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google-pixel-buds-a-series-review:-sounds-familiar

Google Pixel Buds A-Series review: Sounds familiar

(Pocket-lint) – Google has announced a new version of the Pixel Buds, its true wireless headphones that originally launched in 2017 – the first-gen weren’t all that, though, while the second-gen Buds 2 stepped things up a little in 2019.

The third model belongs to the A-Series, picking up on the A series that we’ve seen in Google’s phones, presenting an affordable choice of true wireless headset.

What’s different to the previous Pixel Buds?

To look that, there isn’t a huge difference between the A-Series and Buds 2: both have the same overall styling and come in a case that’s smooth, much like a pebble.

Both have the same earbud design with a little promontory at the top to help keep them secure, and a round touch-control area on the outside.

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The Pixel Buds 2 have wireless charging, however, and inside the case and on the inner part of the ‘buds have a matte finish to the plastics, while the A-Series is glossy. That means the older version looks slightly higher quality.

The A-Series also lacks the option to change the volume via gestures – instead you have to use voice for that – and there are a few minor feature differences. Otherwise, the experience is much the same – but the A-Series is much cheaper.

Design & Build

  • Earbud: 20.7 x 29.3 x 17.5mm; 5.06g
  • Colours: Dark Olive / Clearly White
  • Case: 63 x 47 x 25mm; 52.9g
  • IPX4 water-resistant
  • Three ear tip sizes

The Buds A-Series’ case, for all intents and purposes, is the same as that of the Buds 2: it’s the same size, has the same feel, and that same satisfying action when you open and close the lid. Both have a USB-C charging port, a manual connection button on the rear, but the A-Series is slightly lighter.

There’s a satisfying magnetic action when you drop the ‘buds into the case to charge and don’t worry about mixing these up if you happen to have the older version too – the A-Series has two charging contacts inside, the Pixel Buds 2 has three.

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There are two colours to the A-Series – Clearly White or Dark Olive – and opening the lid reveals the colour you’re looking at, as it’s the touchy smooth round end of these Buds, carrying the ‘G’ logo, which makes them really distinctive.

The A-Series ‘buds have the same design as the previous model, with the body of the earbud designed to sit in the concha of the ear, while sealing into the canal with a choice of three different ear tips. These are round – Google seemingly hasn’t been tempted to move to oval as seen on some rivals.

There’s an additional rubber arm that sticks out the top of the buds that is designed to slot into one of the folds at the top of your ear to help keep things secure. We weren’t a fan of it on the previous version and we have the same reservations here: you can’t remove it from the ‘buds and we’re not convinced it’s necessary. As for us, the Buds A-Series sit securely in the ear anyway – even when exercising.

Indeed, if we rotate the earbuds to get that blobby rubber ant to engage with our ears, the sound from the headphones gets worse because they then don’t sit in the best position for our ears. That’s one thing to consider: all ears are different, so this might work for some people and not for others.

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The great thing about these earbuds’ design is that they don’t hang out of your ear, so you don’t need to worry about pulling a hat over the top or anything else – we think they look a lot better than the ear-dribble style of Apple’s AirPods and all those who copy them. We find the Google design more comfortable for wearing over long periods, too.

Connection, setup and control

  • Native Pixel support
  • Pixel Buds app
  • Touch controls

Google Fast Pair means you just have to lift the lid of the case and your nearby Android phone will detect the Pixel Buds A-Series and allow you to connect with one tap. It’s essentially the same as Apple’s system with the AirPods and iPhone, linking the Buds to the Google account you register them with so they are then available on other devices too.

If you’re using a Pixel phone then you’ll have native support for the Buds; if using another brand Android device you’ll be prompted to download the Pixel Buds app, which will provide access to firmware updates and details on how to use all the features, as well as some options.

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As far as setup is concerned, that’s all there is to it: you’ll be asked to walk through things like Google Assistant, and you’ll be prompted to allow notifications access, so you can unlock the potential of the Pixel Buds.

The touch-controls are fairly easy to master, too, with both left and right sides offering the same function: single-tap to play/pause; double-tap to skip forward; triple-tap to skip backwards; press-and-hold to get a notifications update.

The last of those is interesting, because you’ll get a report of the time and then you’ll be told about your notifications – with the option to reply, needing a press-and-hold to speak your reply, before it’s confirmed and then sent.

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Missing from this selection of touch-controls is volume: unlike the Pixel Buds 2, you can’t swipe to change the volume, you have to ask Google Assistant to do it or you have to thumb the volume controller on your device instead.

This, we feel, is the biggest flaw of these headphones: volume control is pretty important when you’re listening to something, so having to ask Google using voice just isn’t appropriate in all situations.

Google Assistant and smart features

  • Google Assistant integration
  • Adaptive Sound

With a lack of volume control, Google pushes its Adaptive Sound option as a solution. This is designed to adapt the volume to the ambient sound levels. As the external noise goes up, so does the volume of the headphones. That’s fine in principal and works when you move from and area of consistent background noise to another – from a quiet library to a server room with whirring fans, for example – but it’s hopeless when you have varying noise levels.

Just walk along a busy street with Adaptive Sound on and you’ll find the volume of the headphones yo-yoing, because it’s not constant noise, it depends on what’s driving past at that moment. This could be corrected by a software update with Google reducing the frequency of volume changes. If you manually adjust the volume then it suspends the system for a bit and leaves the control to you, but in reality, it’s just too irritating to use in many situations and you might as well turn your phone volume up instead.

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As we’ve said, Google Assistant is fully integrated into the headphones, so you can ask Google anything that you might on your phone or Nest Hub at home. For fans of the system, that’s a great addition, because you don’t need to fish your phone out of your pocket first. Sure, there are lots of headphones out there that offer Google Assistant, but naturally, Google puts Google first and the experience is nice and smooth.

It’s also a two-way experience, with Google Assistant notifying you of incoming messages and it’s able to read them out to you too – with the option to speak a reply. You can disable messages from any apps you don’t want in the Pixel Buds app, to maintain privacy (or, indeed, a barrage of non-stop voiced messaging). You can also trigger message sending through voice – and you’ll get to confirm the message that’s being sent.

Thanks to Voice Match, it will only respond to your voice – and that also means you can access things like your calendar and so on. It’s plain sailing all round.

Sound quality and performance

  • Buds: 5 hours battery life
  • Case: 19 hours extra
  • Spatial Vents
  • Bass Boost

When it comes to the performance, Google is taking a bit of a gamble. Rather then pursuing isolation from the outside world, it wants to provide an experience that lets some of the ambient sound in, so you don’t feel cut off.

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Google uses what it calls Spatial Vents, while claiming that the headphones provide a gentle seal rather than trying to block everything out. We’re not huge fans of this approach and with the rise in headphones offering active noise cancellation (ANC), it suggests that generally speaking that’s what people are buying.

Needless to say, there’s no ANC here and you’ll be able to hear what’s happening around you a lot of the time. At home that’s perhaps useful – you can hear the doorbell or the dog bark – but out on public transport, you’ll hear every announcement, door crash, clatter of the wheels on the tracks, and that’s not something we want. This is exactly the same experience as the previous Pixel Buds and whether that suits you will depends very much on where you wear your headphones. If that’s a busy place, the A-Series might not be the best for you.

Aside from that, in quiet conditions, the sound quality is actually very good. The Pixel Buds A-Series benefits from the Bass Boost option that Google added as a software update to the previous Buds in late 2020, so they offer better performance for tracks which want a driving bassline. In quiet conditions at home we have no complaints: the Pixel Buds A-Series is a great pair of headphones, especially at the asking price and given the smart options they offer.

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When it comes to calling there are two beam-forming mics on each ‘bud, but they still let noise through to the caller. This is reduced, but they’ll hear every car that drives past as a hiss. If you’re after a better calling experience, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro offers a far better experience, providing a better veil of silence when making calls.

The Pixel Buds A-Series provides battery life of 5 hours, which we’ve found to be accurate – although we found the left ‘bud to drain slightly faster than the right one. The case supplies 24 hours of life, recharging the buds when they are back in it, and charged itself via USB-C. This isn’t the longest battery life on the market, but it matches the Apple AirPods.



Best Bluetooth headphones 2021 rated: Top on-ear or over-ear wireless headphones


By Mike Lowe
·

Verdict

The Pixel Buds A-Series have a lot to offer considering the price: Google Assistant integration, comfortable design, a lovely case, plus great audio performance when in quieter conditions.

The biggest downsides are the lack of on-bud volume controls and the design decision to not strive for isolation from external noise. The Adaptive Sound – which auto-adjusts volume – is a good idea in principle to compensate for this, but it sees the headphones’ volume yo-yo unnaturally.

Compared to the older Pixel Buds 2, we’d pick the Pixel Buds A-Series every time: they do the important things just as well but the price is much more approachable, meaning you can forgive the omissions given the context of price.

Also consider

Pocket-lint

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro offer great noise-cancelling – which is especially effective when making calls – while also offering a great set of features.

  • Read the full review

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Jabra Elite Active 75t

These headphones are a little more bulky, but they offer noise-cancellation that will almost entirely eliminate external noise. If you want silence, Jabra delivers it.

  • Read the full review

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Writing by Chris Hall.

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Chrome will soon warn you when you might not want to trust an extension

Google is rolling out new safety features for Chrome which are designed to make it easier to spot dubious downloads and extensions. They build upon the browser’s Enhanced Safe Browsing feature, which launched last year to offer better warnings against phishing sites.

When it comes to Chrome extensions, the browser will now show a warning if what you’re installing is not considered “trusted.” In order to be trusted, extensions need to come from a developer that has followed Google’s Developer Program Policies and has been around for “at least a few months.” That means brand-new developers won’t immediately be considered trusted by Google.

When attempting to download an extension that’s not trusted, Chrome will show a pop-up warning that you should “proceed with caution.” However, there’s still the option to “continue to install” the extension. Google says nearly three-quarters of the extensions on Chrome’s store will be considered trusted under its criteria. Not being “trusted” doesn’t mean Google thinks an extension is dangerous, but that its developer might be newer to the store or may have recently committed a minor policy violation.

Suspicious files can now go through a more thorough scan.
Image: Google

Chrome is also getting a new scanning feature for suspicious-looking downloads. In the future, any downloads that seem “risky, but not clearly unsafe” will offer an option to upload them to Google’s servers for a more thorough scan. This process can be bypassed if you prefer, but it offers an extra layer of protection when downloading files from the web. The new scanning option is offered in addition to the existing metadata checks that Chrome already performs on downloads.

Google says the new features are rolling out gradually for Chrome 91, the version of the browser that released late last month.

google-announces-$99-pixel-buds-a-series

Google announces $99 Pixel Buds A-Series

As usual for Google hardware, the new Pixel Buds A-Series have already been extensively leaked, and the company even tweeted about them prematurely. But today, the earbuds are being officially announced. They’re priced at $99, a significant savings compared to the $179 standard Pixel Buds, and are available for preorder in the United States and Canada starting now. Google says the Pixel Buds A-Series be released on June 17th. They come in either olive green or white and gray.

Despite their much lower cost, the Pixel Buds A-Series retain the same sound quality as the 2020 Pixel Buds. They also still offer hands-free “Hey Google” voice commands and are rated IPX4 for water and sweat resistance. Google has slashed some features of the prior earbuds — like wireless charging for the case and swipe controls for volume — but the Pixel Buds A-Series don’t skimp on much else.

Image: Google

Battery life is rated at five hours (24 hours counting recharges in the case), and Google says you can get up to three hours of listening time with a 15-minute quick charge.

While the Pixel Buds A-Series look practically identical to the regular Pixel Buds, Google has tweaked the design by softening the integrated ear hooks / stabilizer arcs and making them a bit smaller. The company has also taken steps to avoid the connectivity bugs and audio cutouts that still affect some owners of its last earbuds. And the Pixel Buds A-Series can crank louder in overall volume.

Did Google succeed in making a must-have pair of $99 earbuds? Well, I’ve actually been using the Pixel Buds A-Series for a few days now, and you can read the full review right now.

google-pixel-buds-a-series-review:-price-is-everything

Google Pixel Buds A-Series review: price is everything

The new Pixel Buds A are available in a dark green color

The $99 Pixel Buds are a better buy than their pricier predecessors

With the new, awkwardly named Pixel Buds A-Series, Google is trying to do more than merely introduce a much cheaper set of true wireless earbuds: the company wants to get it right this time — and get it right for under $100. Google’s second-generation Pixel Buds were certainly an improvement over the company’s original wireless earbuds; let us never forget the most overly intricate carrying case of all time. But the 2020 earbuds came with issues of their own. At the top of that list were concerns with stability. Google never managed to get the two Pixel Buds connected as reliably as many competitors, and some owners still complain of audio dropouts even after numerous firmware updates.

In several ways, Google has succeeded at its goal. The $99 Pixel Buds A-Series are more comfortable to wear over longer stretches of time than the pricier earbuds. They retain the same enjoyable sound quality, and hands-free “Hey Google” access to Google Assistant and features like real-time language translation are still useful tricks to have at your disposal. The carrying case is just as fun to fidget with as before (though it lost wireless charging) and has the same satisfying thunk when you close it. Google promises the same five hours of continuous battery life, with a total of 24 hours when you include case recharges.

The bad news is that Google didn’t fully overcome the connectivity issues, though it made some improvement. I recently talked with Google’s Sandeep Waraich, who went over some of the changes made to the A-Series buds that were meant to enhance wireless reliability. Each earbud connects individually to the source device. Both the antenna and chipset architectures were optimized for stronger transmission power and increased range to avoid cross-body audio dropouts. There’s even an all-new chipset inside, though Google declined to tell me who manufactures it.

But in my experience so far, the Pixel Buds A-Series still have more occasional blips and audio interruptions than those from many competitors. It’s not as much of a glaring problem as before, and I really only encountered it on the move (and on busy streets with plenty of wireless interference), but it’s still something you’ll run into at times. But I find that it’s easier to tolerate things like this for $99 than the $179 that Google still asks for the 2020 Pixel Buds.

Google also told me about some subtle improvements it made to the physical design. The A-Series earbuds look nearly identical to the 2020 Pixel Buds, but according to Waraich, the nonremovable “stabilizer arc” — a source of discomfort last time after prolonged listening — has been made softer and smaller than before. I’ve got large ears, and it seems like the hook never settles into the folds of my ear the way it’s meant to, but the Pixel Buds A-Series sit snug and stable regardless.

The Pixel Buds A-Series look just like the regular Pixel Buds.

Google also shaved off a few milligrams of weight from each earbud. The Pixel Buds A-Series come in either white or olive green, and the inside of the carrying case is now color matched to whichever earbuds you get. In the ear, the Pixel Buds continue to have a very discreet, flush style and can be hard to spot when looking at someone head-on.

They still have a discreet design that sits flush against your ear and doesn’t stick out far.

The acoustic architecture is unchanged, so the sound signature between the Pixel Buds and Pixel Buds A-Series is very consistent. That’s a good thing. Google aims for full, natural audio reproduction, and that’s what you get from these earbuds and their 12-millimeter drivers. You can still enable the “bass boost” option in settings to give the low end some added oomph. Even with bass boost active, the Pixel Buds don’t match the boominess of something like the Jabra Elite 75ts or Sony’s WF-XB700s. Still, there’s a level of clarity that outshines many earbuds that sell at the $100 mark. Waraich told me that Google increased overall volume levels across the board after some customers found the 2020 Pixel Buds couldn’t crank as high as they’d hoped.

The carrying case is also similar, though this one lacks wireless charging.

But although the Pixel Buds A-Series can get louder, they still have to contend with a lot of the outside world. Like the previous model, these A-Series earbuds just aren’t very good at noise isolation. While working from the outdoor seating area at my local coffee shop, I could hear an annoying level of traffic at all times. I think it partially comes down to their vented, airy design, but Google seems to struggle with this more than other companies.

Google says it actually tweaked the spatial vents to allow less outside noise in, but it’s still a noticeable downside of these earbuds. I think it’s inherently got something to do with the fit and “gentle” in-ear seal that Google had in mind with the design. What’s become clear to me is that the next flagship Pixel Buds really need some form of active noise cancellation to counteract this. I know there are people who prefer some awareness of what’s happening around them, but you get a little too much of that with the Pixel Buds.

I already mentioned the loss of wireless charging, but other sacrifices that Google made to hit the $99 price aren’t as obvious. The swipe forward / back gestures that let you easily control volume on the Pixel Buds are gone; now you’re limited to just taps for track controls. The A-Series earbuds also ditch the “experimental” attention alerts feature that could detect specific sounds like sirens, dog barks, or a baby crying. And the LED that was on the inside of the Pixel Buds case (to indicate charge status of the buds) is also history. These omissions make sense to me, and Google has at least preserved other important vitals like IPX4 water and sweat resistance. Voice calls also remain a Pixel Buds strength on the A-Series, with dual beamforming mics that do a good job of plucking your voice out of noisy environments and maintaining clarity during phone chats or work conference calls. Voice commands to Google Assistant were also recognized loud and clear.

The “adaptive sound” feature, which automatically adjusts volume based on your surroundings, is also carried over from the 2020 Pixel Buds. It works reasonably well and only activates when there are sustained changes in ambient noise as you move between different locations, but I’m old-school and prefer controlling volume myself rather than letting algorithms do it. The Pixel Buds A-Series still support Android’s Fast Pair feature for quick setup. On Pixel smartphones, the companion app is built in, but you can also grab it from the Play Store on other Android phones. With it, you can locate your earbuds, toggle settings like bass boost and in-ear detection (another thing Google didn’t skimp on), or check battery levels for the earbuds and case. No such app exists for iOS, however.

By holding onto a lot of what worked best on the 2020 Pixel Buds — namely sound quality and hands-free voice controls — and improving other parts that didn’t, Google has ended up with an appealing set of $99 earbuds. The Pixel Buds A-Series haven’t fully stamped out the biggest issue that dragged down their pricier older sibling, and the level of outside noise your tunes compete against will turn some people away. But even with some of the things Google left out, you’re getting a better overall product for less money.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

satechi’s-ipad-pro-hub-will-let-you-pretend-it’s-a-real-desktop

Satechi’s iPad Pro hub will let you pretend it’s a real desktop

The latest gadget from Satechi is both a stand and a USB-C hub made for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models that have a USB-C charging port, as well as the 2020 iPad Air. It’s $100, and with your tablet wedged into the stand, it should look more like a traditional monitor, so you can keep on pretending it’s an actual desktop replacement.

Like any hub, it gives you a handful of extra ports for expanding the functionality of your iPad. This one includes an HDMI port capable of outputting 4K at up to 60Hz refresh rate, a USB-A data port, a USB-C PD port with up to 60W of charging power, a headphone jack, and separate slots for an SD and microSD card.

You technically don’t need an iPad to use this hub, as this foldable stand is compatible with other computers, tablets, and phones that have a USB-C port. Satechi does mention, however, that your device needs a USB-C PD port for “full compatibility” with the hub. It lists the last five years of MacBook Pros, the 2018 and 2020 MacBook Air, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 and Surface Go, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Google Pixelbook as viable companions to its hub. Extra compatibility is nice, but if you don’t have an iPad (and thus, no need for the stand component), you can probably find a different USB-C hub that’s no less capable for cheaper.

If this product seems appealing to you, Satechi is knocking $20 off the cost through June 6th at midnight PT when you enter the offer code IPADPRO at checkout.

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Google is making it harder for Android apps to track you once you’ve opted out

It’s going to get harder for Android apps to track users who’ve opted out of receiving personalized ads, the Financial Times reports, after Google announced changes to how it’ll handle the unique device identifiers that allow marketers to track them between apps. Starting later this year, Google is cutting off access to these “Advertising IDs” after a user opts out, and will show developers a “string of zeros” in its place.

The news was announced in an email to Play Store developers, and Google has also updated its support page for Advertising IDs with the announcement. Google told developers the changes will “provide users with more control over their data, and help bolster security and privacy,” the Financial Times reports.

The change comes a few short months after Apple overhauled how advertising IDs work on iOS in an apparent attempt to compete with the new policy. Recently, Google also announced that it’s adding privacy info to its Play Store listings, mirroring a similar feature Apple added to its App Store last year, and is also limiting which apps can see what you have installed on your phone.

Users have long been able to opt out of personalized ads on Android (you can do so by heading into the Settings app, going into the Google menu, and selecting “Ads”), but it seems this doesn’t currently stop developers from being able to access your device’s advertising ID entirely. AdExchanger reports that apps have previously been able to use the identifier for non-advertising purposes like analytics and fraud prevention, and Google’s support page says it will announce an “alternate solution” for these use cases next month.

Google’s support page says that the rollout of the new policy will happen in phases. Android 12 devices will start seeing the change in “late 2021,” before it rolls out to all devices with Google Play early next year. XDA Developers reports that Google Play Services will also notify existing apps with access to your advertising ID and related data, so that this can be deleted where appropriate.

Although Google’s announcement follows hot on the heels of Apple’s own ad tracking changes, it’s not yet clear how similar the two approaches will be. Google’s support page still refers to the decision to stop ad tracking as an “opt out” process, while Apple’s changes effectively make tracking an opt-in decision. But regardless of how Google eventually handles the process, it’s another potentially huge shake-up for the digital advertising industry.

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Google TV could soon offer personalised homepages for each user in your family

(Image credit: Google)

Looks like Google TV could soon support different user profiles on the home screen. 9to5Google has dug into the source code of the latest version of the operating system and found mention of personalised home screens, which would offer a much more tailored experience for anyone watching.

Google TV already lets you sign in with multiple Google Accounts, and offers Kids Profiles, which only offer age-appropriate content. But with adult profiles, no matter who’s watching, the homepage will only be personalised to the main account. That means anyone watching will only see recommendations for the main account holder.

But it looks like that could soon change. Source code for the latest update to the Google TV Home app – version 1.0.370 – contains mentions for individual profiles on the home screen. 

The mentions include: “Add another account to this device to have their own personalized Google TV experience”. Which seems pretty clear cut.

However, just because this text appears in the code that doesn’t mean the feature will definitely make an appearance. Google might just be considering adding it for now, though given how it would enhance the user experience – and bring it in line with lots of other streaming services – we reckon it’s close to a dead cert.

The code also reveals a new tutorial video that would show parents how to hide certain content from kids’ profiles.

Google TV features on the stellar Google Chromecast with Google TV – a dongle that earned five stars in our review. The operating system recently added support for Amazon Music, bolstering its offering even further.

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Read all about Google TV: apps, features, compatible TVs and more

Check out our guide to the best video streamers

Or go in-depth with one of the best, with our Amazon Fire TV 4K review