Pixel Buds A: Everything you need to know

Google’s rumoured budget wireless earbuds are here and the Pixel Buds A-Series are effectively the Pixel Buds 2 at a lower price via some downgrades. Here’s everything you need to know about the headphones. 

These, as some suspected, are a cut-down version of the Pixel Buds 2 with some features gone like wireless charging and Attention Alerts. While they are technically called, A-Series, we’ll be largely calling them Pixel Buds A from here on out. Read our full Pixel Buds A review.

When is the Pixel Buds A release date? 

You can order the Pixel Buds A now if you’re in the US as they went on sale back in June.

In the UK, you can now pre-order the earbuds and going through checkout reveals a delivery date of 25 August.

What is the Pixel Buds A price? 

Google’s new wireless earbuds are the firm’s cheapest yet coming in at £99/US$99. That’s a full £80/US$80 cheaper than the Pixel Buds 2.

What are the Pixel Bud A specs? 

As you might have noticed, the Buds A-Series are very similar to the Buds 2. They are essentially the same headphones but with some downgrades and a couple of new colourways: Clearly White and Dark Olive. 

Here are the key things missing compared to the Buds 2: 

• Wireless charging 
• Attention Alerts  
• Swipe controls via touch 

That’s not bad considering how much cheaper they are and although they don’t have active noise cancelling like some even cheaper rivals – namely the Huawei FreeBuds 4i and Anker Soundcore Life A2 NC – Google offers plenty of things they don’t have. 

The Buds A really stand out in the market due to the smart features, largely thanks to the inclusion of the Google Assistant. As well as simply replying to questions and the like, the earbuds can handle real-time translation in 40 languages and do various other things like read out your notifications. 

They also offer Fast Pair with any Android device running 6.0 or later and Adaptive Sound will adjust the volume depending on where you go wearing the buds. 

Here are some other key specs and features for the Pixel Buds A: 

• 5 hours of listening time in buds, 24 hours with charging case 
• In-ear detection 
• Fast pair 
• IPX4 rating water and sweat resistance 
• Bluetooth 5.0 
• Custom-designed 12 mm dynamic speaker driver 
• Dual beamforming microphones 
• USB-C 
• 5g per bud