I've been using the Google Pixel Buds as my primary earbuds for over six months now so
in this video I'm gonna take you through what it's been like to use the Pixel Buds over
the long term the standout features as well as some of my favorites and some of the issues
and downsides we've run into while using the buds.
And then ultimately, I'll give you my recommendation on whether or not you should pick up a pair.
So, let's dive in and first let's talk about the design of the Pixel Buds.
The Pixel Blood Sport one of the nicest cases I've ever used.
It's got this great matte white finish and the shape is round.
Ed smooth kind of like a river stone.
The finish also isn't as prone to micro scratches compared to something like the AirPods case,
which is more glossy and the Pixel Buds case is just held up quite well over the past six
months for me.
The Pixel Buds case also does have a bit more weight to a compared to something like the
AirPods case and is slightly larger.
When you flip open the case, you get this great clicking sound.
The pixel blood sport a different design than your typical earbuds They're in ear so the
partially seal your ear canal.
However, they also have a spatial vent that eliminates any feeling of your ears being
plugged.
I personally found them to be quite comfortable and I appreciate that Google design these
earbuds, so most of the ear bud itself actually stays outside of your ear canal so there's
nothing going inside your ear brushing against anything that's going to cause discomfort
like I've had with previous earbuds.
The Pixel Buds also sport a stabilizing arc which helps them stay in your ear and in my,
Experience over the past six months the fit of these has been great Definitely play around
with the tip sizes in the box though I found that the medium-sized tip fit great for one
year while the smaller tip fit better in another.
One other great thing about the fit of these earbuds is they sit pretty much flush in your
ear so they're less easy to knock out.
Like if you need to pull off your sweatshirt, etc.
When you place them back in the case, the case will show an indicator light at the bottom
to indicate its level of charge and when you place the earbuds back in the case, there's
a status light for them to indicate.
Their level of charge white for 100% charged and orange for charging When the case itself
needs to be charged to the status light on the bottom will turn orange and you can charge
them either through USB-C wireless charging or even reverse wireless charging with something
like the Pixel 5, which we just did a review of on the channel that'll link below and here
in the video.
You can also see the battery state of the case and earbuds if you use an Android device
and you can see that in quick settings.
Over the past six months.
I've enjoyed their fit.
I found them quite comfortable to wear and they're great.
For taking on a walk or run outside Thanks to their water and sweat resistant design.
Next let's talk about sound quality and one of the interesting things about the sound
of the Pixel Buds is over the course of the six months we've been testing them the sound
has actually changed slightly thanks to the regular software updates that Google has been
rolling out to the Pixel Buds.
In the pixel blood settings on a phone like the pixel 5, you'll see all kinds of settings.
Some that were originally with the buds but others that were added later like EQ bass
boost and attention alerts.
Found that I originally got out of the Pixel Buds was great there was great track separation
but I did wish that the sound had a little bit more base.
Now the based boost feature that Google rolled out to the Pixel.
Buds did solve that early complaint I had.
One other reason these sounds so great are the in-ear design that Google gave them which
gives you the benefits of blocking out some of your ambient sound around you with passive
noise cancellation.
Now, this isn't active noise cancellation like you get on the AirPods Pro or the fancy
Sony wireless earbuds, but it still makes listening to media like, Music and podcasts
a lot easier compared to other earbuds that have an open ear design or don't put any seal
at all on the ear canal like the regular AirPods and even the previous generation of the Pixel
Buds.
Another thing I really like about the Pixel Buds are there touch controls.
They work great and they work the same on each earbud.
Tap wants to play slash pause media double tap for next track triple tap for previous
track or repeat and swipe forward to raise the volume and swipe backward to lower.
Over the past six months.
I found that these touch controls are
reliable and they're one of my favorite features of the Pixel Buds.
They also work on an iPhone
as well, which is pretty cool.
Now not every feature with the Pixel Buds will work on an iPhone you'll still need an
Android device to set up features like EQ bass boost etc.
And if you do plan on using the Google Pixel
Buds with an iPhone, do note that the Google Assistant will not work in that scenario on
the buds and neither will Siri.
The Pixel Buds are just a great pair of buds to listen to music and podcasts on with their
touch controls software improvements and in-ear detection.
So if you take one earbud out of your ear your media will stop playing.
They also have
a pretty good range I found that I can leave the device that's playing the media in one
room go two or three rooms over and the media will continue to play on the buds without
issue.
You can also listen to music and media with just one bud in your ear as well and they'll
easily pair with other Bluetooth devices by just long pressing the button on the back
of the case with the buds still in the case.
In terms of maintenance, I found that the buds are easy to clean with a microfiber cloth
and the ear tips are deep enough where any ear gunk that gets.
In them doesn't travel far up enough to get to the speaker grill which is good.
Now thankfully
I've never had to use this feature in the six months.
I've been using the buds, but if you ever need to locate them, you can use the app on
your phone to play a sound from the lost earbud to help locate it or you can also see the
last known location of your earbuds by using the Find My Device app on Android.
Another cool feature with these buds is that they run the Google Assistant if you're using
them with an Android device.
You can say the trigger word to trigger the Google Assistant on them hands-free and you
can ask.
The Google Assistant to read your notifications tell you about the weather send somebody a
message turn off all the lights in your house etc.
You can also tap and hold either earbud
to get an update from the assistant that will tell you the time and new notifications from
your phone.
All right, so those are all the things.
I really like about the Pixel Buds.
Now, let's move into some of the downsides and issues that I've run into while using
them.
Now when I first got the Pixel Buds, there were definitely some issues to start with
but thankfully most of the initial issues.
I ran into were resolved with later software updates.
Some of the early, Use I had with them were call cutouts one of the buds would just lose
connection to the device randomly and then there was this hissing slash static noise
with the bud in my right ear.
Now in the month since Google has significantly reduced that hissing and static noise through
a software update and then subsequent software updates fixed on the other issues so I don't
have nearly as many call cutouts.
I actually don't think I've had like one in the past two months it's been pretty good
there and same thing for just one of the buds just losing connection and never recovering
I don't run into that issue anymore as well.
Overall I found that Google during that time with that initial hiccups with the Pixel Buds
I found that they were pretty open and transparent in just great listening to customer feedback
during that time.
Now one random issue that will still happen from time to time is one of the buds will
just lose connection to my device and never recover.
Sometimes I can pause the media I'm listening to and play it again and that'll fix it or
if all else fails put the buds back in their case pull them out again and then they're
good to go.
Which isn't ideal if they lose connection while you're in the middle of a hike in the,
Middle of the woods and you didn't bring the Pixel Buds case with you And yes that did
happen to me once Now another issue that all occasionally run into with the Pixel Buds
are that they almost create the sort of echo sound like they just slightly lose sync with
one another so they create this artificial echo that doesn't happen that often but it
does happen enough that I didn't want to mention it and the way to get rid of that is sometimes
you just have to pause and then play the media you were listening to again or unpair and
repair the buds and that'll definitely fix the issue.
If you want to use the buds for Zoom or audio calls when I first got them I would have warned
against it but Google has improved the reliability of them enough to where I think you'd be fine
to use them for audio calls now.
Alright, so here's a quick test of how they Pixel Buds second generation released in 2020
sound when recording them through quick time on my iMac.
The only issue I still have with them on occasion is with phone calls.
Everything will be okay on my end but the person I'm talking to will tell me that my
audio is cutting in and out it just doesn't sound great.
Now, I've used other earbuds to try to eliminate.
Cell reception potentially having a factor there and with other earbuds I don't have
this issue so it does seem to be just the Pixel Buds and the mics on the Pixel Buds
are just okay, they're they're not great for audio call quality.
I still prefer using my Apple AirPods for phone calls, but I much prefer using the pixel
buds for music and runs.
Now if you want to see a full comparison between the AirPods and the Pixel Buds, we do have
a video on that coming out shortly, so I'll link that in the video description below as
well as here in this video, so if you're interested make.
Sure you check that out Another feature for me that was a bit of a letdown was the adaptive
sound feature which automatically raises and lowers the volume of what you're listening
to based on the environment around you.
I just didn't find this feature all that useful because I found it would sometimes turn up
the volume more than I wanted it to and I always had to manually turn the volume back
down or even up in some scenarios.
So I just ended up turning off this feature in settings.
All right, so those are all the things that I really like about the Google Pixel Buds.
and some of the downsides and issues that I've run into while using them.
So, Do I recommend getting a pair of Google Pixel Buds?
Yes, even with the hiccups that I've run into over the course of the six months.
I've been using the Pixel.
Buds, I still think.
Pair of earbuds and Google has eliminated and fixed quite a few of those early on issues.
I had with them and I just really enjoy using them as a pair of wireless earbuds.
I like their design the case touch controls sound quality aesthetic and how easy they
are to connect to my pixel and other devices.
The battery life is plenty for what I use them for with five hours of listening time
and the case holds 24 hours of charge.
Now talk time is only 2.5 hours, but if you place them in a case to charge for 10 minutes,
you'll get two hours of listening time and Not to one hour of talk time back So I think
the Pixel Buds are a great choice for Android users and some iOS users that have a spare
Android device line around that they can use to initially set up the Pixel Buds as well
as install subsequent firmware updates.
The Pixel Buds come in four different colors clearly white.
Oh, so orange quite mint and almost black and retail for a hundred and seventy nine
US dollars.
I hope you found this video helpful and informative and if you did and liked it, make sure you
hit that thumbs up button below and subscribe.
To the channel to see more six months later reviews like this video and more Google tech
product videos as well.
Also if you have any questions at all about the Google Pixel.
Buds, make sure you leave them in a comment below.
Well, that'll do it for me.
For 6 Months Later.
I'm Josh Teder.
Thanks for watching.