So much promise, but unfortunately, I’m going to be returning them. I was really hopeful for these when they were announced in 2019, but they just don’t live up to what they should be. They’re compact and lovely, but plagued with connectivity issues that shouldn’t have been a thing when they shipped. There was a promised update to address this, but the update came and went in August, and the problems persisted.
Pros:
Case size – This is TINY! It fits into most of my coin pockets, and the buds sit well in the ears.
Fit – They fit great, after a 2-3 day adjustment period I could wear these things for hours.
Integration – They integrate very well with the Pixel device, from fast pairing to the app function. They just seemed to work in that sense.
Build quality – The case is addictively clicky and the buds feel well built but incredibly light.
Features – The new feature drop for August rolled out some super cool stuff like detection for sirens/barking dogs, detection for when you’re sharing buds to allow individual volume control, and a bass boost that’s subtle and well implemented. Let’s not forget automatic volume based on ambient sound and wireless charging in the case too.
Cons:
Connectivity - If anything is annoying with true wireless ear buds it’s connectivity problems, and these things cannot actively maintain a connection in some way, shape, or form. It’s either connectivity to the phone, or a split second skip every 1 minute 50 seconds when using two buds. It really does feel like this is a beta product on the connectivity front.
Sound quality – This isn’t up to par with my WF-1000XM3s. The sound quality would be good for some, but for me, it wasn’t $240 good.
Case is only in white - Although the buds have released in additional bud colors, the case is only in white. Minor con, but I would have loved a black case to match black buds if I had the option.
So there you have it. A pretty photo and a not-so-pretty pros and cons list. They have a lot of pros, but the connectivity con really outweighs everything. I may revisit these in the future, but for now, they’ll be going back.