a lot like the regular Pixel Buds Pro 2, except a bit smaller. They fit in your ears with a slot-and-twist: slide them in and twist downwards to lock them in place. The buds feel like nothing to wear all day, thanks to the stemless design and lightweight. I prefer wearing them over my beloved AirPods Pro 3 because of this.
š Easy touch controls. The buds feature very simple touch controls: touch once to play/pause music, long-press to shuffle between ANC and transparency. There arenāt any swipes or other gestures you need to memorize - just taps. Thatās nice for a change, although I do miss swiping up and down for volume like on other earbuds.
š¼ Such a good case. Iāve been a fan of Googleās earbud case design for many years, and that reigns true with the Pixel Buds 2a as well. Between the soft matte finish on the outside and the strong magnetic lid, thereās something satisfying about the case that you donāt get in other earbuds. Plus, itās nice and compact; I just finished reviewing the comparatively massive Bose QC Ultra (2nd Gen), and the size difference is a welcome change with the Buds 2a.
š¦ Decent water resistance. The Pixel Buds 2a earned an IP54 certification in water and dust resistance tests, which means theyāll be safe from light rain and sweat. While not as rugged as other earbuds weāve tested, this is plenty of durability for average users. I wore mine to the gym, worked up a good sweat, and the buds survived just fine.
š§ Good sound all around. How do the Pixel Buds 2a sound? Quite good, actually. Google includes new 11mm drivers that are paired with the Tensor A1 chip, the same found in the Pixel Buds Pro 2. This allows the earbuds to produce a clear, focused sound quality thatās punchy and well-defined. I listened to a variety of musical stylings, between Tyler Childers, Tame Impala, and Kendrick Lamar, and it all sounded great. The blaring organ in Childerās āEatinā Big Timeā didnāt get too murky or lost in the rest of the instrumental, while Impalaās new song āDraculaā kept the same high-energy grooves I heard with other earbuds Iāve tested.
šļø Almost pro-level audio. While audio quality is solid, itās not quite up to par with the best. The sound stage will be too narrow for some listeners. Broader orchestrations and acoustic tracks tend to sound underwhelming when played on the Pixel Buds 2a. The highs are also slightly muffled, which detracts from the sound qualityās aesthetic. As a result, these $130 earbuds wind up sounding appropriate for the price, not necessarily better. Itās not a bad thing, but you wonāt find them punching above their weight class any time soon.
š Premium ANC. If thereās an area of the Pixel Buds 2a listening experience thatās as good as top-tier earbuds, itās the noise cancellation. Google finally brought ANC to its cheaper earbuds, and the results are fantastic. Thanks to the Tensor A1, the right amount of processing power is on board to cancel out external noise and mitigate distractions. I took the subway while using the earbuds, and I could barely hear the train racing over the tracks. The overhead music and chatter of others around me at a local coffee shop was no match for the Buds 2a, either; I couldnāt hear a thing. It reminds me a lot of the ANC on the AirPods Pro 2 and Pixel Buds Pro 2: while not the best in the industry, itās a very close second.
š Good transparency. I like the transparency mode on the Pixel Buds 2a. It doesnāt sound as life-like as Iād like, but it still manages to keep my surroundings clear enough to hear when I need to. I had a few conversations with the mode enabled as well, and I could easily hear the other person speaking to me.
šļø The mics are okay. The dual microphones on the Pixel Buds 2a are enough for ANC and transparency to deliver good performance, but only mediocre quality when it comes to phone calls. I placed a few test calls to see how they faired, and the people on the other end noted that while they could hear me, my voice sounded quite damp.
š¤ Gemini AI smarts. Like many Google products, the Pixel Buds 2a integrate AI into their experience with Gemini. You can talk to it like you would the Google Assistant from back in the day, use it for turn-by-turn directions, have your notifications read to you, and more. There are also plenty of other smart features onboard, like integration with Googleās new Find Hub for tracking your devices and locating them with ease. Fast Pair is also here, as well as multipoint for pairing two Bluetooth devices at once. Featurewise, the Buds 2a do a good job of keeping up with what top-tier earbuds would give you for a fraction of the cost.
š 6-7 hours of battery life. Google says that the Pixel Buds 2a will last seven hours on a full charge while using ANC. Thatās basically what I got in my testing, although endurance would typically range between 6-7 hours. This is still very good battery life - you can easily make it through a full flight on one charge, for example. The case adds 13 hours for 20 total hours of battery life. Iāve seen earbuds that supply a lot more charge in their cases, but 20 hours should suffice for most users.
ā No wireless charging. The USB-C port on the bottom of these earbuds case is the only way to juice them back up. Google didnāt include wireless charging here, which is a shame for any pair of earbuds that omits it. Itās an inconvenience to not be able to set the buds down on my wireless charger to give them a boost overnight; instead, I have to shuffle around my apartment to find a USB-C cable. Perhaps weāll get it with the Pixel Buds 3a in a few years (or whenever Google decides to release them).
š¤· Other missing features arenāt as significant. Besides wireless charging, there are some features on the Pixel Buds Pro 2 that are missing from the 2a, yet youād barely notice. Things like a voice accelerometer that detects when youāre talking and adjusts the volume of your music and ANC level - thatās not here, but I never minded just switching to transparency to have a conversation. You also donāt get head-tracked spatial audio or a ringtone speaker in the case to locate your earbuds. Maybe one of these missing additions is a deal-breaker for you, but Iād bet that you can live without most of them, especially for the price.
š iPhone owners - you can skip these. Like every pair of Pixel Buds that came before it, the Pixel Buds 2a are designed to work best with Android devices. Between Fast Pair, Gemini integration, and the settings panel that only pops up for Android users, itās best to avoid these headphones if you own an iPhone.
Should you buy the Pixel Buds 2a?
Yes, ifā¦
ā You want to spend less than $150
ā You want good sound quality
ā You need active noise cancellation
ā You want easy access to a voice assistant
ā You need good battery life
No, ifā¦
ā You own an iPhone (get the AirPods 4)
ā You want wireless charging (get the Pixel Buds Pro 2)
ā You want the best sound quality (get the Bose QC Ultra 2nd Gen)
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. Heās been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.