Companies have been taking advantage of wireless headsets for years, but as low-cost headsets improve, it’s hard to justify headsets that make the price point higher than people are willing to pay.
That’s not to say that Google’s Pixel Buds Pro aren’t extremely solid wireless earbuds, but they do cost a bit more than I expected, even for high-end earbuds. They’re cheaper than Apple’s AirPods Pro and offer many of the same features, but when it comes to Android, wireless headphones tend to be more reasonably priced and there’s fiercer competition.
With that in mind, Google’s latest wireless earbuds don’t stand out as much as they should, but at least the connection feels solid compared to 2020’s ill-fated Pixel Buds.
Top notch sound
Putting the Pixel Buds Pro through my headphone test tracks was great. The sound was full-bodied and offered a soundscape with substantial width, a rarity with most Bluetooth buds.
This is enabled in part by the Pixel Buds Pro’s 11mm speaker driver, which should be a good fit as it sounds quite balanced compared to other Bluetooth headphones with larger drivers. Sometimes you can hear the limitations when the bass is absolutely loud in a song, but I found the Buds Pro to offer great sound quality in most cases.
One new addition that Google touted is the Pixel Buds Pro’s new “Volume EQ” feature. The concept is that as you adjust the volume, the Pixel Buds Pro will change their tuning to ensure the highs, mids and lows stay balanced. However, this feature is difficult to notice in practice. Switching between songs randomly and toggling the functionality on and off offered no noticeable difference. Maybe that’s part of the magic, or maybe the volume EQ is just marketing hype.
Either way, this doesn’t detract from my overall positive experience with the Pixel Buds Pro’s sound quality.
Active noise cancellation (ANC) in Bluetooth headphones is great. It’s not the loudest implementation I’ve come across, but it’s tuned well enough to keep ambient sound in the background. Google has also added a new technology called “Silent Seal” that detects pressure in the ears and relieves it when using ANC. I’ve never had issues with ANC pressure, but I can feel it with some wireless buds and see how it can wreak havoc on sensitive ears.
The Pixel Buds Pro don’t come with a charging cable, but they do come with a USB-C port.
It’s hard to judge whether the Pixel Buds Pro will solve all the problems some people have with ANC buds, but there’s no denying they’re comfortable. The stemless design fits my ear very well, and because it sits against my head, they feel secure when I’m cycling or running.
Google also added a stamp detection method to the Pixel Buds app so you can try out the three different sizes of eartips that come with the Buds to know for sure which buds fit your ears best.
hidden features
As the gap between great and decent wireless headphones continues to narrow, added features (or gimmicks for some) can help set good wireless headphones apart from the pack. Google offers a few features that aren’t related to sound quality, and so far I’m impressed with the additional functionality.
My favorite is the multi-point Bluetooth connection with seamless switching. This feature is key to Apple making its AirPods so easy to use, and I’m glad other manufacturers are finally catching up. That said, the implementation of the Pixel Buds has been spot on. They connect to my Mac/Pixel 6 and jump from one to the other, but the audio quality degrades significantly and the buds struggle to return to normal. Other times I’ll be listening to music on my phone and the Pixel Buds will disconnect and play a notification sound from my laptop. This only happened a few times, but Google will need to address these issues to truly compete with Apple’s AirPods.
I even tried it on a Chromebook and ran into a similar situation. You also need to download the Pixel Buds app because you can’t download it directly from the ChromeOS Play Store.
Other features include hands-free Google Assistant and wireless charging. Both work as expected and are useful to have on your primary pair of headphones. Each earbud also has 11 hours of playback, but if you use ANC and Volume EQ, I found I got slightly less than that. Still, it was always enough for most situations. With the two additional charges you can take out of the case, you have a total of 31 hours.
Volume controls are rare to see on wireless headphones, and it’s even harder to see them working well, but somehow Google has introduced an excellent touchpad to the Pixel Buds Pro. A gentle forward swipe on the buds increases the volume a reasonable amount, and a backward swipe lowers it. I still found myself accidentally touching the touchpads when adjusting them, but compared to other earbuds I’ve tried, like the Galaxy Buds 2, the Buds Pro perform very well.
The Pixel Buds app (left/green) and Pixel Buds device settings on a Google Pixel 6 (right/pink). Both offer the same features and fit your device’s wallpaper if your Android device supports it.
Later this fall, Google says spatial audio will come to the Pixel Buds Pro, offering a more immersive listening experience. I’m a big fan of the feature with Apple’s AirPods, so hopefully Google and YouTube Music will join forces to make spatial audio on Android an even more compelling feature.
I also tried Google’s conversational translate feature, which works as advertised, but you still have to have your phone nearby and manually switch when different people are talking (even if it’s just two people). It works, but if I were traveling and needed to use translation in a pinch, I’d just use a smartphone, as headphones make the experience slower and more cumbersome.
Finally, the buds are IPX4 water resistant, so they should be able to handle a little rain, but I wouldn’t take them rafting or get them soaked.
Microphone test
Overall, the Pixel Buds Pro microphone is on par with the rest of the crowd. From what I could gather in my tests, Google has added some EQ boost technology that makes the audio louder, but not necessarily better than the competition. It’s not a perfect microphone, but for the occasional phone call or online meeting, the Pixel Buds Pro get the job done.
I still find that holding a phone to my face in noisy environments sounds better, but in a quiet room, the Pixel Buds Pro mic is more than sufficient for what I expect most people will use them for.
You can watch a video and listen to the previous Pixel Buds Pro, AirPods, OnePlus Buds Pro and Galaxy Buds 2.