Google Pixel Buds 2017 Wireless Headphones Review

These are well-designed and slick-looking earbuds that, unfortunately, aren't truly wireless. They have a unique shape and a decently small footprint with smooth plastic casings for the earbuds that feel durable. Their behind-the-head cable design is somewhat similar to the Jaybird X3 Wireless or Bose SoundSport Wireless, but unlike those headphones, the Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's cable is braided, and it also doubles as adjustable stability loops.

They have an open earbud fit with unique adjustable stability tips/fins mechanism that helps them stay securely in your ears. The cable loops out of the buds to help you get a secure fit. They also don't put any pressure in the ear, and they're incredibly lightweight, making them less noticeable once you get used to the fit. Unfortunately, the earbud design isn't angled like the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless and doesn't sit as well in the notch of your outer ear, which may be an issue for some listeners. If you're looking for more comfortable Google headphones, consider the Google Pixel Buds A-Series Truly Wireless.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 offer a mediocre set of touch-sensitive controls. You can play or pause your music by double-tapping. Tap and hold activates Google Assistant, and swiping up or down changes the volume. Unfortunately, feedback and ease of use aren't the best. The touch-sensitive control scheme is subject to many erroneous inputs when sliding your finger up or down or double-tapping. It's sometimes easier to pull your phone out and change the track or volume directly on the device than with the headphones, which is disappointing.

Like most in-ears and earbuds, the Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 are very breathable headphones. They're compact, and their earbud design means they won't make your ears warm even during the most strenuous of activities.

Like most wireless in-ears, they're portable. They can easily fit inside your pockets and come with a portable case as well.

These earbuds come with a well-designed and compact case. It protects your earbuds from drops and accidental impacts but not against water damage. Also, the case is covered in a denim-like fabric that looks nice and matches the design language of the Google Home Mini but feels a little cheap compared to the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless or the Sony WF-1000X Truly Wireless' case.

These earbuds are well-designed and feel decently durable. The casing feels sturdy enough to withstand a couple of accidental drops without much damage to the headset. The braided cable that links the two earbuds is thick and won't snap easily from physical stress or getting tangled up in your clothes. However, their overall design doesn't feel as premium or aesthetically pleasing as the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless or the Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 are stable enough for running as long as you adjust the cable stability tips to fit your ears. Unfortunately, they can easily fall off if you don't use the cable to have a secure fit.

• Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 headphones
• Charging case
• USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

Although they have an excited V-shape sound profile, the Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 are bass-heavy to the point where they sound overly boomy and muddy. Their overemphasized treble results in harshness in high frequencies. This will be better suited for bass-heavy genres like EDM or hip-hop and won't be great for most instrument or vocal-centric genres.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 have a surprisingly great frequency response consistency. Provided you achieve a proper fit, you should experience similar bass and treble response every time you use it.

Their bass accuracy is bad. They have poor low-frequency extension, which results in very bad low-bass performance. The low-bass significantly lacks thump and rumble. There's also a noticeable overemphasis in the mid and high bass ranges, which clutters the mix and makes it sound boomy and muddy.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's mid accuracy is decent. The overall response is even, but the bump in low-mid, which is the continuation of the high-bass overemphasis, adds muddiness and clutter to the mix and makes vocals thick and slightly muffled.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 have a satisfactory treble range performance. The overall response is consistent, but low-treble and mid-treble are consistently over our target, which adds a bit of excess brightness and sharpness to vocals, leads, and cymbals.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's peaks and dips performance is disappointing. There's variation throughout the whole range, which makes the overall sound signature fairly uneven. The wide peak in the bass range adds muddiness. The mid-range is drowned out by the bass, while the sharp peaks in the treble range make those frequencies too piercing.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's imaging performance is okay. They show audible amounts of group delay in the bass range, which results in a slightly soft and loose bass. Our unit shows noticeable amounts of amplitude mismatch between the left and right buds, but this seemed to be related to fit and seal rather than driver mismatch. Note that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

Like most other earbuds and in-ears, they have a bad passive soundstage. Due to their design, they bypass the pinna and don't interact with it. Because of their open fit, they sound more open and spacious than typical closed-back in-ears.

These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is just okay. There's a noticeable jump in the mid-range at higher volumes, resulting in a harsh and impure audio reproduction. Overall, this shouldn't be too noticeable for most people.

The results of this review are only valid for these test settings.

The isolation provided by the Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 is bad. While they're technically closed-back earbuds, they have a very open fit. They don't isolate in the bass and mid-ranges, so they let in all the low rumbling sounds of airplane and bus engines, as well as the chatter of people around you. They don't even fare well against high-frequency noises like the hum of an AC system, which is disappointing. However, some users may prefer their lack of noise isolation, as they can allow you to hear your environment.

The leakage performance is decent. There's some leakage at higher frequencies, which can be heard by nearby coworkers if they're close to you. If you want a pair of earbud-style headphones that don't leak as much audio, check out the Microsoft Surface Earbuds Truly Wireless.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 have an integrated microphone inside the buds.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 microphone has a decent recording quality. The recorded/transmitted speech sounds full and understandable. However, speech lacks a bit of presence and detail.

We noticed that the microphone has a tendency to distort on PCs, and the recorded speech files are distorted because of that. However, their microphone sounds much cleaner on smartphones.

The noise handling of the Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's integrated microphone is mediocre. The mic struggles to separate actual speech and background noise. It performs better in quiet environments.

We noticed that the microphone has a tendency to distort on PCs, and the recorded speech files are distorted because of that. However, their microphone sounds clean on smartphones.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1's battery performance is just okay. They offer just under five hours of continuous playback time, and the case holds a few additional charges as well. They don't take a lot of time to charge, which is nice. They also automatically turn off if you don't use them, which is helpful to save battery life.

The Google Pixel Buds Gen 1 don't have a companion app. There's a small pop-up interface for Pixel phones, but that's about it; you don't have any customization options.

They have a fairly easy-to-pair Bluetooth connection. You can connect simultaneously up to two devices and have up to eight devices stored in memory for automatic pairing when you open the case. Unfortunately, they don't have NFC, which would make pairing with multiple devices a lot easier. Their latency with mobile devices on YouTube isn't too bad, and most people may not notice any delay when watching video content. Note that you also need the case to pair to new devices, which can be annoying for some.

These headphones are Bluetooth-only.

You can't use these headphones wired. They only come with a USB-C charging cable. If you're looking for similarly-performing earbuds that you can use with a wired connection, take a look at the Google Pixel USB-C Earbuds, which, as the name implies, use a USB-C connection for audio.

These Bluetooth headphones can't be used on a PS4 but can work on a Bluetooth-enabled computer.

These headphones aren't compatible with the Xbox One.

The case provides around 4.5 additional charges when the headphones are docked. Unfortunately, it provides no additional features or input/output options, and you also need the case to pair the headphones to new devices, which isn't ideal.