Review: The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 have matured into something special

Google’s Pixel Buds have been around for a few years now and this year they have announced the second generation of their Pixel Buds Pro, aptly named the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 is available at the Google Store, JB HIFI, Telstra, Optus, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, and Vodafone for $379 (RRP) starting September 26. You’ll be able to get them in Porcelain, Hazel, Wintergreen and Peony colours.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 have undergone a redesign from the ground up, promising a more secure, comfortable fit, along with improved sound quality and noise cancellation.

The improvements to audio quality and new features have been enabled thanks to the new Google-designed Tensor processor – the Tensor A1. The processor brings improvements to Clear Calling, and of course Gemini AI including Conversation Detection mode.

With so much promise from Google, we were looking forward to checking them out.  I received the Peony colours earbuds while Dan received the Wintergreen.  

We are always going to be tough nuts to crack given Dan’s weird-shaped ears that barely any earbuds fit into and my love for expensive earbuds and high-quality sound.  Read on to hear how the Pixel Buds Pro 2 fared.

Design and fit

At first glance of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 the size stands out the most.  They are a lot smaller than any Pixel Bud has ever been with the once bulky inner-ear section gone.  It now also has an incredibly small insert with an equally small ‘twist-to-adjust stabiliser’ which works extremely well to hold the earbuds securely in place.

The stabiliser looks too small to make any real difference, but it does, a big difference.  Its shape and location have obviously been designed well and just work.

Let’s discuss the fit.  For me, my wife is the one in the household with ears that do not fit any earbuds, until now.  Whenever we have gone on planes she needs to always use the cheap free things that look like they came off a Sony Walkman back in the 80s because no earbuds fit her (and I have over 10 sets she could try).

These Pixel Buds Pro 2 fit her ears, and not just fit but fit comfortably.  In my ears, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are also super comfortable, with no amount of running, cycling or any exercise dislodging them.  There is no need to adjust them at any time as they stay comfortable in the ear the entire workout, without any movement.

In the box, Google includes four different-sized silicon tips to help you get the most comfortable inner-ear seal. There is something here for all sized and shaped ears it seems.

I’ll let Dan put his thoughts in here:

The fit for me is fantastic. I’ve used the Pixel Buds Pro for the last couple of years, but never found them to be super comfortable. They’ve always been a little oversized and tended to fall out. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 fixes all these issues. 

The physical size of the buds is smaller, while the touchpad is also seemingly more responsive. The twist-to-fit motion is easy and allows for a comfortable fit every time you put them in, with the fin on the rear allowing for more stability.

I found the mid-sized tips already included to be perfect for me, passing the seal test in the Pixel Buds app first time, though this is a good way to find the perfect fit for your ears. 

The outer surface of the earbuds is a smaller version of the disc that we have seen on previous Pixel Buds.  The entire surface functions as a capacitive touch button and it is the best solution of all earbuds in my opinion.  

There is no missing the button when trying to press it, there is no time wasted trying to find it or mistouching the surface.  Often the capacitive button on earbuds are located on a portion of the outer section of the earbud and thus can be missed.  The entire outer disc is a button.  It works well and doesn’t dislodge the earbuds when touched.

Not only is the computer button a touch button but you can swipe on it to alter volume which works surprisingly well.

Sound quality

Before discussing the sound quality I’m going to give the noise cancellation its flowers.  Google has introduced their Active Noise Cancellation with Silent Seal 2.0 which is meant to ‘adapt to your environment up to three million times per second.’  

It adapts to your ear to cancel more midband noise than ever, and a wider range of noises.  I found the noise cancelling to be one of the best I have ever used.  The noise cancelling in the Pixel Buds Pro was good so I’m not surprised that Google has improved it in the second generation.

It could cancel quite a lot of background noise, especially those annoying gym noises.  It does create an immersive experience.

Sound quality is something that is improving in all earbuds every year, and a cheap pair of earbuds sound as good as premium ones did five years ago.  At 9, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are not the most expensive earbuds on the market but are not the cheapest.

Google has focused a lot on the sound quality of these buds with ‘11 mm drivers for powerful bass and a new high-frequency chamber for smooth treble. Multi-path processing on the Tensor A1 chip adds an additional signal path for music. This allows it to bypass the Silent Seal™ processing chain to deliver unaltered, pure sound to the speaker drivers.’ In basic English this means that the usual negative effect that ANC has on sound quality is not encountered here due to this different pathway — this is why true audiophiles prefer to listen to music without ANC.

It’s good to see Google’s Tensor chips being put to good use, because if they are the cause of this high-quality sound they are worth their weight in gold.

I’m not sure how all this works but combined the tech managed to produce a sound quality not matched by too many other earbuds on the consumer market.  I’d place them about even with the Sennheiser Accentum TW earbuds, with the bass being deeper and louder on the Google earbuds.  The Pixel Buds Pro 2 also has a punchier bass and feels really crisp.

The mids are not quite as crisp as they are in the Sennheiser earbuds but the lows and upper end of the frequencies are exceptional on the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and outdo the Sennheiser Accentum TW.  

They don’t quite match the Sennheiser Momentum TW4 or the Astell&Kern earbuds but you pay a premium price for the sound quality of those earbuds.

One thing is for sure, these Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 produce great quality audio across all types of music and if that is your main criteria you can’t go wrong with these earbuds.  

AI built-in

By Daniel Tyson.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are powered by Google’s new Tensor A1 Chip, bringing with a host of new features including ultra-low latency audio processing, improved ANC, background noise removal for Clear Calling and the new Conversation Detection. The Tensor A1 has also improved battery life.

The original Pixel Buds Pro had some great features including the ability to speak to Google easily. In this new AI-focused age, we’re talking to Gemini now, with the option to also use Gemini’s conversation mode.

Gemini is present by saying either ‘Hey Gemini’, or ‘Hey Gemini let’s talk’ depending on if you want the conversational mode.

I use Gemini much the same as I used Google Assistant previously, though there’s a few bumps occasionally as Gemini falls back internally to Google Assistant to perform functions. From a user perspective though it’s all fairly seamless.

The Gemini Conversation mode was an interesting experience. It frustrated me while trying to get ideas on some raised garden bed but in the end raised a few points which I hadn’t thought of – and construction starts this weekend.

The conversation detection is excellent. A quiet chime in your ear as you start talking and transparency mode is there. A few seconds of silence and off it goes back to Active Noise Cancellation.

On the Transparency mode – it’s brilliant. Between the comfort of the buds themselves and Conversation Detection mode I can just about wear them all day.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are also the first to support the new Google Find My Device Network. You can add them during setup, and then find them using the Find My Device app from Google Play.

It’s actually a handy feature – when it works. Around the house I had no issues and the Buds put out a surprisingly loud chirping sound but didn’t test them out by leaving them laying somewhere.

The other features include Spatial Audio, which can be used on both phones like the Pixel 9 Pro XL I tested on, or when connected to a PC. I used the Multi-Point audio connectivity on the Pixel Buds Pro 2 to connect to the laptop and check out some Atmos content on Netflix, as well as on YouTube and it’s great – though YouTube Music has yet to implement it. 

Audio software

I had some issues pairing the Pixel Buds Pro 2 with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, with it continually thinking only one earbuds was connected and then not offering any optimising software.  If this happens to you reset the earbuds (press and hold the button on the case for more than 15 seconds) and the app and start from scratch.

Once connected correctly though I was able to easily set up all the software.  There are all the usual earbud software you’d expect such as level of ANC, in-ear detection, equaliser, the ability to change the touch controls and Find device.

Battery life and charging

The earbuds provide up to eight hours of audio on a single charge (ANC on) with the case holding another 30 hours.  This is easily enough for just about everything.  The case supports fast charging with 15 minutes in the case long enough to provide another three hours of use.

The case is charged using the USB-C port or Qi wireless charging including working on the Pixel Stand 2 for charging..

Should you buy them?

This is an easy one. Yes. Unless you are looking for a true audiophile set of earbuds or if your budget does not extend to the 9 that the Pixel Buds Pro 2 cost.

The fit is second to none, with folks who have always had trouble with earbuds fitting finding them secure and comfortable, as do I, someone who rarely has earbuds not fit well. The sound is very close to crossing over into the audiophile category, although there is still a clear distinction between the two.

The AI and other software are ever-evolving, with Google promising to bring even more Gemini AI goodness to them in the future. Conversation Detection is amazing and works better than anything similar that I’ve tried on other earbuds in the past.

There isn’t much to not like about the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 starts at 9 (RRP) and will be on sale starting September 26 available at the Google Store, JB HIFI, Telstra, Optus, Harvey Norman, Officeworks and Vodafone. They are available in Porcelain, Hazel, Wintergreen and Peony.