Much of my time spent with Google's Pixel Buds has been on foot in New York City. There is nothing easy about using Pixel Buds in the kind of scenario where you need to repeatedly remove one or both headphones.
Let's say I stop into a corner store (bodega) to grab a drink while listening to music with Pixel Buds — an extremely common scenario here in NYC. Here's how that situation might go:
-I open the door and enter the store, walk to the drinks refrigerator, and grab a drink.
-With one hand now occupied by that drink, I have one free hand.
-I tap the right earbud (the only one with touch controls) to pause the music.
-Upon removing the right earbud so I can speak to the cashier, it begins pulling heavily on the left earbud with the force of gravity.
-While bobbing in the air, the right earbud activates the music I was listening to, which is now playing in my left ear.
-The cashier is staring at me in disbelief as my face turns pink.
-I have yet to pull out my wallet.
This has happened several times. It can partially be attributed to the fact that I'm a Human Muppet™. But only partially!
Another option: Take off both earbuds and rest the cord around your neck. This is a delicate balancing game as each earbud dangles around the collarbone area until one side wins and the whole thing slides to the ground. No big deal, they're just $160 headphones falling to the concrete from six feet in the air.
You could leave them in, paused, but that seems awfully rude to me. So I don't do that.