For starters, Apple’s AirPods are totally wireless, meaning zero strings attached, and they’re one particular on the couple of to cut each of the cords while retaining fantastic usability. Google’s Pixel Buds are tethered, meaning, whilst they do connect to your phone wirelessly, a wire connects the buds.
Google Pixel Buds vs Apple AirPods Comparison
| Apple AirPods | Google Pixel Buds | |
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Dual optical sensors, motion-detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting accelerometer | Accelerometer, capacitive touchpad |
| Microphone | Dual beam-forming microphones | Microphone |
| Battery life | About 5 hours listening or 2 hours talking (earbuds), 24 hours total (with charge case) | About 5 hours (earbuds), 24 hours total (with charge case) |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth (earbuds), Lightning (charge pod) | Bluetooth (earbuds), USB-C (charge pod) |
| Audio formats | MP3, AAC, & SBC codec when streaming | MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, WMA(v9) |
| Compatibility | iPhone 5 and later, iPad mini 2+, iPad Air+, iPad Pro, iPod Touch (6th gen) (iOS 10+); Apple Watch (WatchOS 3+); MacOS Sierra or later | Android devices (Android 5.0+), Apple devices (iOS 10+); see requirements for Google Assistant & Translate here |
| Waterproofing | No | No |
| Price | $159 | $159 |
| Rating | 4 out of 5 stars | 3 out of 5 stars |
Google Pixel Buds vs Apple AirPods best wireless earbuds
Similarities
The headphones share some similarities with 1 an additional, and they’re all good issues.- Both pair with your phone rather automagically, instead of the traditional bluetooth headphone setup.
- Both are designed to be non-isolating, meaning they perch in your ear as an alternative to within your ear canal, making it easier to hear the outdoors globe. Some do not like this feature, but to me it was a huge selling point. In the case from the Pixel Buds, I can hear people speaking to me virtually 100% as well as if I didn’t have them in (with practically nothing playing, of course).
- Both recharge automatically when they’re in their storage case, which is a nice way to deal with factors.
- Both have superb audio quality, especially thinking about their non-isolating design and style.
Differents
Despite the similarities, these are really diverse headphones.- Design and style: They look quite various. I’ve heard varying requires on which can be far better, and most people possess a favourite, but both are well-designed, look wonderful, and match well within your ear.
- Connecting Cord: The Pixel Buds include a short cord connecting the two ears, which lays around the back of the neck. I pointed out there are varying opinions regarding the design and style of the Buds, but the cord is a really divisive feature and people absolutely enjoy it or hate.
Not just does it reduce the chance of losing one, but it is good to be in a position to slip them off your ears and hang them around your neck, like people have done with headphones for many years.
Nonetheless, this makes it where you can not very easily share 1 ear per buddy, and some people do not like the really feel in the cord around the back of their neck. - Case: I mentioned the instances are similar, but there’s a single huge distinction. Due to the cord connecting the two Pixel Buds, it’s much more of a hassle to put in the case. It is not a large deal, but it is a great deal distinct than just slipping the two AirPods in the case.
- Touch Functionality: The AirPods possess a bit of touch functionality, but the Pixel Buds have a ton.
The AirPods allow you to double-tap to active a feature (which you can set up in the app). It can be to activate Siri, play/pause your music, skip for the subsequent track, etc. The essential is that you can only set up one particular of these, together with it answering/hanging up phone calls with that double-tap.
The Pixel Buds give you a great deal of control. You can single-tap to play/pause music or answer a get in touch with, double-tap to hear details about current notifications, swipe forward/back to raise/lower the volume, and long press to activate the Google Assistant or hang up a contact. - Bonus Feature: The Pixel Buds feature the real-time language translation feature. It’s actually cool, but a lot more hype than reality, in that it’s not that distinct from just pulling up the Google Translate app and taking turns talking to it.
Battery life
This can be an easy one, as Google has aped Apple here. Both pairs offer 5 hours of playback time per charge, and a total of 24 hours with the charging case off the grid. The five hours per charge is fantastic for genuinely wireless earbuds, but not so for tethered buds, the majority of which offer 8-10 hours or more per charge at this price pointRead also bedphones vs sleepphones
Conclusion
Whilst both phones have their very own set of benefits and drawbacks, we can conclusively say that the Pixel Buds is leagues ahead on the AirPods, even with regards to features. Even though a number of its functionality is restricted to Pixel phones, Google’s innovation is what requires the cake here. Both headphones are wireless, so you won’t find any difficulty with regards to compatibility. With the battery life also getting on par, the only question is brand preference. It's also critical to choose the headphones based on the phone you have. In case you carry a Pixel or Pixel two, getting the Pixel Buds is a no-brainer. Nonetheless, if you are entangled in the Apple ecosystem, you’re possibly better off together with the AirPods. Choose wisely.
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