Earlier this year, Google announced new wireless earbuds alongside its slate of new Pixel 9 smartphones. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 land on store shelves on September 26th, and ahead of that I’m here to say the earbuds bring several welcome improvements over the original Pixel Buds Pro.
When Google announced the Pixel Buds Pro 2, it made several big claims, including that they cancel twice as much noise, are more comfortable, offer eight-hour battery life (30 hours with the case) and more. Some of this is thanks to the inclusion of the company’s Tensor AI chip, but overall, big claims.
After about a week of jamming out with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 in my ears, I’d say most of these claims check out. The most noticeable is the change in comfort — the Pixel Buds Pro 2 feel much more comfortable in my ears than the original Pixel Buds. While the original Buds weren’t bad, they weren’t great either and I often found my ears would get sore and tired after wearing them for a couple hours.
Not so with the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which I’ve been able to wear as long as four hours without issue. (Frankly, I think I could wear them even longer, but I have yet to have a stretch of time where I could wear the Buds Pro 2 for more than four hours straight.) Part of that comes down to the weight, with the buds themselves coming in at a slightly 4.7g compared to 6.2g on the original Buds Pro. It doesn’t sound like much on paper, but I definitely feel the difference when the earbuds are in my ears.
The Buds Pro 2 also feature a new stabilizer wing, which helps lock the earbuds securely in my ears while also providing some extra support. Combined with the smaller size of the Buds Pro 2, they put less pressure on my ear and feel much more comfortable, especially over longer listening sessions. Another nice benefit is the inclusion of an extra small tip size, giving listeners more options (though the default medium tips worked best for me).
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 (left, green) and Buds Pro (right, blue).
Battery life is also a strong point on these earbuds. Google advertises eight-hour battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) enabled, with up to 30 hours total listening time with the charging case. With ANC off, battery life jumps to 12-hours (48-hours with the case).
As I mentioned above, I haven’t had an opportunity to use the earbuds for longer than four hours at a time, but generally when I pull them out at the four-hour mark, the buds have around 50 to 60 percent battery left, so it seems like the eight-hour claim is mostly accurate. I’ll continue to test the battery life and report back here with anything else I find, but at this point I’m quite happy with how long the Pixel Buds Pro 2 last.
Sound quality, ANC and everything else
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 (right, green) are much smaller than the Buds Pro (left, blue).
While comfort is important (and for me, one of the biggest factors behind which earbuds I go with), sound quality is also a huge factor. Thankfully, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 sound great. I’m not an audiophile by any stretch, but in back-to-back comparisons, I found the Buds Pro 2 sounded better than the original Buds Pro. The Buds Pro 2 had a fuller, clearer sound to my ears across a variety of music genres, including jazz, pop, metal, and more. Podcasts also sound great on the Buds Pro 2.
My wife Jade, who’s trained in audio production, also took both the Buds Pro and Buds Pro 2 for a spin and found the sound quality was good on both, but felt the Buds Pro 2 had a more balanced sound that was crisper in high-end frequencies.
Pixel Buds Pro (left, blue) and Pro 2 (right, green) in their cases.
Another factor in sound quality is noise cancellation. I can’t say whether the Pixel Buds Pro 2 cancels twice as much noise as Google claims, but the ANC does work better than the Buds Pro. Some examples I’ve noted so far include the box fan in my office, which I can’t hear at all through the Buds Pro 2 but was noticeable with the original Buds Pro. Similarly, my bathroom’s obnoxiously loud ceiling vent fan is blissfully muted with the Buds Pro 2, whereas the Buds Pro lets in too much fan noise. I’ve yet to take the Pixel Buds Pro 2 through all-important tests on trains and planes, but it’s only a matter of time before I do.
While that covers all of the major additions, there are several other notable improvements Google made with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 that are worth noting:
- The charging case now has a speaker to help you locate it if it goes missing.
- AI-powered Clear Calling, Bluetooth super wideband, and beamforming mics combine for clearer phone calls.
- Four colour options, including Porcelain, Hazel, Wintergreen and Peony.
- Hands-free with Gemini.
- Customizable touch controls for play, pause, activating Gemini, and more.
- Returning features like Hearing Wellness, Multipoint, Spatial Audio, Conversation Detection, and more.
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 charging case (bottom) features a speaker to help with locating it.
Those last two points are mostly unchanged coming from the Pixel Buds Pro. Oddly, my Buds Pro 2 missed Conversation Detection for a few days, but the feature reappeared. I’m not sure what happened there, as I didn’t receive any updates to the earbuds then, but at least it’s back. Similarly, Multipoint remains more trouble than it’s worth, in my experience. I have issues whenever I try to switch between my phone and computer, such as to join a work meeting. Once the Buds Pro 2 are connected to my PC, they work great for the meeting. It’s just making that initial switch. It’s a real bummer, and I hope one day, Google and other earbud makers will devise a solution that’s competitive with Apple’s AirPods.
Worth the money?
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 clock in at $299 in Canada, putting them $40 higher than the original Pixel Buds Pro. To put that price in perspective, Samsung’s latest Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro cost $209.99 and $329.99, respectively. Apple’s AirPods 4 start at $179 (no ANC) and $249 (with ANC), while the AirPods Pro 2 are $329.99. Finally, Google’s budget Pixel Buds A-Series cost $139.
The pricing puts Pixel Buds Pro 2 firmly in line with high-end ‘pro’ earbuds from other tech companies, but as with any accessory product, it’s a bit tough to compare directly since these earbuds are at their best when paired with their respective smartphone (i.e. AirPods will give a better experience on iPhone than buds from other manufacturers).
That being said, I’m quite happy with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 performance and sound, and I love how they work with my Pixel phone. Most Pixel users looking for wireless earbuds can’t go wrong with the Buds Pro 2. The experience shouldn’t be too different on non-Pixel Android phones, though, for iPhone users, it’s hard to beat the AirPods.
Above all, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are incredibly comfortable, which is a massive win for me. That alone will make the Buds Pro 2 a mainstay in my ears for the foreseeable future.
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