Pixel Buds Pro 2

I am a lover of earbuds, earphones, anything audio. I don't have anything expensive but I do have a few things that are pretty nice. For my nicer wired headphones, I have a Fiio BTR3 Bluetooth interface that does LDAC so I have the ultimate wireless quality experience when I am sitting back and wanting to go deep into the details.

But when I'm tootling around the house, doing yard work, or at the grocery, 'true wireless' earbuds are the way to go. I've had a bunch of them over the years, most of them honestly junk until I got the Pixel Buds Series A. I've used them since early 2022 and their case has lived in whatever pair of pants I'm wearing that day ever since and have listened to them for countless hours. I've not noticed any battery degradation, they have no damage and they're basically still like-new as far as I can tell. But audio seems to always be getting better, ANC is pretty enticing, and well, $200 ($100 for Pixel 10; $100 for a mishap where they didn't add my Pixel 6 refurb to the order somehow) store credit at the Google Store and $20 more and I had myself a pair of Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Fit, Finish, Quality

Yep. Seriously though, these compete with all of the earbuds in the $200 range, except on Bluetooth codecs, which I'll get to later, but turns out it's really not that big of a deal. They feel exceptionally comfortable in my ear for hours; I have even slept in them which is the first time I've ever been able to sleep in earbuds and them not hurt or push into my ears, etc. They feel good, they're very lightweight in the ear, they go into the case nicely with obvious audio cues to tell you when each earbud has been securely plopped into place. They are great to use, and easy to use, which is where these type of earbuds shine.

As I mentioned in my Series A post, convenience is king in 'true wireless' earbuds. For this to be true in reality they have to have good battery life, good fit, work dependably, and sound good enough. These do; hands down.

Bluetooth Codec Weakness

Pixel A buds were only AAC; I accepted this as they sounded fine and let's face it; they're pretty cheap. I had a hard time swallowing the fact that the Pro 2 are also only AAC. However, after having several sets of headphones or earbuds in recent years that are AAC I've decided that the codec itself is good enough for casual listening. Don't let me understate it here; the sound quality is actually quite good, and I'm very happy with the whole range of frequencies the Pro 2's provide as well as the reasonably flat even response and the ear seal, all leading to a very enjoyable listening experience. They are tuned very similarly to the Series A, so I took the existing Series A equalizer settings I use in PowerAmp and ultimately took a little bass out and a little less treble as the Pro 2's had a little more power in those areas which was nice, as the Series A were a little weak on both.

TLDR; it's a non-issue, especially for most listening sessions. If you want super critical earphones, earbuds are probably not the right delivery mechanism to start with.

ANC

I have a pair of Sony 900N's with ANC. They're low end headphones, but I've always thought them pretty good. They're LDAC, isolate pretty well, and generally have really good sound quality. I've never listened to a really good set of earbuds (or headphones) with ANC, so these are the only headphones I can really compare against.

And the Pro 2's blow them away. I was amazed how much noise the Pro 2's eat in ANC mode. My AC condenser is a rattling annoyance and drives me crazy when I'm outside on the porch; Pro 2's make it go away. Fan noise from my desktop; gone. Cars going up and down the street outside; they don't exist.

To be clear, ANC is not going to remove everything. It works best on lower frequency noises that are a continuous drone, so some higher pitched noises or noises that come and go aren't as attenuated. But most things are reduced greatly, even snoring. Don't tell my wife; she snores.

I've also had the opportunity to compare them against the Anker Q45 headphones, which are said to be pretty decent on ANC. Pro 2's beat them in every way, but not quite as drastically as how bad they destroy the Sony 900N's. Man there ain't nothing like new stuff to make your old stuff look shoddy.

Transparent/Adaptive Mode

Most ANC headphones have a Transparent mode that allows you to hear the world around you a little easier without removing the earbuds or headphones. Most do a pretty okay job at this, but are still muffled. The Pro 2's honestly feel like you took the earbuds out. Everything is clear, there is no weird delay, it's a bit spooky. No sounds are amplified, but it really sounds like you took them completely out of your ear.

Google takes this one step forward with their Adaptive mode, which is effectively the Transparent mode with some added features. If your environment is particularly noisy, it will raise your media volume to compensate. If there are loud sounds around you, it will attenuate those sounds. It's honestly a great mode for shopping, or even sitting around in the house when other people may be asking you questions.

There is also an option to recognize speaking and drop into Transparent mode so you can hear someone easier. I have not tried this, but I've heard it works fairly well with the exception of you singing, even quietly, will trigger it, and when someone speaks to you it only goes into Transparent mode for a few seconds before it goes back to the full ANC mode.

Battery Life

It's great, honestly. You'll easily see 7+ hours with ANC on, 12+ hours with ANC off, and the case will recharge the buds 2.5 times. The official specifications say 8 hours of listening with ANC, 12 hours without ANC, and a total listening time of 30 hours with ANC and 48 hours without ANC. They also claim an hour of additional listening time with only 5 minutes of charging; so if your earbuds do get low just a short time in the charger and you're jamming again.

I have noticed that the case battery seems to drop about 3% a day, but pretty sure this is because each earbud and the case are actively on the Find My Device network so that when you leave the case in a pair or pants or a backpack, you'll be able to locate it. The Series A earbud case, on the other hand, if it was closed it was off. This was great for battery life, but there was no assistance finding it. You can find the case via Bluetooth tracking, or the case itself has a speaker in it to emit loud enough noises to find it fairly easily.

Speaking of battery, I love that the current battery percentage on each earbud and the case are directly shown in the Battery widget, or when going into the settings.

TPU Case

I put a skin on my Series A case, for some reason this time I went with a TPU case. The one I got has a latch that prevents the case from opening, even has a secondary latch (yo dawg...) that absolutely stops the case from opening. I never had a problem with this on the Series A, but I could see the case opening in a pocket and potentially getting damaged. No chance of this with the case I got, plus it's overall pretty protective. There is an obvious extra bulk in my pocket, but I got used to it pretty fast.

Charging

I put my typical magnetic USB C plug in the case so I can charge it on any of my magnetic cables around the house, and this is likely how I'll primarily charge the case. However, it does support wireless charging and it does charge pretty well in the Belkin 25W Wireless Charger I got for my Pixel 10. It gets warmer than charging over USB, but it is honestly really convenient. And zero issues in the TPU case.

Conclusion

I see no reason I won't use these nearly every day for the next few years like I did my Series A, I love them. They sound better, they're even more comfortable, and the ANC does a great job of blocking out annoying noises. It would be interesting to be able to compare their sound and ANC against the new Pixel Buds 2A, but I imagine some folks who do audio reviews better than I have already tackled that job.