If there’s one thing an A-series Pixel device is known for, it’s giving you a lot for a little less. That’s to say the “A” signifier connotes value, and that applies to Google’s Pixel phones, but also to Pixel Buds, the company’s line of wireless earbuds. In keeping with that A-series reputation, the Pixel Buds A-series were a good value when they were released in 2021. For $99, they’re fairly feature-rich and leaned into a design that was comfortable and provided enough passive noise cancellation to satisfy lots of people who bought them. There was one thing they didn’t have, though: active noise cancellation, better known as ANC.
That may have been fine for the time, but this is 2025, and while companies might’ve been able to get away with ANC-less wireless earbuds a few years ago, even today’s more budget-friendly picks come with the ability to cancel noise both actively and passively. Clearly, Google knows that, which is why the Pixel Buds 2a add ANC and still manage to keep the price down. That’s a tantalizing deal on paper, but there’s a lot that goes into making a pair of wireless earbuds worth buying in this day and age, which begs the question: are Google’s A-series Pixel Buds still a great value?
Pixel Buds 2a The Pixel Buds 2a are comfy ANC buds with an affordable price tag. 4 Pros ANC is better than expected
Comfy fit
Iris color looks great
Love the "twist-to-adjust stabilizer" Cons Some weird quirks with ANC
Sound is just okay
No personalized EQ
No Pixel Buds app on iOS
More money, more noise canceling
Let’s start from the top. The Pixel Buds 2a are $129, which is a $30 premium over the last generation. That price hike, while not ideal, does come with some notable improvements, including ANC. It’s hard to overstate how important ANC is in a pair of wireless earbuds nowadays. It’s one of those things where, if you’ve never had a pair of ANC buds, you might not get it, but once you have ones that cancel noise, non-ANC buds feel untenable.
The thing about ANC is that not all noise cancellation is created equally. For the Pixel Buds 2a, Google claims that its ANC is actually 1.5 times better than the ANC on the Pixel Buds Pro (first-generation), meaning you’re actually getting more in that department than Google’s Pro-series. Having used both the Pixel Buds Pro and the Pixel Buds 2a, I can confirm; Google is giving you more ANC than you might expect here.
At my office, I was able to tune out plenty of noise to the point where I couldn’t even hear my coworkers chatting. On the subway (my obligatory testing ground for ANC buds), I was also pleasantly surprised at the amount of noise that the Pixel Buds 2a cancel. I can still hear some train noise with the Pixel Buds 2a in, but not what I would describe as a disruptive amount. They’re better in the ANC department than the Nothing Ear 3 that I recently tested and marginally better than the Pixel Buds Pro, as promised. They’re nowhere near the same level of ANC as high-end options like Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), but those wireless earbuds also cost $299, so that comparison is a little unfair.
I did experience multiple moments where it felt like ANC dropped off momentarily, but it’s hard to say why; it was noticeable in louder environments like riding the subway or walking down the street past construction. For reference, the Pixel Buds 2a don’t have adaptive ANC, nor do they have Adaptive Sound, which is a feature in the Pixel Buds Pro 2 that adjusts the volume in loud environments. The issue wasn’t enough to scare me away from the Pixel Buds 2a, but it is something that I noticed in my testing. If there is some kind of issue, it’s something that could most likely be fixed in a software update.
Overall, my impression is that you’re getting a good amount of ANC for the value, and the overall package feels even greater once you start factoring in the fit and feel.
Pixel Buds 2a feel and look great
One area that I’m sure adds to the feeling of better noise canceling than the competition is the fit of the Pixel Buds 2a. Like the past Pixel-branded wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds 2a are stemless, which I love. As nice as some wireless earbuds, like Nothing’s Ear series can look, sometimes the stems have a tendency to feel unwieldy and have a much higher chance of looking wonky once they’re in your ears if they aren’t aligned on each side. The Pixel Buds 2a, on the other hand, fit snugly in your ear and maybe even more so than other generations, both Pro and non-Pro.
This time around, Google includes a “twist-to-adjust stabilizer,” which is a small lip under the bud part. It’s a small design tweak, but the Pixel Buds 2a get a lot of mileage out of it. The wireless earbuds feel even more planted in your ears as a result, and inserting them requires less futzing. I’m fairly sure that they contribute to some passive noise cancellation, too, both because it makes ensuring the buds are snug an easy feat, and then it also creates a bolstered seal on the outside, which probably blocks more noise. I have no way of verifying that, but based on my listening, it just feels that way.
Outside of the stabilizer, the Pixel Buds 2a just look great, too. The pair I tested came in an “Iris” color, which is a light purple that some may describe as lilac. Iris, and the Pixel Buds 2a, are a proper antidote to AirPods‘ homogeneous white that’s both iconic and a little boring at this point. The Pixel Buds 2a also get a redesigned case that’s a little bit slimmer than the last generation, which isn’t super important at the end of the day, but is more than welcome. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s feeling like my pockets are clogged up with an unnecessarily thick charging case.
Pixel Buds 2a battery life and sound
Outside of ANC, the Pixel Buds 2a are most improved in the battery department. This generation of A-series buds has 7 hours of ANC playback, which is up from 5 hours in the previous generation. Anything around 6 hours of ANC playback is better than average in my experience, and obviously much better than 5 hours, which is frankly not up to par.
There is one caveat here, though, and that’s in the case. While the Pixel Buds 2a case has a nice feel and is slimmer, it will get slightly less battery life than the previous generation, but mostly because of the addition of ANC. The Pixel Buds 2a case is rated for 20 hours of battery if you’re using ANC and 27 hours with ANC off, and chances are, you’re going to be using ANC most of the time. The first-gen Pixel Buds A-series are rated for 24 hours of battery life, though there was no ANC in the equation to compare against.
In my testing, listening to the Pixel Buds 2a in hour increments over the course of a few days, I found those estimates to be accurate, which slots them in the upper range for battery life among other wireless earbuds in this price range.
When it comes to sound, I’ve never been particularly impressed with the Pixel sound (that goes for the Pixel Buds Pro, too), but I don’t dislike it either. For the Pixel Buds 2a, I’d say that general attitude still applies. I find the Pixel Buds 2a hold their own in the sound department. These aren’t particularly bass-y buds, which I’m fine with, but they’re solid all-around performers. I listened to Daft Punk’s “Da Funk,” and I find the soundstage on the Pixel Buds 2a is generally smaller and less bombastic than competitors like OnePlus Buds 4, which really crank up the bass and low end in particular.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, but I just find the sound from the Pixel Buds 2a to be more muted and generally flatter than the competition, including the Nothing Ear 3. That could also have something to do with the fact that both the competitors I just listed have personalized EQ, which better tunes the wireless earbuds to my specific hearing. No matter what the reason is, my take is that Pixel Buds 2a are serviceable in the sound department, but they didn’t blow me away. If you’re a hi-fi audio kind of person and pay attention to which frequencies you can hear and how well, these probably aren’t the pick for you, even at this price point.
Everything else in the Pixel Buds 2a
I wouldn’t say that the Pixel Buds 2a are overflowing with features, but you’ve got a lot of your bread and butter here. There’s a transparency mode for when you want to use the wireless earbuds without ANC; there are tap controls for activating a voice assistant, play/pause, and track skipping; there’s also hands-free Gemini and Gemini Live if either of those is your thing.
I used Gemini Live a bit to explore an album I was listening to (Pavement’s “Terror Twilight”) by summoning a live chat with the command, “Hey Google, let’s talk live,” and then asking when the album I was listening to came out. First off, props to Gemini for even knowing what I was talking about; it understood that I was listening to a song on Spotify and wanted more context. I had a brief chat about the album, when it came out, and whether I liked it, and then Gemini asked what kind of music I liked, to which I replied, “grunge-y rock music.”
Tastefully, Gemini recommended Mudhoney and not Nirvana or Pearl Jam. Who knew Gemini was such a hipster? Overall, Gemini Live can be kind of fun, though I don’t think I’ll be springing for a chat with a chatbot too often. Maybe you will, though! And if that’s your thing, it’s nice to have such easy access built right into the Pixel Buds 2a.
© Raymond Wong / GizmodoAs always, the Pixel Buds 2a work best with Android devices, especially if you’re going to use the Pixel Buds app, which you still cannot download on iOS. There’s also the ability to use Google’s Find Hub to locate the buds in the event they get lost, which is great if you’re the type of person who likes to throw their wireless earbuds around indiscriminately. There’s also spatial audio, which is increasingly a thing on lots of wireless earbuds, though I’m not super certain that anyone cares to use it for most things. But hey, it’s there if you do want to use it.
The thing is, the Pixel Buds 2a aren’t really about having all the fancy features. If you’re buying any A-series Google device, you’re in search of value, and this year, for $30 more you get ANC and a much-improved battery life. As a bonus, you also get a very comfy and nice-looking pair of wireless earbuds that, while not winning any superlatives from me, still hold it down in the sound department. So, to answer the question we started with, “Are the Pixel Buds 2a a good deal?” Let’s just say I would not try to stop you from buying a pair.