Don’t like stems, and the other Samsung buds like the Galaxy Buds FE and Core felt less than optimal. I just picked up a pair of Google Pixel Buds 2a, and they paired instantly with both my Samsung Galaxy S26+ and PC. They’re small, lightweight, and the fit and finish are excellent. I did need to EQ the sound a bit, but aside from that they’ve been very impressive.
Battery life is surprisingly good. I usually wear them one at a time, and a single bud lasts around 7 hours. One bud drained down to 4%, and with the case starting at 100%, it recharged the bud back to full while only dropping the case to 72%. ANC is good not great but nice for budget buds and the connection has been solid with no disconnects. I think they are a good value especially since they're on sale for $20 off so $109 instead of $129.
I got these with the Google store credit from my Pixel 10 Pro so I only paid 30 quid. I'm loving them. The sound quality is great imo, noise cancellation is ok not the best but does the job and I typically don't use it that much. Transparency is surprisingly good for the price. I wouldn't say it's airpod Pro level but it's very close. I typically use it to watch YouTube videos and listen to music (a wide variety) on the bus and I've been perfectly happy and not had to touch the EQ unlike my previous Sony WF-C500 which just sounded very flat without the EQ on. Only real gripe is I have to charge the case more often than the Sonys every 2 - 4 days rather than every 7 but the case also charges in just over an hour compared to 3 hours on the Sonys so it's not too bad
Yeah that sounds unusually bad. Mine I put on charge last night case on 27% buds on 85% L and 87% and when both earbuds on 100% case on 16%. With my usage I tend to have to charge the case around every 2 - 4 days. The buds 2a case definitely drains quickly though and I think it has something to do with the fact it's reporting it's charge percentage to the phone. Useful feature though so🤷🏽♂️
Dang I'm glad I got the 2a buds! Fit great and I haven't heard that sound changing issue, plus I only paid $30 after my store credit for buying the p10. Sorry to hear this!
Coming from the original buds A that I have had since they launched, I like the fit much better, the sound quality it much improved, ANC is great on budget buds. But.... the case battery for me has been terrible. I've made a few other posts about it and wondering if I got a defective case. The battery life on the buds 2a themselves seems good though. I've already started the return process and will purchase them again once that is complete to test.
For example, and this is my experience so far and not speaking for anyone else,
2a case and buds would be at 100%. I used the buds for about 20 minutes of phone calls, and returned to the case. The buds were about 92% when I put them back in. After a little bit, I checked the case and it was down to 70%. It used 30% just to charge the buds 8% each. That just doesn't seem right to me.
I tested my original buds A. Full charge for case and buds. Watched 2 hours of Youtube vids. Buds were around 65% when I put them back in the case. Checked back a while later and both buds were at 100% but the case only dropped to 92%. That's a huge difference compared to the new set.. Wildly different.
I would estimate that using the buds 2A for a few weeks, that only using them for 2-3 hours and putting them back in the case drains the entire case battery.
I'll try to update in a few weeks when I get the new set to see if the results are the same.
Anyone else that has a different experience case battery wise, please let me know.
Oh interesting, I haven't encountered any issues with mine. Most of the features work fine. But yes, one of the issues is updating them which I'm lucky enough to have a P10 for work so I can update and change equalization settings as well. I'm with you though, I vastly prefer the Pixel Buds over Airpods, especially the fit and size.
9pointkid
