Once they’re in your ear, however, all differences in design go away. The Pixel Buds Pro are very low-profile. For me, they sit almost totally flush to my outer ear. And though the outer surface is now interrupted by two microphone vents, the touch-sensing controls work exactly the same way — more on that in a moment.

The real problem was that the tips didn’t maintain a tight seal in my ear for longer than 30 minutes, and needed readjusting from time to time. There are no wings to help secure the fit. Keeping the wings would have fixed this problem. Google could have done a better job with fit, though. Proprietary Silent Seal technology is employed to maximize ANC and reduce leakage by having the buds optimize performance to your ear shape, and this appeared to work well in terms of range of audio output and noise cancellation during my testing. Slightly bigger earpieces but they don't budge – plus there's plenty of stamina here (Image credit: TechRadar) Google Pixel Buds Pro review: sound quality The Pixel Buds Pro also are vented, but it’s a new design. According to Google, “Sensors actively measure the pressure in your ear canal so the earbuds can relieve it and stay comfortable.” All audio testing was done on Apple Music and Spotify across several devices that included a Google Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, iPhone 12, and MacBook Pro. Streaming over Bluetooth 5.0 via AAC and SBC was solid, granted I would have preferred codecs support for aptX HD or LDAC, but the overall audio quality feels pretty decent all the same.

What should you get instead of the Google Pixel Buds Pro?

Google claims a decent seven hours per charge when you have ANC enabled and a very impressive 11 hours when it’s off. That’s better than both the AirPods Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. However, the case doesn’t have much of a capacity — just shy of two full charges, so you’ll only get 20 hours of total playtime with ANC on. But that jumps to 31 hours without ANC, so at least you’ve got options. These aren’t the most, nor the least, feature-laden wireless earbuds out there, but at least Google places some of the more popular features right at your fingertips. Add Google Assistant, Translate or Find Your Earbuds to the list as well. You can learn more about Google’s Pixel Buds below. Google is set to release the earbuds start in July 2022. A post-launch update will deliver support for Spatial Audio, a “3D” audio technique first pushed by Apple’s AirPods, and since adopted by Samsung’s earbuds as well. More on Pixel Buds:

Firmware 3.14 has added a graphic EQ and presets to their companion app. As a result, we've updated App Support, and the scoring of this test has changed. We've also remeasured latency across devices in Bluetooth and the scoring of this test has also changed. Better yet, Google has improved its Fast Pair system with a new audio-switching feature that lets you associate the Pixel Buds Pro with all of your signed-in Android devices. Those devices are then given prioritized access to the buds. A phone call on Device A can interrupt a movie playing on Device B, for instance — but a text message from device A would not. These priorities can be modified whenever you choose. As Google’s first wireless earbuds with ANC, it did a great job with the Pixel Buds Pro. When ANC mode is engaged, it provides excellent dampening of everything but the highest of frequencies. Right now, as I type, I have a fan below my desk keeping me cool during this intense summer heat, but other than feeling the air across my ankles, I have almost no awareness of it at all. Other noises, like traffic, or the din of construction are also well contained. Meanwhile, the transparent listening mode offers crisp and clear audio; it makes it easy to conduct conversations without removing the earpieces. Cycling through the ANC modes is easy enough with a press-and-hold action, though again, non-Android users can't adjust which modes are available via these on-ear controls.

The Pixel Buds Pro are the best-sounding Pixel Buds so far, and I think they beat the more expensive AirPods Pro for overall fidelity. Even though Google reduced the size of the drivers from 12mm on the A-Series to 11mm for the Pro, the better passive noise isolation and excellent ANC come together to finally let you hear the full potential of these buds 100% of the time.

Where the Elite 7 Pro have a slight edge is robustness (with an IP57 waterproof rating versus the Buds Pro’s water-resistant IPX4), better overall call quality, and a deep set of EQ adjustments to get their sound dialed in just right. The app exudes the grace and simplicity of Google’s best software—it’s clean, simple, and functional. Unfortunately, part of the simplicity is due to the paucity of basic features we like to see for earphones at this price. For instance, instead of a typical five-band EQ, you get a switch for Volume EQ, which functions like a loudness button on a stereo. In essence, it just enhances the bass and treble at lower volumes so that the audio still sounds full and crisp. Volume EQ works well enough, but it’s unnecessary at moderate to high volumes. Google claims that a spatial audio feature should arrive in the fall of 2022, though we don't have any further details about it. Google estimates that the Pixel Buds Pro can last roughly 7 or 11 hours per charge (respectively, with ANC on and off). The company says the case should provide 20 or 31 hours of additional charge (respectively, with ANC on and off). Your typical listening volume, of course, affects these estimates. A 5-minute charge nets an hour of listening with ANC on, while a 15-minute charge nets three hours. They are incredibly close performance-wise on things like sound quality, ANC, transparency, battery life, and wireless charging, and they even share features like Bluetooth multipoint, a fit test, and find my earbuds. The Google Pixel Buds app is comprehensive and intuitive on the Google Pixel 6 Pro (Image credit: TechRadar)Bluetooth wireless range is lengthy, extending up to 70 feet (21 meters) in open spaces. Google Pixel Buds Pro review: Verdict The Pixel Buds Pro fast-paired with our Android phone in testing; a pop-up notification appears on-screen when you open the charging case near the phone. The app then walks you through an earbud fit test to ensure you have an ideal in-ear seal for ANC and audio performance. You can skip this test, but it takes only about 20 seconds to complete. Google is also providing plenty of user-friendly features here, including super-speedy pairing where the buds simply pop up on your home screen asking to be friends, 'find me' features, and that dedicated app andmultipoint technology with automatic audio switching so the Pixel Buds Pro can stay happily connected to two different devices and switch easily between them. We tried it with the Google Pixel 6 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and even an iPhone 8 with no problems whatsoever, provided you switch multipoint on in the Buds' settings (it's off by default, but this takes seconds to toggle on). Every product category has multiple “winners.” In Android smartphones, you can go to Pixels for the software or the camera. You can go to OnePlus – or could, depending on how you feel about the brand’s recent trajectory – for raw performance. Or, you could just go to Samsung for the best of both worlds. A crowd-pleaser, so to speak.

I’m a little disappointed that Google chose to omit any kind of support for high-quality (or low-latency) Bluetooth codecs. With the standard SBC and nearly-standard AAC, you’re getting perfectly decent wireless sound, but without the aptX family of codecs, Sony’s LDAC codec or any kind of low-latency mode, the Pixel Buds Pro can’t quite make the most of their potential for fans of hi-res audio, or those who like to game — something of an odd choice given that Google owns a streaming music service ( YouTube Music) and a streaming gaming service ( Stadia).The Google Pixel Buds Pro support AAC and SBC codecs, but they regretfully leave out the aptX format available on the Jabra Elite 4 Active models, for example. While these earphones are not aimed at high fidelity listening, they still offer sound performance that is perfectly suited to everyday applications such as phone calls, watching videos or listening to your favourite songs in noisy environments. How Do I Connect My Google Pixels Buds Pro? As with most wireless earbuds, this probably comes down to their internal batteries. And with a starting life span of seven hours with ANC on, that’s not bad — you’ll still be able to get good use out of them even when they deteriorate to just 50% capacity, and there’s no telling when that will happen. If you clean them regularly and wipe away any salt and sweat once you’re done using them, I see no reason they shouldn’t last as long as any other wireless earbuds in this class.