Pixel Buds, finally Google got it right

4 min readApr 29, 2020

Do you remember the weird-looking Pixel Buds from 2017? Yes, the one with weird wire ear hooks. Now they have made a wholesome of an upgrade to the said product. But can they replace or be the android replacement of the famous but expensive Apple Airpods? Let’s find out.

Build and Color:

This time the Pixel Buds come in a charging case. The case looks way cuter than the rest of the competitions. It mimics the look and texture of an eggshell. Both the buds and the case comes in four colors. Likewise, Google is quite quirky with naming their colors.

Pairing up:

The most basic question when it comes to AirPods alternatives is “Is the device easy to pair?” Well, Google has some good answers. Pairing this device certainly easy. Just hold a button to go to pairing mode and find it in the Bluetooth devices section of your android Bluetooth “add new device” section. Or, if you own a Pixel device then you can just tap on the notification that pops up after you pop open the Pixel Buds. See, so freaking easy.

Protection:

The Pixel Buds comes with the IPX4 rating this time. This means there’s no dust protection rating but it can protect itself from a splash of water from all the directions. So you can take them to the showers but long swimming sessions, on the other hand, isn’t recommended.

Charging:

The case has an inbuilt battery that can charge the Pixel Buds 4 times before it requires a charge for its own. The case can be charged with USB C port. Also, wireless chargingis there so that you can put it on a Qi-wireless charger to juice it up.

Gestures in Pixel Buds:

Furthermore, the device comes with a lot of touch gestures and voice control commands.

Single tap to play/pause or answer calls
Double tap for next track or reject calls
Triple-tap for previous track
Swipe forward/backward to increase/decrease volume respectively
Also, there is “Hey Google” built-in which works if you’ve set up Google Assistant beforehand with your Android Device.

Adaptive Sounds in Pixel Buds:

This is basically, Google’s version of Noise Cancellation. This feature will furthermore help you in calling someone in noisy conditions. It can cancel out the noise using some extra sensors built into it. So, not just some software tweaks, they have introduced hardware to improve your call quality.

Extra Perks:

The tiny little piece of technology can easily fit into your pockets. But this also raises concern about losing them in certain areas. So Goole introduces Find Device in the pixel buds android app. If the pieces are charged you can tap on the option and make them ring so that you can find them easily.