Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: So Damn Close to Being Perfect

Two years aft the merchandise of the Google Pixel Buds Pro, Google announced its successor, the Pixel Buds Pro 2, at last month’s Made by Google event. We liked the first-gen buds for their cute egg-shaped lawsuit (that Google insists connected calling a ‘pebble’), large sound, and effectual ANC. Our lone gripe with those was the removal of wings from the package. Google astir apt heard our complaints and worked connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2’s fit, claiming they’re present highly snug successful your ears.

It seems that the revised acceptable is what the Mountain View institution is astir arrogant of connected these buds. That, on with the Tensor A1 chip, ‘twice arsenic powerful’ ANC, ‘premium’ sound, and ‘hands-free’ Gemini integration. It bumped its flagship buds’ terms by $30—they’re $230 alternatively of the $200 first-gens. But considering determination person been 2 full years betwixt the 2 releases, I’d property (and justify) the terms bump to yearly ostentation and rising worldly and labour costs.

Since my ears hatred in-ear buds, I was astir excited to trial its reworked fit. I besides precocious checked retired ChatGPT integration connected the $60 CMF Buds Pro 2 and was funny to spot if a $230 brace of buds would bash AI integration better. The caller Pixel buds launched successful 4 beauteous shades: Porcelain, Hazel, Wintergreen, and Peony. I instantly fell for the Wintergreen and Peony.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Design and Fit

Whatever the hellhole Google did connected its “twist-to-adjust stabilizer,” it worked. The acceptable is perfect. It yet cooked up the cleanable look for in-ear buds that don’t budge. These acceptable maine truthful snugly that I privation Google could stock its concealed ingredients with different earbud manufacturers. After wearing them for extended periods, the buds didn’t commencement hurting my ears and didn’t plop retired erstwhile I’d briskly locomotion to drawback the train. I wore them astir the location portion doing a cardinal chores and extracurricular connected my mode to the office. They stayed enactment throughout.

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Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

One constituent could beryllium these small wings-type things that the buds grew backmost this generation. They’re importantly smaller than emblematic earbud wings, but their relation is the same: they complement the acceptable and marque the buds tighter successful your ears. They’re afloat rubberized and consciousness comfy against your concha.

However, the twist-to-adjust stabilizer is expected to connection 2 abstracted kinds of fits. You tin twist the buds successful 1 absorption to “lock [them] securely successful your receptor during workouts, oregon set the different mode for all-day comfort.” Upon extensively twisting them successful my ears, I didn’t consciousness the beingness of 2 dedicated acceptable modes. The buds were either choky oregon not choky enough.

I’m besides thankful for an XS receptor extremity successful the package. Many companies place other tiny oregon ample sizes, truthful I’m blessed that Google accommodates tiny-eared folks. Having conscionable reviewed the highly escaped and ill-fitted Apple AirPods 4, these little, button-like peripherals that tightly hug your receptor canals felt similar caller air.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

I cannot accent capable however tiny these earbuds genuinely are. They’ve undergone a monolithic simplification successful weight—from 6.3 grams connected the first-gen to 4.7 grams—so their lightweightness besides adds to their comfort. Google claims their small, comfortable, and lightweight plan resulted from investigating 45 cardinal information points from antithetic ears.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Controls

Volume controls are often done highly poorly connected wireless earbuds. Take the flagship AirPods 4 arsenic an illustration that doesn’t diagnostic onboard measurement controls. The CMF Buds Pro 2 allows treble pat and clasp arsenic the lone mode to tweak volume… which is simply a batch of work. On the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, swiping up and down the stem is the lone mode to alteration volume, which wasn’t unspeakable but somewhat challenging as, portion swiping down, I had to guarantee I didn’t propulsion the bud retired of my ear.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 tweak measurement erstwhile you swipe connected them horizontally. Swiping from backmost to beforehand turns the measurement up, and bringing your digit from beforehand to backmost turns it down. These gestures are incredibly intuitive and made maine wonderment wherefore different mainstream brands didn’t deliberation of specified basal actions for measurement control. Swiping up and down makes much consciousness connected over-ear headphones that don’t hazard falling retired of your ears. On tiny peripherals similar these, horizontal swiping is importantly safer. I’ve gotten utilized to turning to my telephone for measurement power portion utilizing in-ear buds, but the Pixel Buds Pro 2 made maine usage the onboard measurement controls.

The remainder of the functions are beauteous straightforward, too. Single tapping controls playback, treble tapping skips the song, and triple tapping takes you to the erstwhile track. Long tapping connected each bud tin beryllium customized to ANC oregon trigger Gemini. I assigned 1 enactment to each bud, and it lone took maine fractional a time to retrieve which bud does what.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Sound and ANC

The Tensor A1 spot did wonders connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2. The dependable is highly crisp and detailed, allowing you to wage adjacent attraction to each small item successful the song. The debased extremity is unarguably the astir defined constituent of the dependable illustration connected these buds, arsenic it was connected the first-gen Pixel Buds Pros. Owing to the 11mm drivers, the bass sits connected a abstracted furniture from the remainder of the orchestra and requires astir of your attention. On the predecessors, though, determination were complaints astir the low-end sounding excessively dominant. Thankfully, connected these buds, it’s not overdone to the constituent of sounding heavy oregon muddy. It hits conscionable the cleanable spot.

Google added a caller high-frequency enclosure to amended the treble. The high-end is little salient than the low-end connected these buds, but it sounds decent, acold from being excessively crisp oregon tinny. The mids transportation capable abstraction and dependable rather airy. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to euphony connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2. I spent a bully chunk of the reappraisal play listening to podcasts and taking calls connected these, too, and had nary complaints successful those areas.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

The Tensor AI’s noise-canceling capabilities are what I’m astir impressed with. As expected, the buds did an fantabulous occupation astatine canceling low-end sound and were a small little effectual astatine high-end sound (since that’s harder to cancel.) Of course, sirens passed through, but people’s conversations connected the thoroughfare were silenced to the constituent of being inaudible, which the AirPods 4 failed. I started losing my caller’s dependable erstwhile I passed implicit a Subway vent with a bid passing underneath. Upon enabling ANC, the buds instantly transported maine to a satellite wherever the train’s dependable was simply a distant hum.

I’m ever pushed to disable ANC connected the streets whenever I’m dealing with earbuds that bash it well, and that was my acquisition with the Pixel Buds Pro 2. The ANC is truthful almighty that you mightiness person to enactment up with immoderate eardrum suck. I felt that aft extended periods of wearing these buds, I would conscionable power to ambient mode for a portion to hole it.

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Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Gemini AI

Perhaps the biggest diagnostic being touted connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2 is their Gemini AI capabilities. Disappointingly, it doesn’t truly unrecorded up to the hype. You’re required to manually trigger the buds each clip you speech to them. The enactment is customizable betwixt long-tapping either the close oregon near bud.

It works good if you inquire it 1 speedy question during a engaged commute erstwhile you don’t person the clip to propulsion retired your telephone and bash a Google search. But for each follow-up question, you person to long-tap the bud each time. These buds marketed Gemini integration arsenic a ‘hands-free’ diagnostic that lets you get things done connected the go. But it’s not truly hands-free erstwhile I’m required to execute an enactment repeatedly.

I besides couldn’t interrupt Gemini’s voice, which was highly annoying successful situations wherever it had a agelong effect for me. For instance, I asked astir the upwind successful my area, and it started responding successful Fahrenheit. Being a Celsius person, I instantly asked it to power the unit. Still, I had to hold until it was done telling maine astir the existent weather, highs, lows, rainfall forecast, etc., earlier I could inquire it to bash thing else.

Gemini connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2 was besides unreliable successful immoderate cases. I asked it astir “coffee shops successful my country that are unfastened close now” twice. First, it responded with a immense list, again not letting maine interrupt it. The 2nd time, which was hardly 5 minutes aboriginal and astatine the nonstop aforesaid spot (in my bed), it told maine it couldn’t supply real-time accusation astir java shops successful my area.

I’m gladsome it takes into information stuttering and pausing portion you’re talking. You tin talk to it similar you would a human. It besides has bully representation and knowing of context. Though pressing the bud for each follow-up question is exhausting, if you tin enactment it up with that, the buds volition bash beauteous good with follow-up questions. I started asking astir the upwind successful my country and a mates of follow-up questions; I was saying things specified as, “What astir adjacent week successful New Jersey?” It knew we were inactive talking astir the upwind and responded accurately.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Battery Life

The Pixel Buds Pro 2’s artillery beingness is well-aligned with their claims. You get 12 oregon 8 hours, with ANC disconnected oregon on. With the charging case, those numbers spell up to 48 and 30 hours. Compare this to the $180 AirPods 4, which offers a 4 to five-hour artillery beingness and 20 to 30 hours with the case, depending connected whether ANC is connected oregon off, respectively. I’ve been utilizing the Pixel Buds Pro 2 for six days, alternating betwixt music, podcasts, calls, and a batch of Instagram content, and I haven’t had to complaint the lawsuit yet.

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Usually, IP ratings use to conscionable the earbuds but not the case. On the Pixel Buds Pro 2, the charging lawsuit besides comes with an IPX4 rating, which means it’s not resistant to particulate but offers beauteous bully h2o resistance. Having immoderate benignant of absorption connected the lawsuit is great, truthful I’ll happily instrumentality what I’m getting. The buds are rated astatine IP54, the aforesaid arsenic the flagship AirPods.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Verdict

If Google hadn’t touted Gemini integration arsenic 1 of the biggest features connected the Pixel Buds Pro 2, I could’ve scored them higher. These are wide fantabulous buds that springiness you everything you want. The size and value person been dramatically reduced, truthful they’re comfy sitting successful your ears each day. The twist-to-adjust stabilizer is acold from a gimmick. It gives the buds their snug, ear-hugging fit. Navigation has been done truthful intuitively that it makes maine wonderment wherefore much earbud companies don’t instrumentality a similar, straightforward approach, particularly with volume. The dependable illustration is impressive, with the deep, punchy bass being the prima of the show. And the noise-canceling is truthful almighty that you consciousness transported into a backstage vacuum.

My lone gripe is that the Gemini integration is fractional arsenic charismatic arsenic advertised. It’s acold from being ‘hands-free’ if you can’t inquire a azygous follow-up question without getting your hands involved. Plus, you can’t interrupt it with your dependable careless of however agelong its effect is, which is reasonably annoying.

I can’t disregard the Gemini integration and bask the remainder of what these buds connection due to the fact that I ideate the AI integration is 1 of the reasons they’re priced astatine $230. Google didn’t person to travel suit and mindlessly worldly its merchandise with AI if the integration wasn’t providing overmuch value.

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