Google Pixel Buds 2020 Truly Wireless Headphones Review

The Google Pixel Buds 2020 are premium-looking headphones with a minimalist style. They're compact, sleek, and don't feature much in the way of flashy branding or accents. Unlike the first-generation Google Pixel Buds 2017 Wireless, they're now truly wireless headphones with an in-ear fit. We tested the white version, which have a mix of matte white and black on both the earbuds and the case. They're also available in black, orange, or green, though the case is the same for all color options, and the black part of the earbud remains unchanged.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020 are comfortable. They're very lightweight and don't put much pressure inside your ear canal. They also have a fairly shallow fit, and using their touch-sensitive control scheme doesn't force them any deeper into your ears.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020 have okay controls. Each earbud has a touch-sensitive surface so you can make commands without having to push the headphones further into your ear. They're very easy to use, and you can issue all commands on either ear, which can be handy if your hands are full. One tap pauses and plays media, two taps skips forward, and three taps rewinds the track. Swiping forward or backward increases or decreases volume, respectively. A long press turns on your phone's voice assistant. There's a fair bit of feedback in the form of beeps for playback adjustments, though there are no audio cues for volume changes except for once you've reached the minimum or maximum increments. Unlike the older Google Pixel Buds 2017 Wireless, which were prone to erroneous inputs, we didn't have this issue with these headphones.

Like most truly wireless in-ears, the Google Pixel Buds 2 are very portable. They should be easy to store in your pocket, and their case is small enough to be tossed in a pouch or bag with little concern.

The Google Pixel Buds 2's case is amazing. It looks and feels very premium, with an unusual rounded-off shape, and supports Qi wireless charging as well as conventional cable charging over USB-C. While there's an indicator light on the outside, it only tells you when the case itself is charged. You need to open the lid to see the interior indicator light that shows whether your earbuds are finished charging or not, which can be a bit annoying.

The Google Pixel Buds 2 look and feel well-made and durable. They're made from dense high-grade plastic and have a matte finish that feels fairly scratch-resistant. They feel like they should be able to withstand a few accidental drops or bumps without sustaining any damage. They're rated IPX4 for water resistance, though we don't test for this.

The Google Pixel Buds 2 feel very stable in the ear. Once you achieve a proper seal with their included selection of ear tips, they shouldn't loosen or fall out of your ears, even with vigorous shakes of the head.

• Google Pixel Buds 2 headphones
• 3x ear tips
• Charging case
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's sound profile is fairly well-balanced. While they're lacking some low-end bass out-of-the-box, which may displease fans of EDM or hip-hop, vocals and lead instruments should still sound full-bodied, present, and clear.

Note 09/17/2020: These headphones received a firmware update that adds a 'Bass Boost' feature within their companion app. When turned on, this feature adds quite a bit more bass, which is great if you find their default sound to be a bit light on thump and rumble.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's frequency response consistency is excellent. Once you achieve a proper fit and seal with the included ear tips, audio delivery should remain fairly similar on separate listening sessions.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's bass accuracy is decent. Low-bass is quite recessed, resulting in a lack of thump and rumble. This may not be too noticeable with all music, but fans of EDM or dubstep are likely to be disappointed. They also lack a bit of kick and body, which is noticeable with most genres. On the bright side, their bass doesn't sound boomy, cluttered, or overpowering.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's mid accuracy is outstanding. Most of the range is even and well-balanced. This ensures instruments and vocals that are clear and present without sounding cluttered or thin.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's treble accuracy is decent. Vocals and instruments are detailed and well-articulated thanks to their well-balanced low-treble. Their mid-treble range is also somewhat recessed, which can make sibilants sound somewhat dull and lispy.

The peaks and dips performance is excellent. A small rise in the low-treble range can give a slightly harsh quality to vocals and lead instruments. The adjacent dip and peak in the mid-treble range makes sibilants, like cymbals or S and T sounds, alternatively dull and piercing, though this shouldn't be too noticeable for most listeners.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's imaging performance is excellent. The weighted group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. The L/R drivers are well-matched, resulting in accurate placement of instruments and objects, like voices and footsteps, in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020 have a bad passive soundstage. An expansive soundstage relies on interaction with the outer ear, which in-ears like these bypass. Sound is perceived as though it's coming from inside your head as opposed to in front of you. That said, their slightly more shallow fit yields a marginally more open listening experience than alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Truly Wireless.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. They tend to distort a bit more in the treble range at both moderate and high listening volumes, but it's still mostly within good limits and shouldn't be too noticeable to most people.

These are the settings used to test the Google Pixel Buds 2020. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's noise isolation is bad, and they passively block a lot less noise than most in-ear headphones. Unlike the Google Pixel Buds Pro Truly Wireless and Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Truly Wireless, which have ANC systems, they block almost no low-frequency noises, like the low rumble of bus or plane engines. They also do a poor job of filtering out background chatter and only do a mediocre job at higher-frequency sounds like fans or AC units.

The Google Pixel Buds 2020's leakage performance is good. Most escaping audio originates from the low to mid-treble range, making it sound fairly thin and harsh, though this should be lost beneath the ambient noise of an average office.

The mic's recording quality is poor. Recorded speech sounds thin, muffled, and slightly distorted. Thankfully, your voice is still fairly easy to understand.

The microphone's noise handling is excellent. In moderately noisy environments, the person on the other end of the line should have no problem hearing you, though you may have trouble being understood if you call from an especially loud setting, like a subway car.

The battery performance is only sub-par overall. They provide over six and a half hours of continuous playback, which outlasts their advertised claim of five hours but still falls short of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless's 13-hour-plus single charge runtime. That said, it's worth noting that real-world battery consumption can vary with usage habits. On the bright side, their charging case holds around five additional charges, which is excellent. Google also advertises two hours of playback from a ten-minute charge, though we don't test this.

The app for the Google Pixel Buds 2020 is only satisfactory. It doesn't offer too many customization options and has no EQ settings at all, which is a shame. On the bright side, you can use it to help find your earbuds' last known location if you misplace them, which is helpful. These headphones also have a 'Bass Boost' feature to this companion app. When turned on, this feature adds quite a bit more thump and rumble to their sound profile. Try the Amazon Echo Buds True Wireless 2021 (2nd generation) if you want truly wireless headphones that work with a better app that includes a graphic EQ.

Update 10/08/2021: These headphones were updated to Test Bench 1.5 and their latency values have changed. Our previous Test Bench 1.4 measurements reported 'PC latency' at 291 ms, 'iOS latency' at 230 ms, and 'Android Latency' at 165 ms. However, our new test bench uses an average of three measurements instead of one, resulting in different values. As a result, we have updated our text to better reflect test bench 1.5 measurements.

These in-ears have alright Bluetooth connectivity. They don't support NFC or multi-device pairing, which is a little annoying if you want to stream music from your phone while remaining connected to your computer. While you can pair them with any Bluetooth device like normal, when you open the case near a compatible Android device, it automatically recognizes them, making pairing very easy. This is advertised as working with any device running Android 6.0 or newer, and while it worked with our Samsung Galaxy S10e, we can't verify which other devices are compatible. Unfortunately, they have high latency on PCs as well as iOS and Android devices, which could be quite disruptive while streaming videos. However, it's worth noting that apps and devices seem to compensate for this differently, so your experience may vary in the real world.

These headphones can't be used wired. They come with a USB-A to USB-C charging cable for their case.

Like most truly wireless headphones, the charging case doesn't have any inputs. It feels quite well made and supplies roughly five additional charges. It also has a USB-C port for charging and supports Qi wireless charging.