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Ever since the first pair of Pixel Buds launched in 2017, Google’s foray into the wireless earbud space has been hit or miss. Connection issues, an uneven fit, and sub-par sound quality plagued the original Pixel Buds, disappointing fans and audiophiles alike. And while Google has significantly upped its game with the Pixel Buds A series, fans of the brand were still waiting for a pair of true wireless earbuds that could rival Apple’s AirPods Pro and Sony’s WF-1000XM4 buds.
Five years later and we finally have a winner. Everyone hails the Google Pixel Buds Pro, a pair of outstanding wireless noise-cancelling buds that stand up to the competition.
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A splash of color: unpack the Pixel Buds Pro
Google’s Pixel Buds Pro come in four colors: Coral, Lemongrass, Fog, and Charcoal. If you’re looking for something subtle for office use, we recommend sticking with the Charcoal shade. I ended up choosing the Coral color for my tests and loved the bright orange that stood out slightly against the sea of white AirPods on my morning commute.
At first glance, the slim, pebble-shaped case offers a clean look with rounded edges and a simple snap-lock design. You can conveniently slip this case into your jeans pocket or clutch without worrying about it falling out.
In the box you get two extra ear tips to customize your earbuds, a general warranty card and a quick setup guide – very useful if you’re new to the Pixel Buds range. While the Pixel Buds Pro support a USB-C charging cable, you don’t get an additional charger with your case. This isn’t a big deal since most of us already own USB-C chargers, but it would have been handy if it had been included in the box. However, the case also supports Qi charging, which is great if you already own a wireless charging pad.
A big step up from the last generation Pixel Buds: design and comfort
The buds themselves are lightweight, weighing only about 6.1 grams each. This is heavier than the Apple Airpod Pro’s 5.4 gram design, but the extra weight is almost imperceptible. It doesn’t feel heavy or weighed down in your ear canal even after three to four hours of wearing.
The design is a far cry from older Pixel Buds, which featured a wing tip to hold each bud securely. The new Pixel Buds Pro instead have a bulbous round head that hugs your outer ear, paired with a plug-in ear tip designed to stay in place even during strenuous activity.
I did have an issue with the fit, however, because even after trying all three ear tip sizes, I felt the Pixel Buds Pro didn’t sit snugly in my ear – I lacked the sealed feeling I’ve come to now expect of noise-cancelling buds. I’d like to preface this by saying that I have a smaller ear canal and that may have been the problem – you may not have an issue with the fit if you have larger ears. However, in my experience I had to adjust the fit every five minutes during my morning walk, which is a bit of a chore when the touch controls are so responsive – but more on that later.
This fit issue doesn’t detract from their comfort factor, however, as not only could I wear these earbuds for hours, I could even wear them while napping without experiencing any discomfort or pain.
Are the Pixel Buds Pro waterproof?
Like the Pixel Buds A series, the Pixel Buds Pro are IPX4 waterproof. The case also has an IPX2 rating, increasing the convenience factor of this audio device.
IPX4 means you can sweat with these earbuds and not worry about light splashes of water damaging them. IPX2, on the other hand, also offers some light sweat resistance – just make sure the charging case doesn’t get caught in splashes of water.
Are the Pixel Buds Pro Google’s best-sounding earbuds?
Drum roll please: Active Noise Cancellation is *finally* available for the new Pixel Buds Pro, making them the first of their kind to add this feature. You can enable ANC right out of the box with a long press using the touch controls on your earbuds or via the Pixel Buds app. You can even give the Google Assistant a voice command to toggle the ANC and transparency features on and off.
But how does the ANC fare against the competition? In my testing, I’ve found that Google has done a pretty good job with noise cancellation, although there’s always room for improvement if I’m really picky about it. While the buds were great at lulling the conversations around me and drowning out most office noise, I could still hear my neighbors’ incessant key tapping and could also hear the sounds of New York traffic on my way home. This could be related to the buds never fitting properly in my ears, but it seems to be an issue that several Pixel Buds Pro wearers have mentioned to me.
That said, if you’re not a fan of that instantly plugged-in, utterly silent sense of the world around you that Bose’s QuietComfort Buds or Sony’s Buds are known for, these are perfectly satisfactory. You definitely don’t need to worry about turning off ANC when trying to stay tuned into your surroundings.
The transparency, on the other hand, is meant to let in ambient noise, especially if you need to have a conversation while your new Pixel Buds are still plugged in. While I’m generally not a fan of transparency modes, I felt that Google’s transparency mode was very useful — I could hear entire conversations going on around me, even while the music was pumping in my ear.
As you delve deeper into the sound, you’ll be thoroughly impressed by the depths of these buds, while you might notice features like Bass Boost that are no longer available on the app. Thanks to the 11mm drivers, the bass sounded clear with every hit Bad memories from MEDUZA sounds anything but overwhelming, even at top volume. Vocals also boomed over the bass without distortion.
I also felt like every song I listened to felt balanced. I could identify individual instruments in heavy electro house tracks and still decipher the lyrics. The clarity of the sound is something that characterizes the Pixel Buds Pro through and through. Even when listening to slower tracks like You are Beautiful by James Blunt I could make out the subtle piano and guitar tones even when the artist was singing high notes in the background. The Pixel Buds Pro’s sound is best described as warm, full and all-encompassing – without feeling overpowering.
They’re not as audiophile-friendly as some of their competitors, mainly because they don’t offer advanced codec support (yet). There’s also no customizable EQ (just a volume EQ on/off button that boosts bass and treble), which is surprising, especially given the $200 price point.
As for the microphone, you’ll have no trouble taking calls through the Buds Pro. Voices sound clear with minimal distortion, and you won’t have trouble understanding dialog even in larger meetings.
Are the Pixel Buds Pro having connection issues?
If you’ve used a pair of Pixel Buds before, you might have been a victim of frequent disconnects or your audio being randomly dropped during your daily jam sessions. Lucky for you, Google has completely solved this problem with the new Pixel Buds Pro.
These buds feature Bluetooth 5.0 and during my two weeks of use I didn’t notice any Bluetooth connectivity issues, even when I switched from laptop to phone and back to laptop again. Pairing was quick too, whether I tested it with an Android or iOS device – these buds offer support for both.
There’s also multipoint connectivity, meaning you can connect to two devices (e.g. your tablet and your smartphone) at the same time. You need to enable this in the Pixel Buds app for it to work.
The touch controls are also very responsive and can even be edited through the Pixel Buds app should you want another way to access your Google voice assistant.
Final Verdict: Are the Google Pixel Buds Pro Worth It?
The Google Pixel Buds Pro combine booming audio, ANC and an eye-catching design and thus clearly stand out from their predecessors. While they may not be great for smaller ears or offer additional sound capabilities for audiophiles, they still deliver some of the best low end we’ve seen from a pair of Pixel Buds.
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Not to mention the 31-hour battery life (11 hours on the buds, an additional 20 hours in the case), meaning you’ll hardly need to charge over the course of the week. I used these buds for a week averaging about three hours of use per day and never had to worry about charging. In comparison, the AirPods Pro can only get up to 24 hours of listening time.
All in all, Google managed to thoroughly impress me with the Pixel Buds Pro and renewed my confidence in their line of wireless earbuds. They’re a great accessory, especially for Android users, and the added multipoint connectivity makes it a lot easier to stay connected to your music when switching between different devices.
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