15 Days with the Pixel Buds 2 (Review)
As an owner of the first generation of Pixel Buds, I was excited to get my hands on these. The Google Pixel Buds 2 (still just known as the Pixel Buds on Google’s website) is Google’s second shot at making wireless earbuds. So, are they any good this time around? After using them for 15 days, here are my thoughts!
What’s in the box?
Out of the box, you get:
- Pixel buds inside the case.
- USB-A to USC-C cord, but no charging brick.
- 2 pairs of silicone tips (1 large and 1 small).
- Some info on pairing and controls.
Build Quality
The Pixel Buds 2 case feels great with its soft-matte surface. It’s a welcome change compared to the first pixel buds, which had a felt-like surface that would get dirty after having it for a few months. The lid also has that solid snap sound that’s oh-so-satisfying whenever you open and close the case. The buds also easily snap into place since they’re connected to the case through magnets.
What’s also great about this case is that it’s small! Too many times I dealt with larger cases that would be difficult to fit into your pocket at times. I own a pair of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless earbuds, and they’re not the most pocket-friendly case. Having a smaller case like the one for the Pixel Buds 2 is great since it doesn’t add much bulk to my pockets, which already have my phone, wallet, and keys in them.
Connection
I have a Pixel 3, so getting set up with these buds is easy. Just open the case and a notification pops up on my phone to pair them. After pairing, my phone proceeds to take me through a tutorial of the Pixel Bud’s features and controls. Of course, if you don’t want to go through this, you can always skip it. While using it with my Pixel, I barely experienced any stutter or dropped connection. Overall, I think it’s pretty solid.
I tried connecting multiple devices with the pixel buds simultaneously (Pixel 3, 2018 iPad Pro, 2016 MacBook Pro), but it seems like that isn’t possible. To me, that’s one of the more underrated features of Bluetooth earbuds. It’s super convenient to be connected to both my phone and laptop so that I can take calls on my phone and watch youtube videos/video call on my laptop. All without having to go into each device’s Bluetooth settings and manually connect. Still, even connecting manually is pretty easy compared to the Sennheiser MTW, which you would have to hold both earbuds for 5 seconds and then manually pair 🤦♂.
How about audio/video delay? I’m happy to say that there’s a very minimal lag when watching videos on the Pixel 3 and Macbook Pro 2016. Although I have read that you would notice a lag when playing games. I’m not much of a mobile gamer, so that doesn’t bother me. I did, however, experience audio delay when connected to my LG TV or PC. When it comes to the TV, I experienced some stuttering as well. If you ever want to connect these buds to your TV during those nights you don’t want to wake anyone up, then you might be out of luck here.
Even with some of these faults, I still think pixel buds are overall great in terms of connectivity.
Sound/Call quality
These sound pretty good. They’re slightly lacking in bass, but if I’m listening to music through truly wireless earbuds and my main source of audio is Spotify, the ceiling can only go so high. Most people will be content with them. The Pixel Buds also feature 2 mics on each bud. Overall the mic quality is decent. It’s not the clearest, but people will still be able to hear you perfectly fine. There was only one time that people mentioned to fix my mic on a Zoom call, and I found that I put the earbud a little too far in and that my ear was covering the mic.
You won’t find any Active Noise Cancellation or transparency modes like in the Airpods Pro, but the Pixel Buds do feature “adaptive sound,” which is when the buds will adjust the volume based on the amount of noise that’s present around you. It’s been useful for when I start doing the dishes while listening to podcasts. I can see it also being useful for when I’m waiting for the subway and the deafening screeches overwhelm whatever I’m trying to listen to. Hard to test in quarantine though (I’m in Brooklyn).
Fit/Comfort
These buds fit well in my ears. They have winged tips on the back so that they lock into your ears, and they don’t come off even when I’m taking off a sweater. They also have sweat and water resistance, so this with the fit makes these buds good for workouts too.
After having them on for about 3 hours, I noticed that they start to feel uncomfortable. This might also be related to my ears pointing more outwards than most people. I added Comply tips to them, which make them better, but then the buds didn’t snap into the case easily. So, I just stuck with the default silicone tips.
Battery Life
The buds last about 5 hours out of the case. While 5 hours is a little low compared to some of the competition, I don’t tend to keep my buds on for more than 3 or 4 hours, so I’m not bothered. I also noticed that when using the buds, one bud drains faster than the other, but the buds will know when to switch off some of the more intense work to the bud with more battery, which was what I observed. I did try draining the buds down to 0 and then I put them into the case to see how much they would charge. After 10 minutes in the case, they buds charged to almost 50% (about 2 hrs of listening). The case, itself, also holds enough juice to give you about 24 hours of use in total, so that paired with the fast charging speed makes the 5 hr battery life not as inconvenient as it initially sounds.
The case is wirelessly chargeable. Nice! I put them on my Pixel Stand, but I had to place them upside down for it to work. If you have a regular wireless charging pad that doesn’t stand up like mine, then you don’t need to worry about this.
Also good news, it has a USB-C port! I find this to be a dealbreaker for some earbuds these days since everything is moving to USB-C. Ideally, I would only need one type of cable to charge all my devices. The Pixel Buds make me one step closer to that reality!
Controls
The controls are pretty easy to learn. You can use the controls for either earbud, which is nice if you only have one hand free at the time.
- Touch and hold to talk to Google Assistant
- Touch and hold briefly for the assistant to read your notifications
- Tap to play/pause
- Double tap for next track
- Triple tap for previous track
- Swipe forward for volume up
- Swipe backward for volume down
I found that I tended to miss tapping the earbuds at first because they’re so small, but after a few days, that wasn’t a problem anymore. You’ll get a better sense of where exactly you’ll need to tap.
Noteworthy features
Google Assistant
One thing I missed from the first Pixel Buds was the Google Assistant integration. I liked how the assistant could read my notifications without me needing to check my phone. (FYI, This is only available on Google Pixel phones)
Find Device
Another useful feature was “Find Device.” I could make each earbud ring a tune if I ever misplace them.
Translate
I’ve had a mixed experience using this feature. Just say the words, “Hey Google, help me speak _____.” The first time I did this, I was taken into “Interpreter mode.” (Right picture) I don’t think this was the advertised feature because whenever I spoke into it in English, it would speak Korean back to me through the earbuds. I thought, “How does this help me have a conversation with someone?” I tried saying the phrase again through accessing the assistant by holding the earbud. I was immediately taken to the Google Translate app with the popup telling me to show this page to the other person (left picture). I could speak in English through the earbuds and my phone would be speaking the Korean translation out loud. It’s a cool feature, but I’m not sure how often I would be using this, especially with the world’s current travel situation.
Price
The Pixel Buds 2 costs $179. After including tax it comes out to almost $200. So are they worth it? I’d say yes! Although this price-point is more on the premium side, given all the things that Google got right, these are worth considering, especially if you own a Google Pixel phone. It’s a major step up from the original buds, and I’m happy to say that Google did well with these next-generation buds.
