Big Guy on the Google Pixel Buds: Part 2 – The Review

Updated April 9, 2026: I’ve now spent serious time with the Pixel Buds Pro 2, and my take on Google’s earbuds has evolved a lot since I first wrote this review. I’ve kept the original first-gen write-up below as historical context, and added a new section at the bottom with my current experience. Scroll to “The Pixel Buds Pro 2 Update (Years Later)” if you want the latest.

This is the rest of the review I promised in Big Guy on the Google Pixel Buds: Part 1 – Connectiongate. I took a little time to do this review for a couple reasons. One, I really only use headphones when I’m exercising, and the family has been passing around the sickness over the last few weeks so I didn’t exercise much the week that I received these headphones. Two, I wanted to make sure that the negative experience I documented in the Connectiongate post didn’t mold this review too much as it seems to have so many other reviews out there.

The Headphone Jack is still useful… Wait. No It’s Not

When Apple removed the headphone jack last year, most people didn’t seem to like the idea. Google knew that this was such a sore spot that it even took a jab at them in the unveiling of the first Pixel and Pixel XL phones last year (see video at right). Apple at least threw in a lightning to 3.5 mm dongle for anyone who didn’t want to give up their old 3.5 mm headphones as well as a pair of lightning earbuds. With this year’s versions of Google’s Pixel Phones, Google left off the headphone jack. They really didn’t even mention it in their event at all. A few days later a Google employee posted on a Pixel Phone support page saying that:

The Pixel 2 still comes with a headphone jack but we have moved to USB-C, a standard that is becoming commonplace in the best phones and laptops of today. Moving to the USB-C audio port with Pixel 2 allows us to provide a better audio and digital experience, as we move towards a bezel-less future.

Come on Google. Even with me being such a fanboy, I don’t buy that for one second. As I mentioned in my Pixel XL 2 post, however, I really don’t care either way if I have a headphone jack or not. I haven’t used one in years.

So, just as Apple released their AirPods as a high quality, Bluetooth replacement for the 3.5 mm headphone jack, Google rolled out the Pixel Buds.

The Google Pixel Buds

The Google Pixel Buds are a direct answer to the Apple AirPods and an option that you can use to fill the hole (wait… re-create the hole?) left by the missing 3.5 mm headphone jack. Packaged with a charging case and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, the Pixel Buds come in three different colors. Google is using the same color naming scheme that they have been using for the Pixel phones, so the available colors are “Just Black”, “Clearly White”, and “Kinda Blue”.

The buds include a microphone, accelerometer, and a capacitive touchpad (on the right bud), and they come stuffed with a 120 mAh battery. And, yes, they also have a cord which connects the two Pixel Buds together (more on that later). The charging case has a USB-C port for charging, a 620 mAh battery, and comes in a colored fabric that looks similar to that of the Google Home Mini’s “Charcoal” variety.

If you pair the Pixel Buds with an Android phone, you get direct access to the Google Assistant. The Google Assistant is amazing. While other voice assistants seem to be kind of stagnant (from what I read), Google is always improving this feature. It’s all part of their focus on every thing AI that started a few years ago. If you pair them with a Google Pixel device, such as the Pixel 2 XL, you also get access to a pretty neat, yet seemingly in early development, real-time translation feature using the Assistant and Google Translate. “Google, help me speak Klingon.”

Joined at the Hip

Google decided to connect the two Pixel Buds with a cord. Most reviews that I have read seem to slam this fact, pointing to the Apple AirPods which are not connected. I actually like this. At least with them being connected, if I lose one, I lose both of them, and I don’t end up with one Pixel Bud always reminding me that I paid $150 for a set of headphones that I can only use in one ear. Google also took the opportunity to add a pretty neat way to adjust these headphones to fit your ear. The cord goes through each bud and loops out the other end. This piece of the cord is how you adjust the fit to your ear. Since everyone’s ear is different, you can adjust the loop to make sure you have a snug, comfortable fit.

While wearing the Pixel Buds, I often don’t even notice the cord. I’m a Big Guy with a big ole head, and every pair of behind the head, Bluetooth headphones I’ve ever had would barely fit my head, and I would notice them if I moved my head around. This was especially frustrating while working out. There’s nothing like the back of the headphones digging into the back of your head or the earbuds finding their way deeper into your ear canal while in the middle of a set of bench presses.

Stay out of My Canals!

Speaking of earbuds digging into your ear canals, the Google Pixel Buds don’t actually enter your ear canal like a young couple entering the Grand Canal in Italy while on a romantic date. No, these guys sit right on the banks of your canal and broadcast sweet music into your music receptacles. I HATE things going in my ear. The last set of earbuds I used at the gym were the Motorola S11 HD Bluetooth Headphones. They were a great pair of headphones, and they still are, but after an hour in the gym, it took another hour or more for my ears to recover from the experience. It’s nice being able to hear once I am done working out!

Fighting the Noise

The Google Pixel Buds are not noise canceling. I have read many reviews that say they don’t do a very good job of keeping the outside noises out of your ear while you are enjoying your favorite music or podcast. I have also read reviews saying that they are not loud enough and don’t have enough bass. In my experience, they do a pretty decent job of keeping me entertained while the outside world gets noisy, and the bass is good enough.

The first day I used them, I was out for a walk in the neighborhood, and I passed a neighbor power washing his front porch. Sure I heard it, but I could still hear my music just fine, and I didn’t even have the volume turned up that far. If I did need to turn up the volume, all I’d need to do is swipe forward on the right earbud. You can also swipe backward to turn the volume down. They even help keep me from getting 80’s rock stuck in my head while I’m at the gym. There’s nothing like fighting off an internal rendition of “Cherry Pie” while trying to focus on work later on. As for the bass, no they don’t produce deep, hard hitting bass, but it’s good enough for me, especially being right in my ear.

“Hey Google, Write this Blog Post for Me”

While it doesn’t work like the sub heading suggests (yet), the Google Assistant is very handy. It does a fantastic job at understanding how I talk and opens up a vast world of voice controlled actions. The possibilities really are limitless. We could do a whole blog post (or series of posts) on the Google Assistant and what it can do, but that’s for another day.

Instead of saying “OK Google” to start off your request, all you have to do is hold your finger on the right earbud and speak your command. I realize that it’s only cutting out two words, but I get a feeling of being a secret agent or something as I put my finger to my ear and ask Google to do my bidding. While using this feature, it mostly works flawlessly, and it even hears me when I talk at a normal level. Sometimes, however, it would give me issues saying it didn’t understand the request. The assistant volume can also be a quite a bit lower than everything else for some reason. I’m sure this can be fixed in software.

Send Messages

You can also ask the Google Assistant to send messages via SMS or Hangouts. Google has been incredible at voice to text for some time now, and using these headphones to dictate a message is no exception. You can even have it read incoming messages and notifications to you by double tapping the right earbud.

Call Someone While on a Jog

And, yes, you can even make phone calls over your Pixel Buds by holding the right earbud and asking your assistant to call <insert name here>. I could hear everything great. My wife on the other end said that I sounded really loud, but it was clear, and she couldn’t really hear any external noise. There was one time that I tried to make a call, and the call volume through the Pixel Buds was really low. This corrected itself after I let the buds run out of battery and then charged them back up. I haven’t had the problem again since.

Battery Life

In the technical specs, Google claims that the Pixel Buds can get 5 hours of listening time on one charge. The charging case holds multiple charges to give you up to 24 hours of listening while on the go.

In my testing, I used the Pixel Buds constantly for almost 5 hours and 30 minutes before they finally died. I had the buds on and connected the whole time while I listened to podcasts, had music going, and made a few phone calls. None of my workout sessions are going to last 5 hours, so I think this will work for me.

The Original Verdict (First-Gen Pixel Buds)

When I first reviewed these, the Pixel Buds were Google’s brand new swing at the AirPods, cord and all. I went against most of the naysayers on the internet and recommended them. Even at the steep price at $150, I said I’d still buy them again. I was enjoying them and loved using them once I got past the connection issues.

That was the first-gen story. A lot has changed.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 Update (Years Later)

Fast forward to now. The first-gen Pixel Buds are long gone from Google’s lineup, and I’ve been living with the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 since they came out. Completely different product, completely different experience. Here’s how my take has evolved.

Real Noise Cancellation (Finally)

The biggest jump from the originals to the Pro 2 is simple: these have actual active noise cancellation. The first-gen Pixel Buds in this review didn’t even pretend to do ANC. They sat on the outside of the ear canal and let the world in. The Pro 2 actually seal into your ear and then the ANC does its thing on top of that.

How good is it? Decent enough. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it silences a jet engine or matches whatever the current “best in class” cans are. But it’s real ANC, and it’s meaningfully better than anything the original Pixel Buds could do. Passive isolation alone does a good job blocking out noise from the room, and flipping ANC on top of that gets me to a place where I can concentrate on a call without the dog, the dishwasher, or someone walking past my office pulling my attention.

If you’re coming from the first-gen buds I reviewed above and you’ve been wondering whether Google ever figured out the noise thing, the answer is yes.

How I Actually Use Them

Here’s the honest part. I don’t use these for the gym, I don’t use them for jogs through the neighborhood, and I’m not running real-time translation demos with them. I use them for calls. That’s the job. I work from home, I’m on calls a big chunk of the day, and the Pro 2 is what’s in my ears for most of them.

For that use case they’re great. Voice pickup is clean, the seal means I’m not shouting over background noise, and being able to pop one out mid-call when someone walks into the room is the kind of small thing I didn’t know I needed until I had it.

If you want a gym-and-workout take on the Pro 2, I’m not your guy. If you want to know whether they hold up as a daily calls headset for someone working from home, I can tell you they do.

The Charging Case Gripe

Okay, here’s my real complaint, and it’s a weird one. After a while of owning these, the buds started having trouble making a good connection to the charging case. I’ll drop them in, close the lid, come back later, and one or both of them just didn’t charge. Sometimes they seated fine. Sometimes they didn’t. I’d have to wiggle them, re-seat them, make sure the little metal contacts were actually touching.

It’s not a deal breaker, but it’s annoying, and it’s exactly the kind of thing you don’t want on a $200+ set of earbuds. I’d love to tell you it’s a one-off, but it’s been consistent enough that I check the case every single time now. If you’re buying a pair, pay attention to how the buds sit in the case out of the box, and keep an eye on that charging contact over time.

Funny enough, the original Pixel Buds had their own charging and connection drama too. I wrote a whole separate post about it called Connectiongate. Different product, different problem, but Google and Pixel Buds charging quirks apparently have a history.

Who Should Buy the Pixel Buds Pro 2?

If you’re in the Android world, you care about call quality, and you want real noise cancellation without dropping serious cash on the absolute top tier, the Pro 2 is a solid pick. Just go in eyes open on the charging case thing.

If you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem, you’re probably going to stick with AirPods Pro for the handoff and integration stuff anyway, and that’s fine. Based on what reviewers have written, the Pro 2 is competitive with AirPods Pro 2 and Sony’s flagship buds on sound and ANC, but I haven’t personally tested those head to head so I won’t pretend otherwise.

Final Take, 2026 Edition

The first-gen Pixel Buds in this review were a fun, flawed, cord-connected experiment. I liked them. I’d still defend them for what they were. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are the version Google should have started with: proper in-ear fit, real ANC, real call quality, and all the Assistant stuff I liked the first time around. They’re not perfect, and the charging case issue is real, but for a work-from-home big guy who mostly uses earbuds for calls, they’ve earned their spot on my desk.

Sources

• Google Store – Pixel Buds Pro 2 product page
• Big Guy on the Google Pixel Buds: Part 1 – Connectiongate (original first-gen charging/pairing issues)

Your Turn

Are you running Pixel Buds Pro 2? Did you hit the same charging case weirdness I did, or did I pull a lemon? Drop a comment and let me know how yours are holding up. If this refresh was useful, share it with that friend who’s been asking you which earbuds to buy for their next work-from-home setup, and poke around the rest of the site for more big-guy-tested reviews.