Written by Liau Wen Rui
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 is my first rodeo daily driving “premium” true wireless earbuds, representing a remarkable upgrade over my daily-driver Redmi Buds 5 Pro. TL;DR the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a solid offering to consider if you are in the market for wireless earbuds.
Design and Handling
The buds are featherweight and a delight to wear. Weighing in at just 4.7g for each earbud, they were comfortable for extended periods of time and I never felt ear fatigue. You can also twist the buds in your ear to “tighten” the fit, which kept them feeling quite snug and secure in my ears, even during exercise. Google describes these buds as “designed to be the most comfortable earbuds”. Whilst I can’t comment if this is true in the sea of available options, they were indeed very comfy.
As a stretch, I tried to sleep with the buds on. Unfortunately, while they sit fairly flush in my ear, they were still too large to comfortably sleep with, pressing against my ear canal while I slept on my side.
The pebble-shaped case was very smooth and a joy to handle, so much so that I often found myself playing with it as a fidget spinner. The case hinge also had a satisfying amount of resistance when opening and closing. However, the smooth texture of the case also meant that it dirtied easily, especially when I kept it in my pants pocket. Unfortunately, it seems like the case is white regardless of your choice of colour for the buds, so I’d recommend being mindful about keeping them clean.
Audio Quality
The buds sounded very warm, with a very wide soundstage that was impressive for how small they were. This made them sound distinctly more premium than my Redmi Buds 5 Pro. Treble and vocals were clear and bright, not having a hint of muddiness. However, I felt that the bass could be stronger; I found it lacking even when it was tuned to the max under the EQ settings.
On the software side, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 offer quite a granular amount of customisation, letting you use presets or your own predefined EQ settings that you can quickly switch between.
The Pixel Buds also offer spatial audiol, in which the audio tracks your head movement and shifts accordingly. However, beyond a cool tech demo in the Pixel buds app, there was no practical way to experience it, as it is only available on select Pixel phones and only on supported streaming platforms with 5.1 audio tracks. Even though I’m using a supported phone (Pixel 7 Pro), I’m not a fan of watching full length movies on a device as small as a smartphone. I do hope that spatial audio becomes more widely supported, as the demo was indeed quite exciting.
ANC and Call Quality
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 offers Active Noise Cancellation that does quite a good job of cutting out white noise and conversations in the background. I found that it worked really well on public transport and office environments, allowing me to get into my flow state and focus on my work.
However unlike competing products, the buds do not let you vary the intensity of ANC according to your preference in different environments. Whilst the ANC largely worked well, there was one instance at a noisy McDonald’s where the ANC struggled to meaningfully cut out noise, rendering my music incomprehensible.
Each earbud is equipped with 3 microphones for phone calls. Whilst the buds are usable for calls in most environments, they are ultimately limited by their lack of a stem. I tried taking calls on the MRT in Singapore – one of the noisiest environments for calls – and my colleagues commented that my call quality was significantly worse compared to my Redmi Buds 5 Pro.
Software and Battery Life
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 offers Bluetooth multipoint connection, letting you connect simultaneously to 2 devices. I found that it works extremely well in transitioning between devices.
The buds also offer certain frills in the software, such as a “Find My” feature that lets you locate the case with its built-in speaker.
The controls on the earbuds were intuitive – swipe forward or back to increase the volume, single tap to play/pause, and double/triple tap to skip tracks. The controls work the same on either bud, which means you have full access to these controls even when only using a single bud.
Battery life of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 was solid as well, with the battery of the case and buds easily lasting me a week of use in the office and commute. Google claims 30 hours of use with ANC on, and I find that claim to be quite representative of my own usage.
Value
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 retails for S$349 in Singapore, which puts it below the RRP of S$429 for the Sony WF-1000XM5 or S$379 for the Bose QC Ultra earbuds. This makes it a relatively good value if you are in the market for premium earbuds.
Personally, I’d be hesitant to pay this much for wireless earbuds as I often lose them (I’m on my 4th pair in 5 years) and the longevity of their batteries is questionable.
Conclusion
The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a solid pair of wireless earbuds that are extremely comfortable to wear and enjoyable to listen to. However, the ANC could be stronger and some care is needed to keep the case clean over time.
As always, when purchasing online, you can potentially get additional cashback on your purchase with ShopBack.
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