Google's new budget earbuds, the Pixel Buds 2a, deviate quite a bit from the Pixel Buds A-series they replace. The price point is higher, active noise-canceling (ANC) is onboard for the first time, and the design now closely matches the higher-priced Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. That sounds stellar on paper, but it also puts pressure on Google to make the Pixel Buds 2a competitive in a tougher price bracket.
After using the Pixel Buds 2a for a week, it's clear that these earbuds offer a great value proposition, at least in isolation. Google's latest budget earbuds hang with the best in this category, including the AirPods 4 and OnePlus Buds 4. The sound quality is impressive at most volumes, ANC and transparency modes are good, and the fit copies everything I love about the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Google dropping the Pixel Buds 2a during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days emphasizes the problem with the pricing, though. They cost $129, but the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are sold at a near-constant discount, and are currently priced at just $169 on Amazon. The Pixel Buds 2a could get discounts of their own to improve the value proposition, but for now, it's hard to recommend them with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 looming closely within reach.
Google Pixel Buds 2a: Pricing, specs, and availability
Google announced the Pixel Buds 2a at a Made By Google event on Aug. 20, 2025, and pre-orders for the earbuds opened immediately. They're officially available as of Oct. 9 — that's when pre-orders will start to ship and you'll see general availability at the Google Store and third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon. The earbuds are priced at $129, which is slightly more than the $99 Pixel Buds A-series they replace.
You can snag the Google Pixel Buds 2a in either Iris or Hazel colorways. In global markets, the Pixel Buds 2a are priced at £129 / AU$239.
Category |
Google Pixel Buds 2a |
|---|---|
Audio |
Custom-designed 11 mm dynamic speaker drivers |
Processor |
Google Tensor A1 |
Active noise-canceling (ANC) |
Active Noise Cancellation with Silent Seal 1.5, Transparency mode, Active in-ear pressure relief |
Case speaker |
No physical case speaker; earbuds can play ringtone for Find Hub when inside |
Microphones |
Two microphones |
Sensors |
Capacitive touch (tap) sensors for music, calls, and voice assistant controls, IR proximity sensor for in-ear detection to play and pause automatically, Hall Effect sensor for case open and close detection |
Charging |
USB-C |
Battery life |
Up to 7 hours with ANC on (earbuds) and up to 20 hours with ANC earbuds (including charging case) |
Dimensions |
23.1 mm x 16.0 mm x 17.8 mm (each earbud), 50.0 mm x 24.5 mm x 57.2 mm (charging case) |
Weight |
4.7g (each earbud), 47.6g (case including earbuds) |
Google Pixel Buds 2a: What's good
Four years have passed between the launch of the Pixel Buds A-series and the new Pixel Buds 2a, during which the market has undergone drastic changes. Previously, it was acceptable for budget earbuds to skimp on features like ANC, but that's no longer the case. Luckily, Google rose to the occasion with the Pixel Buds 2a, adding ANC and much more to round out the experience.
Google mastered the design and fit of small earbuds with the Pixel Buds Pro 2, and those improvements carry over to the Pixel Buds 2a. This is great news for most people, but you might be disappointed if you favored the wingtip design of the originals. Instead, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 have four ear tip sizes and a built-in stabilizer — smaller than a wingtip — to create a secure fit.
I find the Pixel Buds 2a to be incredibly comfortable and secure for a few reasons. The small design helps, and the lack of a stem means the earbuds won't slip out of your ears like the competition. They're also smaller by every dimension than the A-series, and weigh a tiny bit less, coming in at 4.7 grams each. The "G" logo on the earbuds helps you find the right fit — when it's upright, you know they're inserted correctly.
All these factors end up making the Pixel Buds 2a some of the best-fitting earbuds I've tried (and my ears are picky). I don't miss the wingtip at all, and think the smaller design and stabilizer were the correct moves.
Although the Pixel Buds 2a are smaller, they last longer. You'll get up to seven hours of charge from the earbuds with ANC enabled, and that jumps up to 20 total hours including the charging case. The earbud battery life is fantastic, but the case is another story — you'll only be able to recharge once fully (almost twice) using the case.
On the bright side, the case battery is replaceable for the first time, which is a major repairability win. You can see a pair of screws inside the earbuds' cradle in the charging case, presumably making this possible.
ANC and transparency mode greatly improve the experience of using Pixel Buds 2a. Google says they're 1.5x better at ANC than the original Pixel Buds Pro, and I believe those claims. I could block out a noisy environment with ANC on and the volume set to around 50%, and similarly carry a conversation at the same volume with transparency mode active.
Transparency mode is usually where budget buds falter, but it's where the Pixel Buds 2a shine. They punch above their weight class, outdoing the higher-priced Nothing Ear 3 I recently reviewed.
Sound quality is backed by Google's custom 11mm dynamic drivers, and there's a Tensor A1 chip — the same found in the Pixel Buds Pro 2 — to handle audio processing and ANC processing separately. Google claims the chip improves battery life efficiency and adjusts for your environment up to 3 million times per second, which tracks with my experience.
Google said it's prioritizing clean and accurate sound on the Pixel Buds 2a, and that seems to be mostly true. At low and midrange volumes, the Pixel Buds 2a sound excellent, with a thumpy bass that doesn't overpower the rest of the soundstage. Vocals sound crisp, and there's room for the mids and highs to breathe, like the click of a drum rim or the hit of a snare.
The Pixel Buds companion app is great, and adds five EQ presets: heavy bass, light bass, balanced, vocal boost, and clarity. Those are in addition to the default preset, and you can create custom ones, too. I was impressed by the sound quality, with one major exception.
Google Pixel Buds 2a: What's not good
The Google Pixel Buds 2a simply don't sound great at maximum volume. Setting the volume to about 70% seems to be the sweet spot, where you can hear loudness without compromising the crisp and accurate sound signature. Cranking the volume further toward the max seems to change things, with low-end sounds blurring into the midrange and vocals starting to get buried by everything else.
The difference in sound signature between max volume and everything else is readily apparent, even to non-audiophiles I let try the Pixel Buds 2a. A kick of the bass drum might lack punch, or a string section might disappear. I tested all the EQ presets, but none seemed to fix the problem quite right, and I should note it isn't an issue on the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Still, after thinking it through, I don't think it's a dealbreaker. When playing music at 100% volume on the Pixel Buds 2a, the person next to you can clearly hear your tracks. That's probably not a safe listening zone, and the sound quality at 70% volume — probably a more reasonable setting — is great.
Despite both using the Tensor A1, the Pixel Buds 2a lose many features compared to the Pixel Buds Pro 2. Some of those are hardware-related, as the cheaper model lacks a microphone, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and Silent Seal 2.0 active noise-canceling. The case also omits wireless charging support and a speaker.
You still need to use a voice assistant to change the volume, which is a puzzling choice. Otherwise, many of the compromises here seem fair considering the price.
Google Pixel Buds 2a: Competition
In the case of the Pixel Buds 2a, it's clear that Google's biggest competition comes from within. After weeks of testing the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, they're one of my favorite pairs of wireless earbuds available, beating out AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro due to their design and comfort.
It's impossible to understate just how often the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are on sale. I've been tracking prices, and they've been available for under $200 every time I've checked, despite their official $229 MSRP.
If you can snag the Pixel Buds Pro 2 for around $160 to $180 (which you often can), it's hard to ignore the proposition of spending more to upgrade from the Pixel Buds 2a. With the Pro model, you get better ANC, more sensors, more features, and longer battery life.
At $129, the Pixel Buds 2a are also going up against the OnePlus Buds 4 ($130), AirPods 4 without ANC ($130), and Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE ($149). Here, it's basically a toss-up. The experience, feature set, and sound quality are mostly consistent between these models, so you should probably buy the one that matches your phone for the complete experience.
It's worth noting that every pair of budget earbuds mentioned above will encounter the same pricing dilemma facing the Pixel Buds 2a. Great earbuds are simply cheaper than ever with regular discounts, and you could make the same case for upgrading from the OnePlus Buds 4 to the OnePlus Pro 3 — currently priced at $149 or less. That said, those on the tightest of budgets will appreciate the Pixel Buds 2a, and it's definitely possible these buds will see discounts of their own soon.
Google Pixel Buds 2a: Should you buy them?
You should buy these if...
- You're on a tighter budget and want a great-sounding pair of ANC earbuds
- You like the small form factor and design of Google earbuds
- You have a Google Pixel phone and want features like Gemini integration or spatial audio
You shouldn't buy these if...
- You have the extra cash to splurge for the spectacular Pixel Buds Pro 2
- You need perks like head-tracked spatial audio and on-earbud volume control
- You don't have a Google Pixel phone and want exclusive features like spatial audio
The Google Pixel Buds 2a are a nice set of midrange earbuds that aim to bring Pixel Buds Pro 2 features down to a lower price point. Google clearly achieved that goal, as the fit and finish are on par with the more premium earbuds, and the sound quality and ANC aren't far behind.
I do wonder if sticking to the $99 price of the original Pixel Buds A-series would've helped create clear value propositions for either device, but it's hard to argue with all Google added for only an extra $30.
You should weigh whether your budget is truly limited to the Pixel Buds 2a or if splurging for the Pixel Buds Pro 2 makes sense. At under $170 at the time of publishing and routinely on sale, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are assuredly the better value, even if the cost is higher.
Either way, it's nice to see the refreshed lineup of Pixel Buds include compelling options at multiple pricing tiers, as the Pixel Buds A-series were feeling outdated in recent months. Google has solidified the Pixel Buds, both the 2a and Pro 2 models, as the default option for Pixel phone users.
The starter Pixel Buds
The Google Pixel Buds 2a are priced higher than the originals, but add ANC, better battery life, and a new design and fit. While the price point around the $130 mark is incredibly competitive, the Pixel Buds 2a feel solid, especially for those in the Google Pixel ecosystem.
