I just started using them (received them this morning) so this is a quick initial review based on my first impressions:
Initial unboxing:
Case is smaller than I anticipated, which is a good thing. I feel comfortable throwing them in my front jeans pocket and not feeling a large bulge in my pocket.
I plugged the case in to charge before pulling them out to test them. Should have read the instructions first. First time I pulled them out I realized they have tabs over the contacts so they don't charge during shipping. Pulled those off and let it charge again. Side note.. I have discovered that it's fairly easy to improperly align the buds on the contacts so they don't actually charge. Make sure the yellow charge light comes on. I found giving it a little back and forth twist help make sure it was seated properly.
The felt case feels great! It's a softer and smoother feel than the fabric phone cases. I cannot open the case one handed, requires two (it's a clam shell magnetic close design).
Initial Pairing:
What you are supposed to do (if Pixel 2 or 2 XL like me at least): Open the case, see a notification come up on your phone. Connect and follow the steps on the screen.
What I did: Open the case. Nothing. Close, open the case again. Nothing. Repeated a few times. Closed the case and let charge for another 10 minutes. Tried again. Nothing. Turned Bluetooth off and back on. No luck. Restarted phone. No luck. Tried Bluetooth discovery, nothing. Googled for buds not connecting. Verified I have the right software versions. Ended up holding the button down inside the case for about 20 seconds (following the direction to do so for 60 in this thread:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/phone-by-google/7FrlckhMeA0;context-place=topicsearchin/phone-by-google/category$3Agoogle-pixel-buds%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false) light turned green so I let up and finally got the notification to pair and followed the steps.
Fit
As many reviewers have stated, these sit in your outer ear cavity, not inside the ear canal at all. Putting them in take some getting used to. Used to something jammed in my ear canal, these feel like they are always about to fall out, but I can shake my head pretty vigorously and they don't go anywhere.
All of the controls are in the right bud. It takes some time getting used to them. I find myself triggering it accidentally putting them in my ear or back in the case, and missing the correct spot to trigger them while in my ear (something I'm sure I'll get better at as I get used to doing it). There is a slight delay between tapping the earbud and action, at least with pausing music. I estimate almost a second lapse, which caused me to tap to many times the first few times thinking it wasn't working.
Once you get past the feeling these are going to fall out, they are comfortable. I could see wearing these all day with no issue, but time will tell there.
Since it's winter soon I did a stocking cap test since these do stick out of the ears a little. I can wear a stocking cap pretty comfortably over these without too much pressure on the ears. The touch control on the buds does not work through a cap though. I'm not sure if it's capacitive touch or not - works fine with my bare finger, and it also worked with a non-insulated leather glove (including swipe for volume), but insulated gloves I could not trigger the controls.
Sound Quality:
I would say the sound quality for these is average for the price range. I am not thrilled at the quality, but it's not bad either. The range isn't as dynamic as my Powerbeats3 and definitely not my RHA T20i's. However, it is good and there is a decent mix. There's definitely bass that is respectable for not being in the ear canal, but it's not as well defined and punchy as the other ear phones I mentioned (I would even say the Buds have a slightly muddy sounding). I like to test the bass with the song Folklore by Big Big Train. About 53 seconds in there's a good baseline that with the Powerbeats and T20i's I can really feel a significant presence that in the Buds it's just there but don't make me go wow. I threw a pair of earpods on (I don't have AirPods but those supposedly sound similar to the earpods). I would say the quality is similar to these, with maybe an ever so slight edge to the earpods for being a little more clear throughout the range.
The assistant comes across very clear. I have not had the opportunity to test phone calls yet, so I'll have to report back on that.
Overall I'd give the sound quality a "meh" rating... it's acceptable for the price, but if you are coming from a $200+ pair, you won't be impressed. I got these more for convenience than stellar sound.
Conclusion:
Overall on initial impression, they are definitely convenient and fit well. The sound I'm not as happy with, but we'll see if it's good enough over time to keep these as my daily drivers due to the comfort. For everyday use for all purposes, I think these are a good investment, but if your primary use is listening to music, I think there are better options out there even within a similar price range.