It’s been a pretty busy week for Google, with the Mountain View tech giant finally announcing its latest wave of flagship smartphones in the Pixel 10 line. That being said though, this wasn’t the only big reveal at Google’s event, as the company also unveiled the new Pixel Buds 2a. It’s been a few years since the launch of the original Pixel buds A-series, and Google has now brought over some new features. Priced at £129, what can we expect this time around?
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The new Pixel Buds 2a come in a couple of colours which include “Hazel” and “Iris”, and also adopt the same overall product design that Google did with the more expensive Pixel Buds 2 Pro (same as for the charging case), such as the tweaked wingtip design which supposedly helps with a better overall fit for users. The new earbuds also come with IP54 protection from dust and moisture, while the charging case comes with IPX4 protection.
A big step up from the older A-series Buds is active noise cancelling, which finally brings the Pixel Buds 2a up to speed with countless other affordable earbuds on the market. The ANC feature works with the built-in Silent Seal technology for improved ANC, and Google adds that the earbuds also feature active in-ear pressure relief, which should come in handy for lengthy listening sessions. In terms of battery life, the Buds 2a can also last for up to 10 hours per charge, although turning on ANC brings this down to seven hours, with a total of up to 27 hours with the charging case.
Under the hood, the Pixel Buds 2a are powered by a custom processor dubbed the Google Tensor A1, which works hand in hand with software processing features, including support for voice commands with Google Gemini. The earbuds also support touch gestures, as well as in-ear detection for automatic pause and playback.
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In addition to the new budget earbuds, Google also announced some new features coming to the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which will be available starting in September. These include Loud Noise Protection for outdoor environments, hands-free texts and calls, and Adaptive Audio to automatically adjust the volume.
