Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Better AirPods Pro for Android

Small and comfortable. Excellent sound canceling. Good artillery life. Work perfectly with Android. Wireless charging and USB-C.

Case could beryllium smaller. Expensive. Gemini AI isn't ace absorbing oregon useful.

I've been a instrumentality of Google's Pixel Buds bid of wireless earbuds for a fewer generations, mostly due to the fact that of their cute, comfy aesthetic. They acceptable amended than competing headphones, but beneath the surface, they're conscionable mean mid-tier earbuds. They didn't dependable amended than Apple's AirPods Pro contempt sharing a akin price, and the Pixel Buds Pro didn't person the champion sound canceling I'd ever heard.

Those issues are mostly gone connected the caller Pixel Buds Pro 2, which person doubly the sound reduction, caller dynamic drivers, and faster processing than ever acknowledgment to Google's Tensor A1 chip. Added features similar speech detection, Google Gemini onboard, and a clever acceptable accommodation mechanics marque these immoderate of the finest premium buds around.

Buds Version 2

While determination are wide carnal similarities betwixt the erstwhile Pixel Buds Pro and this caller version, the Pro 2 are 27 percent smaller and measurement 1.5 grams little than before. I already thought the archetypal exemplary was comfortable, but this mentation is among the champion wireless earbuds I've ever tested for smaller ears.

Google claims, similar each large headphone shaper does these days, that it analyzed millions of ears to settee connected this caller shape—Apple says the aforesaid happening astir the basal AirPods 4, which are among the slightest comfy earbuds I've ever worn, and Samsung says the aforesaid with its caller Buds3 and copied Apple's design, truthful instrumentality that with a atom of salt.

In immoderate case, the engineers astatine Google intelligibly spent clip ensuring these buds are ace unchangeable successful your ears. Little rounded silicone tombstones that instrumentality retired of each bud bash their job; I had nary occupation doing hours of histrion pruning and going connected agelong sweaty runs successful Portland's aboriginal autumn vigor wave. An IP54 standing means you don't person to interest astir these buds astir particulate oregon liquids, which is nice.

The lawsuit that comes with the buds is astir the size of a ample floss bundle and is rounded similar an fantabulous skipping stone. It features USB-C and wireless charging, successful summation to a tiny talker that tin beryllium utilized to find the buds' lawsuit if you suffer it. Compared to the headphones, the lawsuit feels a spot outdated and large, but it does descent easy into and retired of pants pockets à la the AirPods Pro. I similar the matte achromatic color; it's casual to spot successful a acheronian bag.

Pairing was virtually instant connected my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and I presume it's this casual connected immoderate different modern phone. Just popular unfastened that lawsuit and they amusement up connected the bottommost of the surface for speedy pairing. You past tin download the Pixel Buds app, not that I needed to. Controls connected the buds are ace casual to larn without paper diving done the settings. Simply swipe near oregon close to crook up oregon down volume, pat to play oregon pause, agelong pat to crook connected oregon disconnected ANC, oregon trigger Google's Gemini artificial intelligent chatbot. (This is adjustable successful the Pixel Buds app, and you tin delegate Gemini and ANC a circumstantial side, should you privation interaction power of both.)

Sounding Good

The biggest upgrade betwixt the 2 generations of Pixel Buds Pro is the sound. The added processing powerfulness and caller drivers bash a large occupation of mounting these buds supra the crowd.

Once you popular them in, the archetypal happening you announcement is however soundless the satellite gets. Twist them into the ears, and the noise-canceling rapidly masks the immense bulk of the satellite astir you, with lone a fewer high-frequency sounds making it through. This provides an fantabulous backdrop to perceive to your favourite music, which is noticeably much wide than the procreation before. Google claims that determination are aggregate fits for these buds based connected however overmuch you twist them into your ears, but I recovered determination lone to beryllium 1 comfy mode that they acceptable good successful my ears and sealed the satellite out. And lad bash they seal retired the world.

I tested them with neighbors doing operation work, my HVAC sounds, and a crying baby, and I tin firmly accidental fewer buds connection this level of wide silence. They easy rival Apple's best, and travel adjacent to the champion from Sony and Bose.

Turn connected your music, and you're instantly transported to the workplace oregon stage. The dependable signifier is wide for wireless earbuds. Sam Beam's “Kiss Me Quick” comes crossed with a wide soundstage that features strings conscionable astatine the borderline of my philharmonic vision, with a thuddy footwear drum and snippy hi-hat close down the middle. His and Jesca Hoop's voices blend perfectly successful the midrange, with defining gravel that tin get mislaid successful Beam's dependable connected worse headphones.

Turning to worldly with much bass, I person been enjoying the vibey vintage dependable of Remi Wolf lately, and the somewhat panned debased extremity connected her opus “Motorcycle” feels supple and soft, not wompy. New acoustic cavities successful the headphones are designed to amended the treble, but they cleanable up the full soundstage beneath that, making for a precise energetic and joyous listening experience.

Easy to Use

Another awesome happening is however good the transparency mode works connected these. It lets successful the afloat bandwidth of extracurricular dependable without feeling similar a tinny reproduction, arsenic galore cheaper earbuds do. I tin benignant and perceive to euphony and inactive perceive my woman calling my name. I tin marque definite I'm not going to beryllium deed by immoderate random Dodge Ram erstwhile I'm skittering crossed a large intersection.

Even passive sound isolation without the progressive sound canceling enabled is beauteous awesome connected these earbuds. And if you privation to eke retired much than the 8 hours of playback you get with ANC on, turning it disconnected gets you an other 4 hours, for a full of 12. Either way, they person much foodstuff than the AirPods Pro, which has an appalling four- to five-hour artillery beingness betwixt charges (with ANC on).

Switch betwixt your machine and compartment phone, and the headphones are astute capable to cognize it. You tin reply a telephone connected your telephone portion besides connected to your computer, which is ace adjuvant for multitaskers.

One happening I find underwhelming, arsenic I person with each dependable assistants truthful far, is the Gemini integration. You property the buds to inquire each question to modular Gemini, including follow-ups, which is precise annoying if you person aggregate questions astatine once. Google has besides integrated a aftermath operation ("Hey Google, let's talk") to unfastened its Gemini Live conversational AI.

The punctual opens Gemini Live, and you tin inquire it thing you tin deliberation to inquire an AI for—from edifice reviews to a bully workout docket based connected your existent day's activities. You tin adjacent interrupt it if you deliberation it's missing your point, and it volition travel context.

I'd alternatively usage this functionality successful the Gemini Live app connected my phone, truthful I don't person to talk them retired loud, but if you are hard of show oregon simply hatred typing, the aftermath connection and Gemini Live mightiness beryllium much awesome to you. I'd enactment that arsenic agelong arsenic you person the Gemini app, you tin unfastened Gemini Live and usage it with immoderate different brace of headphones. You don't request Pixel Buds Pro 2 to usage Gemini Live, it's conscionable to person the aftermath word.

I would commercialized these features successful a heartbeat for the myriad proceeding assistance tools Apple is adding to its AirPods Pro via a bundle update. After all, astir immoderate headphones with Android tin link to Gemini Live. If you're looking for a brace of buds that mightiness besides assistance you perceive a small better, those are inactive what I would choose.

As acold arsenic a brace of headphones that bash everything else you'd inquire of them successful each contexts, determination are precise fewer earbuds I tin urge arsenic highly arsenic the caller Pixel Buds Pro 2. They person fantabulous sound canceling, enactment large connected calls, and person agelong capable artillery beingness to past an full workday. I tin spot wherefore Google raised the terms by $30 implicit the past pair, and they're worthy the other cash. These are astir apt the champion high-end earbuds for Android that beryllium close now.