Google’s Pixel Buds bass boost: better sound, same connectivity issues

Google released a major firmware update to its Pixel Buds this week, adding several new features to the true wireless earbuds, including a “bass boost” setting, detection sharing (so you can set individual volume for each earbud if you share one of them with someone), attention alerts, and more. The updated firmware also had to address the connectivity and audio dropout issues that some early Pixel Buds buyers have complained about.

After some time today listening to the Pixel Buds, I would say that Google succeeded at first; bassboost provides a very real improvement in sound quality if you were previously disappointed by low end performance. But the Pixel Buds’ wireless signal is even weaker than it should be, and the frustrating music glitches continue to exist.

After requesting the update, you will find bass boost under the “sound” section, which also includes the new, experimental attention alert options. By switching it, a substantial number of extra oomphs are added to the lower frequencies. If you found the Pixel Buds a bit flat earlier, you might be pleasantly surprised after visiting your bass boost. It makes a difference without overpowering the mids and higher frequencies, so Google has done a nice job with the EQ tuning.

But the connection fixes are not what I hope they would be. The Pixel Buds have always worked fine when you are just sitting at home on your couch or desk. And in all honesty, I did not notice many problems during my time checking them out. But I have in the weeks since. The problem comes when you venture outside. I just moved to a fairly busy street in Brooklyn, and this morning I walked a few blocks to get a sense of whether Google has overcome the Pixel Buds dropout issues. In my experience, the (disappointing) answer is no. I still hit signal loss and one earbud – usually the left one – for a few seconds at a time.

When I keep my phone at chest height, most of these problems stop. But when it’s in my pocket, the Pixel Buds connection can be cluttered and less reliable than other true wireless earbuds. Your results may vary, and I see reports from some people on Google Pixel subreddit who have fewer dropouts than before. However, there is more work to be done, and I doubt Google is ready to try to optimize the stability for the Pixel Buds.