Google is known for their software like the Android platform and also as an advertising company. But they have been making hardwares like smartphones, lap­tops and smart speakers for quite a long time. Couple of years ago Google started making earbuds and entered the market with the original Pixel Buds. After the first generation pixel buds google released some other more advanced buds that fall under TWS category. Pixel Buds A-series is the latest and most affordable earbuds that they've released yet. Their more premium version is the Pixel Buds Pro, which is coming soon. Pixel Buds A-series is just overall a perfect all-rounder that offers great value for your money. In this article I am about to tell you how enjoy­able and comfortable they are, like look wise and sound wise when you wear them.




Inside the Box
The A-series pixel buds come with standard packaging from google, which is boxy and clean that I really like. In the box you will get the buds inside their charging case. Most companies include really short type-c charging cable with earbuds but google is doing it right by including a long enough type-c to type-a charging cable. You will also get some small and big sized eartips inside the box to get a better fit for your ears. Mid sized eartips are already preinstalled on the pixel buds. There is a user guide included in the box, in case you need help. So that’s all you get with the pixel buds a-series and probably that’s all you will ever need.


Design and Build
The design of the pixel buds A-series is just simply outstanding compared to any other similar category earbuds I’ve seen. They just look so unique and distinct on their own. These earbuds have a really nice shape that goes into the ears, which looks and feels really comfortable. The buds have small fins built-in to them that do a really good job of keeping them in place. It has a Google logo on the outside, which looks simple, clean and gorgeous in my opinion.

The build is amazing for the price they sit on. These don’t look cheap which is a good thing, though. They don’t feel as premium as the original more premium expensive pixel buds but they got quality characters to them. The fins are really soft on the pixel buds A-series compared to original pixel buds, which as a result provide much better comfort than the originals. These have silicone eartips on them that create good passive noise isolation. Overall, the design and build is phenomenal and I really love the look.


Fit and Comfort
As the earbuds have a really small form factor, they feel really light and comfortable, which is what everybody wants. The nice contour of the buds that goes into your ear canal seems like they were designed to sit there comfortably. You can wear them for a long period of time without getting tired or feeling uncomfortable. They are really good for running and workouts. The fins help to keep them in place, and the eartips also provide a good seal from outside noise. So excellent fit and comfort that you're going to get with these earbuds. You may need to change the eartips for a better fit because everyone's ears have different geometry.


Controls and MICs
Pixel Buds A-series do support touch controls. You cannot go crazy with the touch controls here but it is much better to have some sort of flexibility rather than not having anything at all. When you first connect them with an android phone, you should get the fast pairing process pop up, which is built-in to Android OS. Then the process will drive you through the touch control simu­lation setup, which is really simple and nice in an interactive way.

So as for the controls, pixel buds A-series have play/pause on single tap, skip to next track on double tap, skip to previous track on triple tap and voice assistant on touch and hold. So these are all the touch controls that you got and they are pretty useful as they work just fine. These have 2 mics on each earbud and they do a pretty decent job at their work. They sound pretty natural but sometimes muddy and less detailed. The clarity and resolution is not like a premium earbud but it’s quite okay for the price.


Sound Quality
These earbuds offer a very well balanced sound signature which is really a big deal and kinda hard to get in the budget range. The sound has enough details in the bass, mids and highs but it will not give you silky smooth sparkly rich details in the highs. The mids are balanced with the low-end and high-end frequencies. These earbuds don't particularly miss out or lack in any part of the whole frequency range.

To me the range is from 30 hz to 16 khz which is decent enough before it starts to roll-off. The bass extension is low enough for a budget earbud and you can definitely feel the sub-bass in your eardrums. The bass is really very neutral that you may think it is lacking some punch and you are right. If you want a close to original or natural sounding earbuds then this one's for you but bass suckers will not be satisfied with the mid-bass punch. I use custom eq to boost 60 hz slightly for a little bit more punchy bass.

The sound is open and airy with decent soundstage but it's not that prominent like a more richer sound. It lacks a little bit of sparkle and shimmer to the sound. Little bit of boost in the upper treble and brilliance region can fix some of these lackings. Overall the sound has a really nice balanced character as a budget device. It will sound a little bit harsh and hard-edged at higher volumes but I think you do not need that much volume.


Features and Battery
The A-series earbuds don’t really offer any crazy feature like some other budget earbuds. But they got their own market, user base and unique design to live for. They just got some touch control features, support for mics, ipx4 rating, android fast pair and a good balanced tuning. The bluetooth version is 5.0 with AAC and SBC codecs. They lack wireless charging, support for high-end codec, single bud playback and so on. You should get 5 hours of music playback and 2.5 hours of talking time, which is what google claims. You are not going to get really that close to the limit but in most cases you’ll hover between 80 to 90 percent of their actual claim. Good thing is that they support fast charging feature.


Conclusion
The sound signature is well balanced and natural with a good amount of details. You don’t get nicely balanced tuning with budget earbuds these days. Cheap earbuds sound boomy, too bass heavy, muddy and narrow most of the time. But you can actually judge a sound or recording and you can also tell which instruments are coming from where with these earbuds. This is very rare to find under budget price. Not just the sound, battery backup is also good and you get useful features with premium build quality. Pixel Buds are in a league of their own backed up by google. The price seems just a little bit high for average customers.

I hope you've got enough information from this article to decide if you want to buy the Google Pixel Buds A-series or not. I highly recommend these earbuds, and absolutely love their build quality and low profile com­fortable gorgeous design. They will definitely surprise you with its flat and neutral sound signature. Check the official webpage to explore more.

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