Pixel Buds 2a made me forget the Pixel Buds Pro 2

I changed out my go-tos from the Pixel Buds Pro 2 to the Pixel Buds 2a and haven’t turned back. The surprise in the headline is, offhandedly: for half as much money, day-to-day they lost almost nothing I care about. If you live with a Pixel phone, these budget buds seem like the version of what Google expects most people to buy.

Design and fit that do double duty for comfort and seal

The Pixel Buds 2a duplicate the smaller, more ergonomic form of the Pro 2, and it’s all about that twist-to-fit stabilizer. Point the tips down for a looser seal, twist to lock for a more secure one, and you wind up with two fits in one. It’s smart, quick, and comfortable for hours.

Construction is solid despite the glossy shells, and the IP54 rating (per Google’s specs) protects against sweat and light showers.

The case is a bit smaller and more squat than the Pro 2’s, and it slides into a jeans coin pocket even without any coaxing. It does lack the Pro 2’s case speaker, though. More on this later.

Sound and ANC that strike the sweet spot for daily use

Out of the box, the tuning is balanced with a hint of warmth, just the thing one wants for both podcasts and playlists that go easy on your ears. If you prefer some extra punch or sparkle, the five-band custom EQ inside the Pixel Buds app allows you to dial things in with ease. Spatial Audio is present here, too — without active head tracking — and it is lovely for movies on a Pixel tablet.

Active noise cancellation and transparency are the big wins for an A-series product. The ANC eliminates bus groan and HVAC drone, and the transparency manages to retain enough natural tone to carry on a quick conversation at a coffee bar. By lab tests from outlets including RTINGS, you can still get stronger active noise canceling from the likes of Sony and Bose flagships, but for commuting and open offices, well, that makes these land squarely in the “good enough” zone.

Smart features Pixel owners use in real life

What’s really killer here is Bluetooth Multipoint and Audio Switch. I alternated between a Pixel phone, a tablet, and a laptop; the 2a followed without prompting, switching back and forth, pausing music playback on one device to intercept an incoming call on another. That is exactly the type of everyday friction that the Pro 2 solved — and the 2a replicates it perfectly.

It continues to integrate well with Android at a deep level. The volume panel presents ANC and transparency toggles, the battery widget reveals case and bud levels, and Find My Device is able to ping the buds when they’re lost. Built-in support for Gemini, including instant access to Gemini Live, means that executing commands via voice feels as natural as reaching out with your hands.

Battery life and charging choices that actually matter

Google claims the Pixel Buds 2a offer up to 10 hours of playback time when you’re not using ANC, and a little over seven with it on — plus you can top that up by another roughly 20 hours from the case itself. That jibed with my experience: a few workdays of alternating music, calls, and podcasts before I even considered needing a cable.

There’s no wireless charging, and I thought I would miss that. I didn’t. USB-C is all over the place now, and the top-up once per week is bearable. The case is also made with a user-replaceable battery through official repair channels (the sort of public availability that the right-to-repair advocates at iFixit say they have tried for years to pressure the industry into offering). I’ll opt for a longer life rather than an easier one in this instance.

What you give up from Pixel Buds Pro 2 for the price

That does include swipe volume controls, a case speaker, and a few premium extras such as adaptive audio modes, talk detection, and an explicit low-latency gaming toggle. I assumed volume swipes would be a deal-breaker; in reality, I could adjust the volume on my phone or watch without a second thought. The studio, of course, is a much different place than the road, but your mileage may vary if you have to depend on your buds for every tweak.

The missing case speaker is only relevant if you regularly misplace an empty case. Google attempts to mitigate this with the buds themselves beeping when docked. There’s one quirk that remained: the buds can be placed in the charging cradles backwards, which prevents the lid from closing. Commit to memory that the G logo is oriented vertically, and you’ll never play Missy-Elliott-the-Cassette again.

Price and value verdict after weeks with Pixel Buds 2a

Priced at, let’s say $129, the original Pixel Buds 2a substantially undercut the Pixel Buds Pro 2 while keeping all of the must-haves: stable fit, pleasing sound, legit ANC and transparency, Multipoint (which lets you switch effortlessly between two connected devices), Audio Switch with Quick Switch on your phone, or triple tap on a bud to toggle among three active connections without any fiddly menus or settings changes/losses — and integration so tight that I can fool Google Meet into taking me as just another device by selecting headphones for audio input/output rather than app reads. In a category this crowded with good budget options — from Samsung’s Galaxy Buds FE to Nothing’s cheapo models — Google’s secret sauce is ecosystem polish.

Are the Pro 2 superior on paper? Sure. Are they $100 better for most people? For me, no. The Pixel Buds 2a bring you the bits of premium experience that rank in your day, every day — and skip the extras you’ll only notice once a week. That’s why my Pro 2s are in a drawer — and I don’t miss them at all.