Google Pixel Buds Pro – Wireless Earbuds – Bluetooth Headphones – Lemongrass

Product Information

I’m a little disappointed that Google chose to omit any kind of support for high-quality (or low-latency) Bluetooth codecs. With the standard SBC and nearly-standard AAC, you’re getting perfectly decent wireless sound, but without the aptX family of codecs, Sony’s LDAC codec or any kind of low-latency mode, the Pixel Buds Pro can’t quite make the most of their potential for fans of hi-res audio, or those who like to game — something of an odd choice given that Google owns a streaming music service ( YouTube Music) and a streaming gaming service ( Stadia). A nice touch is being able to switch into transparency mode before or during a call so you can hear your own voice as clearly as you hear your callers, which helps reduce calling fatigue. As it stands, however, they mostly bring the company up to speed with competitor models that have been out for a while now. If you’re a Pixel phone devotee looking for a pair of compatible buds, by all means, go for it. Just don’t expect to be wowed. Google could have done a better job with fit, though. Proprietary Silent Seal technology is employed to maximize ANC and reduce leakage by having the buds optimize performance to your ear shape, and this appeared to work well in terms of range of audio output and noise cancellation during my testing.

Active Noise Cancellation? Yes, it's good, as is transparency. You cannot tweak the levels of either further than 'on' or 'off', but that's acceptable here given the efficacy of each.The Google Pixel Buds app is comprehensive and intuitive on the Google Pixel 6 Pro (Image credit: TechRadar) CNBC’s Sofia Pitt has been testing them for the past several days. They’re similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro but slightly inferior. They are incredibly close performance-wise on things like sound quality, ANC, transparency, battery life, and wireless charging, and they even share features like Bluetooth multipoint, a fit test, and find my earbuds. Google is so confident that you’ll like the way it has tuned the Pixel Buds Pro, this time you don’t even get a Bass Boost option — just the ability to toggle on and off its new Volume EQ feature, which the company claims will improve sound at lower volumes.

Then again, thinking about things from a more practical perspective, of course the darker Charcoal hue of the Pixel Buds Pro makes sense. Ashy shades don't get dirty easily, and even if they do, you can't really tell.Android fans wishing they had a true AirPods Pro alternative will be thrilled with the Pixel Buds Pro. They’re comfortable, sound great, and have everything they need to become your go-to earbuds for work, play, and everything in between. The Pixel Buds Pro also are vented, but it’s a new design. According to Google, “Sensors actively measure the pressure in your ear canal so the earbuds can relieve it and stay comfortable.” And the battery life is pretty stellar. With ANC off, you'll get up to 11 hours of listening time from the buds, and up to 31 hours total listening time with the charging case. With active noise cancellation on, you get up to seven hours of earbuds listening time and up to 20 hours of total listening time with the charging case – that's much better from just the buds than the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or AirPods Pro, though is less total life than the AirPods Pro give you. As with most wireless earbuds, this probably comes down to their internal batteries. And with a starting life span of seven hours with ANC on, that’s not bad — you’ll still be able to get good use out of them even when they deteriorate to just 50% capacity, and there’s no telling when that will happen. If you clean them regularly and wipe away any salt and sweat once you’re done using them, I see no reason they shouldn’t last as long as any other wireless earbuds in this class.

One of the reasons the Gen 2 and A-Series feel so good is that they use a vented design that naturally relieves any air pressure difference between your ear canal and the outside world. Unfortunately, that also led to some unwanted sound creeping in, requiring an automatic volume boosting system to compensate, something it didn’t always do very well. There’s no way to customize these gestures as you can on the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, but because they’re intuitive, it makes them easy to memorize. You can, however, adjust the long-press function a little if you’re on Android. You can add “off” to the ANC-on and transparency modes, and you can opt to have that work from both earbuds, or split left/right long presses between it and Google Assistant. While the Google Pixel Buds Pro improve a lot on the preceding Pixel Buds A-Series, the design hasn't changed radically. Apart from the brighter orange and yellow colors, the other two are similar to the older generation wireless earbuds from Google.Google estimates that the Pixel Buds Pro can last roughly 7 or 11 hours per charge (respectively, with ANC on and off). The company says the case should provide 20 or 31 hours of additional charge (respectively, with ANC on and off). Your typical listening volume, of course, affects these estimates. A 5-minute charge nets an hour of listening with ANC on, while a 15-minute charge nets three hours. As Google’s first wireless earbuds with ANC, it did a great job with the Pixel Buds Pro. When ANC mode is engaged, it provides excellent dampening of everything but the highest of frequencies. Right now, as I type, I have a fan below my desk keeping me cool during this intense summer heat, but other than feeling the air across my ankles, I have almost no awareness of it at all. Other noises, like traffic, or the din of construction are also well contained. Better yet, switching between the two modes is fast and easy with a long-press on either earbud. Call quality