Google Pixel Buds Pro review – TechCrunch

Hardware has been around for a long time a battle for Google. Sure, the company has dominated many areas over the years, but it’s hard to shake off the feeling that it’s always envied what companies like Apple and Samsung have accomplished in that area.

After some early struggles (and quite the uproar), Google’s hardware division was starting to gain some traction. Last year’s Pixel 6/6 Pro release was the biggest success to date, both in terms of hardware design and sales, selling more than the Pixel 4 and 5 combined, the company said. Likewise, the Pixel 6a is on its way to redefining what a budget Android phone looks like.

Now it’s important to temper expectations here – sales are still a drop in the bucket, compared to bigger players, but at least the company seems to be on the right track at least (it’s another question whether they are will reach destination on time).

Google’s earbuds stumbled out the port the same way. In the era of the AirPod, the first Pixel Buds arrived tethered in 2017, as a throwback from another era. It took another two and a half years, but the second-generation tops corrected many of the shortcomings of their predecessors. They weren’t perfect, but they were perfect.

Last year’s A-series, meanwhile, was meant to do what the company has done largely successfully on the smartphone side: trim the product down to a core set of features at a solid low price. Again, they were fine, although products like Nothing’s Ear (1) buds took some of the wind out of their sales with the same $99 price tag and many more features.

The new Pixel Buds Pro, meanwhile, take the line in the opposite direction. They are double the price of the A series. That’s a significant gap, but roughly in line — and in some cases, cheaper — than similarly sized devices. Keep in mind that both the AirPods and Galaxy Buds started out about $50 more expensive, though you can easily find them for significantly less than that with a quick Google search.

The biggest points the $199 Buds Pro has over the $99 A Series are as follows:

• Active noise cancellation.
• Improved sound quality through new drivers.
• Improved voice calling over a three-microphone array.
• Wireless charging.

All welcome features — and stuff that a $200 pair of earbuds really should have by 2022. That goes double for the addition of ANC, which, frankly, should probably be standard in non-pro earbuds right now. I’ve been using the Pixel Buds Pro as my primary pair of headphones for several days now and can report that they’re just fine – pretty much on par with its predecessors. They are a nice upgrade over the A-series and the two-year-old Pixel Buds. As a New York City resident, I can definitively say that active noise cancellation is one of those things you really miss when it’s gone.

I’m a real sucker for Sony headphones in general, and the Link Buds S are currently going for $200 buds. They are my daily drive (when I’m not testing other companies’ sets), the gold standard for sound, comfort and noise cancellation. I’d put the Pixel Buds Pro among Sony’s offerings in all three categories, while pointing out that each of these things can be subjective.

As I’ve noted many times on these pages, the wireless earbud category got pretty good, pretty fast. As with smartphones, most buttons with recognizable names are fine. Google may have taken longer to get there than most, but I’d put the Buds Pro in that category. Companies tend to tailor their hardware products to work well together, and the general rule of thumb is that it makes sense to buy earbuds from the same company that made your phone.

There is certainly a deeper integration with Pixel devices, with the software of the buttons being incorporated into the settings of the smartphones. That said, it should work fine with any device running Android 6.0 or higher, starting with the Fast Pair dialog that appears when you open the case. On a non-Pixel Android device, that interaction takes place with the standalone Pixel Buds app. In the meantime, if you’re an iPhone user, you’ll lose some of those important integrations, but you can still use them like a regular pair of Bluetooth earbuds. Overall, I’ve experienced more bluetooth dropouts on the iPhone vs Pixel device.

Multipoint is a nice new feature, although it is disabled by default. Once enabled, you can connect the headphones to two devices at the same time and switch between them. I set them up for the Pixel 6a and my MacBook. It took some effort to get the setup just right, but I’m glad I did.

If you have two Android devices signed in to the same account, you can enable Audio Switching to automatically switch between connected hardware. After you connect, the app walks you through a fitting process to ensure you have a good seal with minimal audio leakage. Mine seemed to fit just fine out of the box – I suspect it’s not nearly as sensitive as, say, Nura’s fitting process.

In terms of design, the buttons share a lot of common DNA with their predecessors, although they are significantly larger and heavier than the A-series. They won’t break your ears, but Google has added quite a bit of length to the design and 1+ grams to the weight of the earbuds/~10 grams with the earbuds and case combined. I found them quite comfortable – albeit less than Sony’s. The right button strained my ear a bit after a long listening session.

They stay in place well, although I had to adjust them a bit while running (this is the case with most non-sports-focused buttons, mind). I found it very difficult to do this without accidentally activating the touchpad and accidentally pausing or moving the track forward. This is a combination of touch sensitivity and surface. It’s hard to get it right and exactly why companies like Apple, OnePlus and Nothing rely on voice clicks.

The call quality is sharp and the sound is an improvement over previous generations. Anyone looking primarily for good sound quality, I’d point you in the direction of Sony and Nura, but for daily music streaming and podcast listening, these will do just fine. Likewise, active noise cancellation does well with ambient noise, but some will always get through this. Google will also follow Apple on the spatial audio headtracking route later this year. I have yet to be convinced that it is more than a novelty, although it also finds companies preparing for a future with augmented audio.

The headphones are IPX4 water resistant, which is more than enough to survive a sweat and a freak rainstorm. The IPX2 housing should be reasonable in that regard. The case has wireless charging that’s compatible with the Pixel 6’s Battery Share feature (which is one of the parts the company dropped to lower the price of the 6a). The earbuds’ battery is rated for 11 hours with ANC off and seven with on, putting them at the higher end of that spectrum. Factoring in the case will get you up to 20 hours.

Other fun software features are on board, such as Find My Device, which puts them on a Google Map or plays a chirp from the button, if you’re sure they’re in the same room. I recently lost a single button to a competitor without this feature and it really ruined my day.

Like the last few Pixel Buds, there’s not much to complain about here – nor is there much to recommend them over the competition. It’s not hard to imagine that the Pros were really impressive when they hit the scene a few years ago.

As it stands, however, they mainly inform the company about competitor models that have been on the market for a while. If you’re a dedicated Pixel phone looking for a pair of compatible buds, go for it. Just don’t expect to be amazed.