Ok....
People have them in their hot little hands (shipping started last week) ....
Reviews anyone?
People have them in their hot little hands (shipping started last week) ....
Reviews anyone?
Pixel Buds? Anyone with a review?
- Thread starter Legobricke
- Start date
skraggy
Active member
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.
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.
Last edited:
skraggy
Active member
vzwuser76
Well-known member
Those might be perfect for me. I hate earbuds as a general rule, and I have a problem where if I irritate my ear canals too much, I have issues similar to swimmer's ear.
skraggy
Active member
Just to follow up on my review with day 2 observations:
Due to being light and not in your ear, these have been pretty comfortable to wear. I find the cord "ear hook" to be slightly irritating on the ear, but may get used to that.
The notification function (double tap to read notifications) is pretty buggy. A lot of apps don't seem to register (including Android Messages) when checking for notifications with double tap, and the whole function has all but completed stopped working for me. Right now double tap does nothing. Sometimes I can fix it by putting the buds to sleep (in the case) and pulling them back out, but that only lasts for a brief amount of time before it stops working again.
Due to being light and not in your ear, these have been pretty comfortable to wear. I find the cord "ear hook" to be slightly irritating on the ear, but may get used to that.
The notification function (double tap to read notifications) is pretty buggy. A lot of apps don't seem to register (including Android Messages) when checking for notifications with double tap, and the whole function has all but completed stopped working for me. Right now double tap does nothing. Sometimes I can fix it by putting the buds to sleep (in the case) and pulling them back out, but that only lasts for a brief amount of time before it stops working again.
PhiPsi32
Well-known member
I'm not impressed by the Pixel Buds. The fit is horrible and the translate function is buggy.
I have to fidget with the buds for one or two minutes to get them seated in my ear. Then another minute or two to adjust the cord loop.
Even then the buds don't feel secure. In fact, the buds feel even more uncomfortable. As noted by other reviewers, the buds do not provide any sound isolation. Nonetheless, in quiet conditions, the sound quality is rich and somewhat immersive.
The integration with Google Translate is very disappointing. I can open the app with Google Assistant or manually; however, activating the translation algorithm does . . . nothing. It doesn't matter if I trigger the voice translation with the handset or the right ear bud. I get nothing. On the other hand, if I disconnect the Pixel Buds, speak to translate works fine.
Oh, another detail, the controls are wrapped into gestures input into the right ear bud. It works sometimes, but the Pixel Buds get confused between activating voice prompts, changing volume, or changing music tracks. I really expected more from these buds.
That's the irony of the deal. I bought these super expensive ear buds for the translation function . . . which doesn't work. To add insult to injury, the translation function works fine WITHOUT the Pixel Buds.
These are going back to Google. It's a great idea poorly executed.
I have to fidget with the buds for one or two minutes to get them seated in my ear. Then another minute or two to adjust the cord loop.
Even then the buds don't feel secure. In fact, the buds feel even more uncomfortable. As noted by other reviewers, the buds do not provide any sound isolation. Nonetheless, in quiet conditions, the sound quality is rich and somewhat immersive.
The integration with Google Translate is very disappointing. I can open the app with Google Assistant or manually; however, activating the translation algorithm does . . . nothing. It doesn't matter if I trigger the voice translation with the handset or the right ear bud. I get nothing. On the other hand, if I disconnect the Pixel Buds, speak to translate works fine.
Oh, another detail, the controls are wrapped into gestures input into the right ear bud. It works sometimes, but the Pixel Buds get confused between activating voice prompts, changing volume, or changing music tracks. I really expected more from these buds.
That's the irony of the deal. I bought these super expensive ear buds for the translation function . . . which doesn't work. To add insult to injury, the translation function works fine WITHOUT the Pixel Buds.
These are going back to Google. It's a great idea poorly executed.
Last edited:
DesertTwang
Well-known member
I read a review that came out today (on The Verge, I believe), that came to the same conclusions as you. Great concepts, but not quite ready for prime time. For me, the fact that they don't seem to filter out any ambient noise is a deal breaker by itself. I think I'll pass on them until they have the kinks ironed out.
vzwuser76
Well-known member
I think the issue with translation is the same as when Google Assistant first launched. By that I mean they'll get better with time. All of this stuff, Assistant, the camera (especially portrait mode), etc are all run off of machine learning. The more it learns, the better it will be. Amazon's Alexa, Cortana, Bixby, and even Siri weren't superstars out of the gate. The same applies to hardware. There's a reason they say don't buy a first generation (anything) because it takes time and tuning to get everything running correctly. I've been an electronics techie for a few decades now, and I've never seen an immaculate product launch. But they have to start somewhere. If they held everything up until it was 100% perfect with no flaws, by the time it was ready, it would be old tech.
These things will just get better as firmware get's updated software wise.... As for the overall comfort and the outside noise issue.... That's a back to the drawing board thing...
Keeping mine.... fit is solid for me....
Keeping mine.... fit is solid for me....
So I received my pixelbud last week with my Pixel XL and I can honestly say they are not that bad like some reviews are trying to make it. My experience so far is that they sound good. The setup was easy and the cord does help with adjusting the fit for each individual ears. The touch features work as advertised but I wish they had a gesture to skip tracks as well. It's not perfect, I think the cord could be longer or get rid of them.
I must agree.... It is funny to see the reviews complaining about:
1.) returning them to the case.... Which is so very simple.
2.) getting them to fit.. It only took me 2 tries and now if get a great fit everytime.
3.) sensitivity of the right bud. I learned very quickly where to touch when placing in my ear.
4.) pairing.... once I removed the safety tape from the ear buds and let them charge for 20 (before pairing) minutes, they paired immediately paired with my Pixel 2 XL.
I have to say that the audio is very solid... and the Google Assistant is very responsive...
1.) returning them to the case.... Which is so very simple.
2.) getting them to fit.. It only took me 2 tries and now if get a great fit everytime.
3.) sensitivity of the right bud. I learned very quickly where to touch when placing in my ear.
4.) pairing.... once I removed the safety tape from the ear buds and let them charge for 20 (before pairing) minutes, they paired immediately paired with my Pixel 2 XL.
I have to say that the audio is very solid... and the Google Assistant is very responsive...
Has anyone used Alcatel A30 Plus - C300 In-Ear Sports Wireless Bluetooth Headphones with mic and volume controls with a Pixel 2 XL?
Seem like a cheap alternative, but not much in the way of reviews or feedback.
Seem like a cheap alternative, but not much in the way of reviews or feedback.
ReggieTee
Well-known member
Swore I'd never buy another Beats product. After meh reviews of the Pixel buds, I decided to get the Beats X since they're on sale. Also read and watched many reviews. I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised. They sound good and the battery died when I was leaving the office at 4pm yesterday. So far so good. I still want to try the Pixel Buds one day.
Jtshurtleff
Well-known member
I have them now, coming from AirPods and before that PowerBeats2 and so far they are pretty comparable to both with the Beats having more range. I haven't listened to much music but it sounds good. I also can't really hear well so I may not pick up on the minor things. As far as cancelling out noise around you it depends on what you're listening to. Currently listening to Cool Patrol and can't hear myself typing but that could be because I am hard of hearing. The fit is...weird? I hated the AirPods for a few weeks because my ears are apparently shaped weird and so they made me bleed. Yes. Bleed. I finally found a fit for my right ear that was semi comfortable. The PixelBuds are much more comfortable and once you kind of get the hang of putting them in your ears they fit well and don't fall out. The pairing process sucks, no way around it. I did the same thing as the above reviewer but added the step of connecting them the normal way via BlueTooth and they wouldn't play anything over the buds. Once they paired though they stay paired WAY better than the AirPods ever did, similar to my Beats. There is also no delay in the audio which I find refreshing since my S8, Note 8 and basically every Android phone I have had since 2015 has had a weird delay I couldn't fix. Oh, and with the Pixel they show batter percentage on the drop down quick settings which is new to me on Android and a feature from iOS I was hoping would make its way to Android. All in all they're $159 and probably shouldn't be that much, maybe $129, but it seems like all BlueTooth buds are in the $150 range if they sound decent and scale up from there. I also like the charging case. It's fabric, which is neat.
I had my buds for a
Few days now and i can tell you. People are so full of ****. I love them they sound great i really was not able to hear outside noise like those cry baby People are saying they are hating seriously my friend tried them she could not hear me talking to her trying to tell her what to do but she is getting a pair fell in love after wearing once turn the volume up will drain out outside noise when i first tried them on i tested that out with with blasting in my ear and my Google blasting music and running water lol nothing major annoying at all people full of **** not it is touch sensitive im still trying to figure that out with my big fingers lol but i figured out the perfect first time they never fell out i also mastered the wrap case the first time its not hard these people are just lazy i swear i haven't done alot on them but listen to music trying to see how they will hold up with my 12hr shifts but i love them and are not sending back im so glad i held out i tried a few different headphones trying to wait for this to hit store just to walk in and didn't like any i almost settled from the bad reviews and i just see how crazy people really are to ruin stuff for other people now these do not skip tracks or double read notification but luckily for me its not and issue because i have a Google Android Wear Smart Watch so im able to skip back forward or whatever from my wrist all check messages and notification because they alert there as well with out pulling out your phone were there is a will there is a way people just dont like find the solution that is right in front of them smh hope this help if not a great rant for me lolol
Few days now and i can tell you. People are so full of ****. I love them they sound great i really was not able to hear outside noise like those cry baby People are saying they are hating seriously my friend tried them she could not hear me talking to her trying to tell her what to do but she is getting a pair fell in love after wearing once turn the volume up will drain out outside noise when i first tried them on i tested that out with with blasting in my ear and my Google blasting music and running water lol nothing major annoying at all people full of **** not it is touch sensitive im still trying to figure that out with my big fingers lol but i figured out the perfect first time they never fell out i also mastered the wrap case the first time its not hard these people are just lazy i swear i haven't done alot on them but listen to music trying to see how they will hold up with my 12hr shifts but i love them and are not sending back im so glad i held out i tried a few different headphones trying to wait for this to hit store just to walk in and didn't like any i almost settled from the bad reviews and i just see how crazy people really are to ruin stuff for other people now these do not skip tracks or double read notification but luckily for me its not and issue because i have a Google Android Wear Smart Watch so im able to skip back forward or whatever from my wrist all check messages and notification because they alert there as well with out pulling out your phone were there is a will there is a way people just dont like find the solution that is right in front of them smh hope this help if not a great rant for me lolol
I concur.... The Pixel Buds exceeded my expectations.... the reviews of bad fit... the outside noise.... placing them back in the case was all horse **** in my case.... Outside of my Zolo Liberty + set, they are the among the best headsets I have used...
The problem for me with the Pixel buds, or any BT headphones for that matter, is they aren't going to sound nearly as nice as my Dunu DK-3001's. The options for high end sound in BT earbuds is just lacking right now
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