Hydrolyzes the non-reducing end N-acetyl-D-hexosamine and/or sulfated N-acetyl-D-hexosamine of glycoconjugates, such as the oligosaccharide moieties from proteins and neutral glycolipids, or from certain mucopolysaccharides (PubMed:11707436, PubMed:16698036, PubMed:8123671, PubMed:8672428, PubMed:9694901). The isozyme S is as active as the isozyme A on the anionic bis-sulfated glycans, the chondroitin-6-sulfate trisaccharide (C6S-3), and the dermatan sulfate pentasaccharide, and the sulfated glycosphingolipid SM2 (PubMed:11707436). The isozyme B does not hydrolyze each of these substrates, however hydrolyzes efficiently neutral oligosaccharide (PubMed:11707436). Only the isozyme A is responsible for the degradation of GM2 gangliosides in the presence of GM2A (PubMed:8123671, PubMed:8672428, PubMed:9694901). {ECO:0000269|PubMed:11707436, ECO:0000269|PubMed:16698036, ECO:0000269|PubMed:8123671, ECO:0000269|PubMed:8672428, ECO:0000269|PubMed:9694901}. This is the function of HEXA (hexosaminidase subunit alpha, Ensembl gene identifier ENSG00000213614).