The Pixel Buds A-series earphones have a mission that is all in all possible: to convince users that you can have premium sound at a more affordable price than more expensive devices, like those Pixel Buds 2 launched just over a year ago at 199 euros. Compared to their predecessors, these just launched seem identical – same winning design, same perfect ergonomics – but they must have something less inside if we can now take them home for 99 euros. So let’s see what the Pixel Buds A-series offer for a few days in online pre-order also in Italy on the Google Store.
How they sound. First of all the sound, which is what interests most. Thanks to custom designed 12mm dynamic drivers, the Pixel Buds A-series earphones deliver full, clear and natural sound. And if you want you can enhance the bass tones thanks to the ad hoc option on the Pixel Buds app. A sound quality that is obviously compared to true wireless headphones in the same price range. great for calls, very good for listening to music. As in the Pixel Buds, the Active Noise Control, or noise reduction, is also missing here. But for some time Google has chosen the path of “adaptive sound” which is capable of changing volume according to the situations in which we find ourselves, from the silence of a room, to the buzz of an office or in the street with the noise of traffic around us. . A solution that certainly does not give the results of ANC but certainly eliminates that feeling of plug on the ears.
Beautiful and ergonomic. Design, we said. Almost the same, with the earphones leaving the black of the previous model to embrace gray or olive green. It’s still. There is only one LED that notifies us that the case is charged and the internal one disappears that tells us when the earphones are charging. The shape remains the same, particularly apt because once inserted into the ear it does not tend to slip, thus guaranteeing excellent grip in motion.
Usability. Here the price difference between the Pixel Buds A-series and the Pixel Buds 2 is more noticeable. We do not have the possibility to raise and lower the volume with a swipe on the earphones as it happens in the more expensive model but we have to ask for help from the voice assistant – it is activated by pressing the earphone for a few seconds – which does it for us. There are all the other touch controls: one, two, three touches for the various functions of both listening to music and managing calls. The A-series lacks the ability to recharge wirelessly, which is very convenient if we use universal bases to restore energy to our devices. It recharges from the USB-c socket. Speaking of battery: the Pixel Buds A-series declare up to five hours of listening on a single charge (autonomy that at a first summary test seems to respect) or a total of up to 24 hours using the charging case (recharge the earphones about 15 minutes in the case guarantees up to three hours of listening).
Other differences: there is no volume that is automatically lowered when you hear an alarm siren, the cry of a baby and a dog barking; there is no automatic sharing detection. But in the cheaper A-series there is still – very importantly – the possibility of making the earphones ring if we do not remember where we left them in the house or office, in addition to full integration with Google’s voice assistant. Finally, the Pixel Buds A-series (but only the earphones and not the case, warns Mountain View) have an IPX4 degree of water protection according to the IEC 60529 standard.
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In conclusion. The Pixel Buds A-series are earphones that cost almost half of the top model and consequently in their range they can boast an extraordinary quality / price ratio. The sound performance, more and more configurable with the Android app, is practically identical to the Pixel 2. No differences are perceived. And this, after all, is what first of all we ask of a device like this.
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