So just like AirPods Pro for iPhone users, the Pixel Buds Pro are a great default option
for any Pixel or android user in general. They have a decent case for everyday carry,
they have a decent battery life, they a decent battery life, they have a decent performing
microphone, and they now have active noise cancelation and an ambient mode which is new
for pixel buds. So today we’re going to checkout the pixel buds pro, and we’re also
going to see how they stack up to other options like from Bose, Sony, Sennheiser, beats, or
Jabra.
Regarding pricing, Google is being pretty aggressive with their pixel buds pro, and
I feel that you should take advantage of this if you can. The Pixel Buds Pro have a retail
price of $200… but they can be found on sale for $150. And for comparison sake, both
the Galaxy Buds 2 and Studio Buds have a retail price of $150, the Sennehsier CX Plus have
a retail price of $180, the Jabara Elite 7 Pro’s, and Linkbuds S both have a retail
price of $200, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a retail price of $230, both the AirPods Pro
2, and Sennheiser Momentum 3’s have a retail price of $250, the WF-1000XM4’s have a retail
price of $280 and the Bose QC Earbuds 2 have a retail price of $300. What I am trying to
say here is, there are a lot of options to choose from… and different earbuds are better
for different use cases… But nonetheless, the Pixel Buds Pro are a good default option
that do many things well. So if you want to pick these earbuds up they’ll be linked
down below, or you can press on the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about this case. Now overall I like this case. Its decently small and thanks
to its pebble like design, slipping this case in and out of your pocket is very easy. Now
size wise, this case does have a slightly larger foot print than the AirPods Pro 2’s
case and it is a few millimeters thicker… but I would say that this case is more convenient
for every day use than lets say Galaxy buds, Sony WF-1000XM4’s, linkbuds s, Sennheiser
CX Plus, Momentum 3’s, Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s, Jabra Elite 85T’s, Studio Buds, Or bose
QC Earbuds 2. Now even though I do like the size of this case, and I really love the snap
of this megantic lid… there are two critiques that I have about this case. The first has
to do with their slate textured body, this slate texture is great cause it really helps
you get a grip on this case… but this slate body gets scratched very easily. And I would
say that this is an issue, cause for comparison, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also have a slate textured
case… but this case isn’t as quick to collect scratches. But then, there’s just
the matter of taking these earbuds out of their case. I find that is a little hard to
get a grip on these earbuds cause these earbuds are too flush against the case. So, when ever
you’re going to take these earbuds out of their case… you have to be very carful.
But at least this case has strong magnets in it… so putting your earbuds away is much
easier.
And when it comes to charging this case, just as you’d expect, this case charges via a
USB C port…. And you’ve also go wireless charging. Now wireless charging is pretty
standard when considering most main stream earbuds… but this is something that you
want to take note of especially if youre considering getting either the Studio Buds or Bose QC
earbuds 2… cause these case don’t have wireless charging… even though they are
pretty big.
Now when it comes to battery life, the Pixel Buds Pro have decent battery life, but its
more mid tier than it is premium teir. Now these earbuds have an advertised combined
battery life of 31 hours with their active noise cancellation turned off. The earbuds
themselves can go for 11 hours… which is phenomenal if you’re a retail or wearhouse
worker and the case can supply and the case can supply about two additional charges.
However, if you were to use these earbuds with their active noise cancelation turned
on they have an advertised combined battery life of 20 hours. The earbuds themselves can
go for 7 hours… which is still a a lot. Plus those almost 2 charges. Now battery life
wise, the earbuds themselves are amazing… however, what’s holding these earbuds back
is their case. And the reason that I say that these earbuds have a more mid teir battery
life is cause mid teir ANC earbuds usually aim for a combined battery life of 20 hours
with their ANC turned on… where as premium ANC earbuds try to hit a battery life between
24 and 30 hours with their ANC turned on. Regardless, the Pixel Buds Pro have good battery
life and their earbuds have a lot of stamina.
But now lets talk about fit. The Pixel Buds Pro fit very differently from previous pixel
buds. Specifically, they no longer have their built in ear fins and they are now shallow
fitting in ear earbuds. As is, they don’t go in as deep as standard fitting in ear earbuds
like lets say the Galaxy Buds 2, CX plus, Linkbuds, or Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s. The Pixel
Buds Pro fit more like your AirPods Pro’s, Studio Buds, Jabra Elite 85T’s, or Galaxy
Buds 2 Pro. So thanks to their shallow fit… the Pixel Buds Pro feel more comfortable than
your standard fitting in ear earbuds cause they don’t feel as intrusive. However, one
drawback about shallow fitting in ear earbuds is that they do tend wiggle out much easier…
but I did notice that the Pixel Buds Pro have really good lock down… and I think that’s
cause these earbuds have so much surface area coming in contact with the bowl of your ear,
the additional friction helps with lock down. But in general, the Pixel Buds Pro fit very
well, but I would mainly recommend them for causal use cause they can wiggle out while
working out hard.
Now when it comes to connectivity, each ear establishes a connection with your phone.
So if you just want to use one earbud at a time, you can use either one, it doesn’t
matter. And this is the connection set up that we expect to see from our earbuds nowadays…
and unfortunately, we still have to specify this, cause there are still premium ANC earbuds
nowadays that are still using a hero and sidekick set up, like the Bose QC earbuds 2.
But regardless, if you’re a power user with devices from different eco systems, the Pixel
Buds Pro are a good option cause they can be simultaneously connected to any two Bluetooth
devices at the same time, so you can hot swap from one device to another, regardless of
eco system.
But when it comes to overall performance, these earbuds have zero latency across the
board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether your using an iPhone or an android
device, but when it come to audio codecs, these earbuds have support for SBC and AAC.
And AAC is going to work perfectly fine whether you're an iPhone or android user. But if you’re
an android user, unfortunately, these earbuds don’t have support for higher quality audio
codecs.
But now lets talk about sound. Simply put, the Pixel Buds Pro sound good enough to get
the job done… but these earbuds do lean towards a warmer sound signature to them cause
they have a lot of bass to them which mostly resonates… but they also try to compensate
for all of their bass by elevating the treble on them. Simply put, the Pixel Buds Pro are
mostly bass and vocals… and the instrumentals on these earbuds don’t have much room to
breath and their detail is lacking… and at times, vocals can get a little too harsh
and a little tinny. And especially, snares can get a little too over emphasized. Now
the volume EQ setting on these earbuds really does help combat the overly bright treble
on these earbuds at a higher volume… but regardless its still there. But also, more
recently, these earbuds have gotten a fully customizable EQ so you can go in and lower
the bass on these earbuds a little bit if you want and more importantly, you can lower
their treble. But even with my preferred EQ setting still can’t help but feel that these
earbuds sound a little narrow and are mostly just bass and vocals. Don’t get me wrong,
they sound good enough to get the job done… but if sound quality is very important to
you, then you’ll might want to look at either the Galaxy Buds 2 pro, Sennheiser CX Plus,
or Momentum 3’s.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these earbuds, you’ve got touch pads. Now
you can tap to skip through your music, you can press and hold to cycle between your ANC
settings and you can swipe to raise or lower your volume directly from the earbuds themselves.
And overall, these touch pads are very accurate and they’re easy enough to use. But something
that I did notice is that they aren’t overall sensitive… which I feel is a good thing
when you go to adjust these earbuds while they are in your ears. The only think to watch
out for here though is that you can’t turn off their touch pads… And just so that there
isn’t ant confusion, these earbuds do have wear sensors… so they’ll automatically
play and pause your music when you take them out of your ears.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds. Now the ANC on the Pixel
Buds Pro gets the job done and it does block out more noise than your mid teir ANC earbuds
like lets say the Studio Buds, Galaxy Buds 2, and CX Plus… And the Pixel Buds Pro really
don’t have any noticeable cabin pressure to them. However, while in a quieter environment,
you will notice a constant hissing in the background. But you’re not going to hear
this hissing if you have music playing int he background.
But when compared to your other more premium ANC earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro do struggle
to keep up. Cause right now, the AirPods Pro 2 are my number one ANC earbuds… albeit,
they can make me feel a little nausea or make me lose my balance sometimes. Now right below
them are the Bose QC Earbuds 2 which also block out a ton of noise without the side
affects. Right below them are the Sennehsier momentum 3’s. Right below them are the Sony
WF-1000XM4’s and their itchy foam eart tips. Right below them are the Linkbuds S. Right
below them are the Jabra Elite 85T’s, right below them are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s…
right below them are the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, right below them are the Pixel Buds Pro, and
below them are the original Galaxy buds Pro.
So overall, the ANC on the Pixel Buds Pro is still useful for reducing some road noise
and some chatter while in a cafeteria… but if active noise cancelation is very important
to you, then you’ll might want to go with something else.
But then there’s the ambient mode on these earbuds… now the ambient mode on these earbuds
is actually really good, it sounds very natural and there isn’t a whole lot of self amplification…
my main critique is that there is a noticeable amount of hissing in the background. Now you’re
not going to hear this hissing if you’re out doors or if you got something playing…
but you will hear it if youre in a quite room and maybe watching a movie with these earbuds
and if there’s a quite scene.
But more importantly, the microphone array on these earbuds does a good job of blocking
out wind noise when walking out doors… but unfortunately, these earbuds have a standard
ambient mode, as in they will let in everything. They don’t have an active ambient mode,
like what’s found on the AirPods Pro 2, Bose QC earbuds, Sony WF-1000XM4’s or original
Galaxy Buds Pro… where they will automatically turn off their ambient mode if there’s a
sudden loud sound.
And what I mean is this… on either the AirPods, Bose, sony or Galaxy Buds Pro… they would
have turned off their ambient mode and blocked out that clap. Where as the Pixel Buds Pro
would have let in that clap. And this feature is usefully if you’re walking out doors
and a siren rolls by or if a dog starts barking. Now personally, Im not too upset that the
Pixel Buds pro don’t have an active ambient mode cause this is the first time that google
implements this… but maybe google can add this through a future firmware update.
But finally, here’s the microphone test. Now the microphone on the Pixel buds Pro is
overall decent. But I do feel this microphone sounds a little robotic while in a quite room.
And even though the microphone on the on the Pixel Buds pro isn’t as good as the microphone
found on the AirPods Pro 2 its still up there.
Now the microphone on the pixel buds pro does a decent job of dealing with noise pollution,
cause right now they are doing a decent job of reducing this road noise, cause if we were
to switch over to my lapel microphone, you can clearly hear all of this road noise, but
if we were to switch over to the Pixel Buds pro, it is reduced.
But when compared to the AirPods Pro 2’s I feel that these are blocking out a little
more noise, with less interference in your voice.
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, its the same thing, I feel that these are
blocking out a little more noise with a little less interference in my voice.
Be regardless, the pixel buds pro are also doing a decent job of reducing all of this
chatter with out interfering with my voice too much, or pushing my voice down. So overall,
I feel the Pixel Buds Pro have a very solid microphone on them.
But with all of that being said, the pixel buds pro are definitely a solid default option
for any pixel or android user in general. The Pixel Buds Pro are a very convenient pair
of earbuds thanks to their generally small case, long lasting earbuds, multipoint connectivity,
and decent performing microphone. And with their aggressive pricing, these are a great
pickup. However, when it comes to sound quality, active noise cancelation, and ambient mode
these are good enough to get the job done. If you want better sound quality or better
active noise cancellation, you’ll might want to go with something else. But as a complete
package, you can’t go wrong with these.