The earbuds come with a variety of seals, and achieving a tight fit with the included ear tips is crucial. Without a proper seal, both sound quality and noise-cancelling performance suffer significantly. However, when a tight seal is achieved, these buds excel in delivering excellent sound, strong noise-muffling capabilities, and a robust feature set, particularly benefiting Android and Google Pixel phone users.
Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2 are now smaller than their predecessors, and they feature the new Tensor A1 chip, which provides increased processing power. This upgrade enables the innovative "hands-free, eyes-free" Gemini virtual AI assistant, although it comes at a higher price.
The buds feature an IP54 rating, making them splashproof and dust-resistant. Their case, which is the same size as the original Pixel Buds Pro's case, also boasts an IPX4 rating for splash resistance.
You get three microphones in each earbud with some mesh covering that helps cut down on wind noise, but on a few calls, the person on the other end heard bird chirping (got to love summer in the city).
The Pixel Buds Pro 2, priced competitively, come equipped with ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you remove them and resume playback upon reinsertion. They feature multipoint Bluetooth pairing and can seamlessly switch between Android devices linked to your Google account. Additionally, the buds support the new Find My Device network, and their charging case has a built-in speaker next to the USB-C port that emits a ringtone, helping you locate it if it gets misplaced.
Price, availability, and specs
Pixel Buds Pro 2, they will set you back $299 CDN. You can purchase them from most major retailers or through the Google Store itself. The new buds are offered in four colours: Porcelain (the colour for this review), Hazel, Wintergreen, and Peony.
Specifications
Battery Life:
- With Active Noise Cancellation off, up to 12 hours of listening time and up to 48 hours of total listening time with the charging case.
- With Active Noise Cancellation on, up to 8 hours of listening time and up to 30 hours of total listening time with the charging case.
- Five-minute charge of earbuds in the charging case delivers up to 1.5 hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation off.
Noise Cancellation: Yes, active
Microphones:
IP rating: IP54 (Earbuds), IPX4 (Case)
Charging: USB-C, Qi wireless
Driver size: 11mm
Dimensions and weight (earbuds): 22.74 x 23.08 x 17.03mm, 4.7g
Spatial Audio: Yes
Multipoint support:Yes
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Pros
- Sound quality is excellent, from the seal to the speaker quality
- Google's redesigned Pixel Buds Pro 2 deliver excellent sound quality with a tight seal and enhanced noise-cancelling performance
- The built-in fin, which Google calls a "twist-to-adjust stabilizer
- Multi-device pairing not locked to operating system or device
- Decent battery life
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Cons
- Forced use of Google Gemini to read messages
