Ahead of the Pixel Buds 2a in October, Google is giving the companion app a M3 Expressive redesign with the Equalizer interface getting a nice modernization.
The Sound menu has been reorganized with this page benefiting from Material 3 Expressive’s use of containers to group together related settings.
Old (Android 16)
There’s Spatial Audio with Head tracking, and then Audio intelligence (depending on your earbuds): Conversation detection and Eartip seal check.
EQ and balance is what’s particularly new today. You have to go into a new Equalizer page to switch presets instead of having them displayed on the main page. Balance and Mono audio are below that.
New (16 QPR1)
Presets are now accessed from a dropdown menu: Heavy bass, Light bass, Balanced, Vocal boosts, Clarity, and Last saved. There are M3 sliders (if you’re on Android 16 QPR1+) for Upper treble, Treble, Mid, Bass, and Low bass, as well as the Volume EQ toggle.
Google has also simplified the Touch controls page with a better interface to “Customize press and hold” as Gemini takes center stage.
Version 1.0.797529601 of the Pixel Buds app with M3 Expressive is rolling out now via the Play Store. It’s not yet widely available.
Old vs. new
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