Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 review: big upgrade, much smaller earbuds

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are each you tin inquire for erstwhile going from 1 procreation of earbuds to the next. They’re substantially lighter, smaller, and much comfy to wear. The progressive sound cancellation and transparency modes person some markedly improved. They’re a artillery champ arsenic noise-canceling earbuds go, too. Plus these let you to person free-flowing conversations with Gemini, the company’s caller AI-powered helper. Now $229, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are $30 much costly than the anterior model, but I don’t person immoderate qualms astir that terms hike considering the enhancements Google has made.

New successful these buds is the Tensor A1 chip, which marks the archetypal clip Google has built customized silicon into the Pixel Buds lineup. The institution is making a large woody retired of however this A1 spot has made the ANC up to doubly arsenic almighty arsenic before, and it allows audio to walk done “directly to your ears connected a dedicated path, unaffected by the processing that happens during sound cancellation.” 

But thing astir audio show volition ever substance if the damn things won’t enactment successful your ears. And for immoderate people, a unafraid acceptable proved to beryllium a hassle with the chunky first-gen Pixel Buds Pro, which had a wont of gradually shifting retired of place. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 person undergone a large glow up — present 27 percent smaller and 24 percent lighter — and this makes a satellite of quality erstwhile it comes to their in-ear fit. The shrunken size, combined with a subtle stabilizer fin, person kept the caller earbuds anchored successful my ears. They’ve yet to dislodge crossed assorted tests of running, eating, talking, and different activities that tin origin earbuds to loosen. 

Noise cancellation connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2 is so stronger. It’s inactive not rather astatine par with Bose, the reigning and defending champion, but these bash a noticeably superior occupation compared to the originals erstwhile it comes to dialing down mundane clamor astir you. I’d reason that Google has made adjacent bigger gains with transparency mode, which present fundamentally matches Apple’s AirPods Pro successful clarity and that illusion of not wearing earbuds astatine all. Encouraging stuff.

But commencement playing music, and the expected upgrades that travel with the Tensor A1 are little obvious. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 dependable precise cleanable and crisp. Their default tuning is amazingly restrained successful the little frequencies, but determination are assorted presets (and a 5-band customized EQ) astatine your disposal for nailing the close balance. You tin reshape the audio rather a bit, but arsenic for wide tonality, I inactive similar alternatives similar Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 True Wireless and the Technics AZ80. (But those are $300 earbuds, not $230 earbuds.) The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a measurement up from the Pixel Buds Pro successful fidelity — Google added “a caller high-frequency chamber” for smoother treble — but it’s thing dramatic. The last-gen brace were already satisfactory for galore people, and these tweaks marque the caller buds better. They’re comfortably successful the mix, conscionable not winning the day.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 stay constricted to your run-of-the-mill AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, truthful that’s 1 country wherever Google is being stubborn astir changes. I bash admit the Hearing Wellness conception successful the Pixel Buds app, which is an casual notation for whether your existent measurement is astatine a harmless level. And I’m gladsome that Google continues to connection existent multipoint enactment on with its automatic device-switching trick. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 grounds debased latency erstwhile utilized with the company’s ain caller phones, but there’s nary cosmopolitan mounting for applying that reduced latency to outer devices similar a Nintendo Switch oregon Steam Deck.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 inactive springiness you hands-free “Hey Google” dependable commands, but present you tin besides activate a much conversational Gemini Live league by saying “Hey Google, let’s talk.” After that, you tin chat distant with Google’s AI for arsenic agelong arsenic you want. Sounds neat, but the imaginable of a Her-like AI adjunct successful your receptor truly starts to unravel whenever you deed Gemini Live’s limitations — and you’ll tally into them quickly.

It can’t acceptable reminders. It’s incapable to nonstop a substance connection oregon email; you can’t adjacent archer Gemini to telephone idiosyncratic erstwhile you’re successful Live mode. Normal Gemini tin grip galore of these tasks, but not the conversational version. Hell, the happening refused to archer maine erstwhile Election Day is, responding that it can’t reply “political” questions to debar the anticipation of sharing mendacious information. The guardrails for this diagnostic look too far-reaching. That’s amended than nonexistent, I suppose, considering each the chaos I’ve been capable to make with the Pixel 9’s reimagine tool. But the safeguards could usage immoderate refinement. (Election Day is November 5th.) 

It’s casual to ideate a aboriginal wherever Gemini Live tin necktie into your apps — hail an Uber for you, oregon possibly bid your favourite Grubhub truthful it’s acceptable and waiting erstwhile you get location — but this acquisition is thing adjacent to resembling that. For now, Gemini Live is conscionable a speech buddy, and the astir “fun” you’ll person is astir apt trying to get it to accidental thing weird oregon unexpected. Google says that for the clip being, Gemini Live is bully for brainstorming connected the spell oregon different usage cases similar practicing for a occupation interview. Would I ever bash that? No, but it’s a script the institution highlights.

My underwhelming content of Gemini Live shouldn’t detract from these earbuds, though! As a vector for accessing Gemini, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 enactment great. I’ve ne'er had to talk peculiarly loudly, and portion I’ve spotted immoderate errors successful my words erstwhile going implicit the transcripts, Gemini mostly ever got the gist. Voice telephone show besides remains a cardinal spot acknowledgment to Google’s Clear Calling feature, which optimizes dependable clarity utilizing a heap of instrumentality learning — some connected the earbuds and connected your Pixel smartphone.

Battery beingness is different win, with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 capable to scope 8 hours of continuous listening clip with ANC connected oregon up to 12 if you support it off. Factoring successful the case, you get 30 hours oregon 48 hours, respectively. If you’re cranking the volume, those numbers volition driblet a bit, but I recovered Google’s estimates to beryllium connected point. 

We’re successful a satellite present wherever the telephone you person often determines (or powerfully influences) which earbuds you’ll extremity up pairing with them. But thankfully, we’ve besides reached a constituent wherever everyone — Google, Samsung, and Apple — is putting guardant their champion products yet. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a premier illustration of that, adjacent if the Gemini acquisition is underbaked for now. Nearly everyplace other you look, Google has made meaningful upgrades.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge
Shot with the Nikon Z6 III and 24-70mm f/4 S lens