Google Just Gave Its Pixel Buds 2a Something Everyone Needs in Wireless Earbuds

Google’s annual ‘Made by Google’ Pixel hardware drop is here, and it’s not all about new phones. This year Google’s Pixel Buds A-series (the cheaper line of Pixel wireless earbuds) is getting an update with some features that should make them a lot more appealing to anyone looking to save a little bit of money on non-pro earbuds.

The biggest addition in the Pixel Buds 2a is active noise cancellation (ANC), which is very much not a cutting-edge feature at this point, but maybe one of the most critical capabilities of any pair of wireless earbuds in the year of our lord 2025. It’s hard to believe that any pair of wireless earbuds would dare exist without the option to listen with ANC at this point, but it’s still a notable improvement over the last generation, which came out all the way back in 2021.

Google says there should also be some sound quality improvements to the Buds 2a thanks to the addition of a new Tensor A1 chip, including more bass, but it’s hard to say how drastic the improvement is until we hear for ourselves. Notably, Google also says the Tensor A1 will lead to significant battery life gains gen-over-gen. Specifically, Google says you can now get 7 hours of playback with ANC activated, which is a solid amount of time—most wireless earbuds in this price range get between 6 and 6.5 hours typically.

One thing I love to see here is that Google made the battery replaceable on its case, which is surprisingly a rare thing in the world of wireless audio. Batteries are often the first thing to bite the dust on any gadget, so being able to replace the battery when it inevitably goes kaput is a big win for longevity—especially if you’re not in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds in the first place.

Naturally, given Google’s emphasis on AI, there are some Gemini tie-ins here. With the Pixel Buds 2a, you’ll be able to summon Gemini as a voice assistant on your Pixel phone to do stuff like summarize your messages. Again, not a novel feature by any means. but nice to have. Speaking of nice to have, the Pixel Buds 2a will also be the smallest and lightest A-series buds yet thanks to a notable redesign. Oh, and these wireless earbuds will come in two new colors: Iris and Hazel.

It’s not all about the Buds 2a; the Pixel Buds 2 Pro will get a minor update with a new color, Moonstone, and Google says a software update dropping next month will bring improvements to various features on the buds. The Moonstone version of the Pixel Buds 2 Pro can be preordered today for $229 and will be in stores starting August 28.

As for the Pixel Buds 2a, there’s nothing groundbreaking on paper, but they seem fairly solid based on what we know. The biggest question will be how the new Tensor A1 chip affects sound. There are a lot of wireless earbuds in the $130-150 range, so Google has a lot of competition to that end. If you’re dying to hear the improvement for yourself, you can preorder the Pixel Buds 2a right now or wait until October 9, when they hit shelves officially.