Google Pixel Buds A-Series review – Budget Wireless Earphones Worth Waiting For

We reviewed Google Pixel Buds (2020) just under a year ago and appreciated the package’s form factor, look and all-round function. While we did miss active noise cancellation, it was offset by a nigh-on perfect seal and innovative acoustic port. Google Pixel Buds A-Series is an attempt to bottle that lightning and sell it for an enticing €99.

Full-Quality, Half-Price

While Pixel Buds A-Series are almost visually identical to their upmarket elder sibling, it works. The package has an undoubtedly attractive aesthetic and that superficial similarity suggests the functional par that Google were aiming for.

The matted white plastic outer with a splash of another colour peeking out while closed is classic Google design indicator and our ‘Dark Olive’ review unit wears this signature look well.

There is no branding on the case at all. Google seem confident you can spot their gear instantly and I think that confidence is warranted.

On opening the device that splash of dark, earthy green expands to fill the inside of the case. The buds, too, are entirely olive.

The buds themselves are home to the only logo or marking on the entire device – a solitary ‘G’ logo gently carved into each bud. Google combined their minimalism with a bold colour, one that’s uncommon on consumer electronics, and created an elegant, identifiable design.

The build quality of Google Pixel Buds A-Series is also worth noting. Like the model they are based on, A-Series is solid, almost dense at 52 grams in total. One can feel how their designer crammed its electronics into such a small device. At 25mm deep, it’s not the thinnest but the shape, an elongated circle, and the volume make it inherently easy to hold and pocket.

Giving It to You Straight (Like a Pear Cider Made from 100% Pears)

Google Pixel Buds (2020) had a flat EQ, offering a user the plainest template on which to base their own groove. Pixel Buds A-Series has an almost identical sound to Buds (2020), giving your music to you straight. Those willing to play with their app or output’s equalisation will find a pleasant versatility to both pairs. Some users may not like to mess around with EQ and might find the default voice a little sterile or cold.

The mid and high-end frequencies are superb on Pixel Buds A-Series. Bright, highly-detailed and extremely clear, instrumentation is excellent for buds. That open port and capable aural delicacy offer a commendable imaging. With Buds (2020) and A-Series, music has room more to breathe than fully sealed buds and more intimacy than open-fit devices.

The low-end isn’t as punchy or rounded as some of Pixel Buds A-Series’ competitors. Even with a little EQ adjustment, it just doesn’t have the thump or the rumble to deliver either. That said, the bass is still present and has the higher frequencies’ expansiveness and accuracy.

For €99, Pixel Buds A-Series’ sound is top-notch though the relatively muted bass by default may trick the lazy or uninformed into believing otherwise.

The Pixel Buds Experience

The buds run almost flush to the ears when in place. The small but easily located touch area sits just far enough out of the ear to allow users to easily use Google Pixel Buds A-Series’ touch controls.

Those touch controls are symmetric but like Huawei FreeBuds 4‘s default setup, there are enough gestures to fill out the lineup almost as well as an asymmetric setup.

Play/Pause, skip/rewind, Google Assistant/notifications reader and call controls are here via taps or holds. Swiping forward or backward will change volume.

Downloading Pixel Buds App will offer some extra functionality to user. Adaptive volume and bass boost are two neat features that will please many. Touch gestures can also be remapped. A full tutorial suite is available for those who want to exploit Pixel Buds A-Series’ handsome list of features.

The tutorials for the aforementioned notification reader and the real-time translation service will be useful for those not well-versed in some of today’s smarter tech.

There is one function that doesn’t seem to have made it through the €100 price-cut and that is Sharing Detection. Pixel Buds (2020) allowed each ear to have its own volume function offering a little extra to those lucky enough to share their music in the last year.

Sharing Detection isn’t a huge feature but it would have been nice in a pair of buds at a price-point vastly more accessible to the types of user who would share most often; teens and young adults.

Stamina and Recharge

The stamina par for more expensive (but not ‘pro’) wireless earphones is around that ‘one-day’ mark. Google Pixel Buds A-Series’ 24-hour total battery life is certainly competitive at its sub-€100 price. The buds themselves will do a five-hour shift on their own. Again, five hours is acceptable with premium buds so it’s very welcome here.

It takes around one hour resting in the case to fill the buds from 0 to 100% with a 60% charge, or three hours playback, coming in around 15 minutes. The case itself takes around one hour to fill. Once more, these numbers wouldn’t be out of place on a premium line so they warrant some praise at under a hundred quid.

Specifications

There are few Wireless Earphones that can match the all-round competence of Google Pixel Buds A-Series at €99. The plan of knocking a few bob off a premium product while trying to preserve its essence has rarely been implemented as well as here on A-Series. A device that manages to be almost identical to a well-received €199 set from under 12 months ago.

Google Pixel Buds A-Series are available from today, 17th June 2021

Review unit provided by PR