Review: The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are designed for everyday use [Video]

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 feature a few key improvements over the original Pixel Buds Pro. Two years after that release, Google is looking to pack better sound, Gemini interaction, and better battery life into a design that comes with some physical changes.

Hardware and design

On the surface, with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 Earphones earbuds neatly stored, nothing seems to be different. The case is still the same eggshell color and shape with a very familiar texture.

If it ain’t broken…

Once you open the case, Google’s changes are easy to see. The new Pixel Buds Pro 2 take up less physical space with a much smaller, more rounded chassis. The “G” logo is still prominently displayed on the outside of the earbud, and the only other distinguishing feature is a small microphone grille along the top and bottom of the earbud’s faceplate.

Google has made some radical changes to the earbud design between these two Pro models. The new profile is much less like a kidney bean and more like a small car tire. However, it’s more concentric and takes up less space in the ear. A small rubber fin protrudes from the earbud to allow you to “lock” the earbud in with a twisting motion when wearing the earbuds, which is useful for those times when you know you’ll be doing more vigorous movement like running or general exercise. The stabilizer will keep the earbud in place, preventing it from slipping out.

The overall change is immediately noticeable when I put them in my ears.

Not only do the earbuds look different, but a new, improved audio jingle greets the wearer—a delightful little touch. The new design limits the amount of material actually touching the ear, allowing the wearer to listen casually for longer periods of time with less fatigue and discomfort. With the Pixel Buds Pro 2, the earbud feels like it’s floating, preventing that feeling you get when you’ve been wearing earbuds for a while and parts of your ear get sore. I’ve never had that problem.

Of course, the in-ear feel is a matter of preference. The new design doesn’t have the same initial feeling of having an earbud sitting properly in your ear; it still feels like it’s hanging there. Our Abner Li doesn’t find this feeling as secure, but he does notice the difference in comfort (floating) after about an hour. I can choose either option, but I see both points of preference.

On the one hand, the larger earbuds are a bit more secure and sometimes provide a better seal. The new design relies solely on a silicone-to-skin seal, which puts more pressure on the user to get the right fit. Multiple ear tips are included to narrow the fit, as well as a fit checker in the app to ensure sound is still leaking out. In my experience, even if the Pixel Buds app says the fit is good, try different tips. Don’t be afraid to try different sizes for each ear.

Incidentally, because the earbuds essentially float, supported by the silicone tips, the touch controls have a much heavier echo. Tapping to play or pause can be jarring because all that impact is absorbed by the ear canal. Tapping and swiping introduce friction, and if mistimed, that tapping or rubbing motion can echo in your ear. It’s not terribly pleasant, though it’s not an issue unique to the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Since the Pixel Buds Pro 2 retain their capacitive sensors, touch controls are one of two ways to control the earbuds. You can wake up Gemini and ask it to perform actions, though it still requires an initial long press.

Software and Gemini Live

Google has equipped the Gems Pro 2 with a very similar set of touch controls to the previous version. The generic play/pause, seek, and volume up/down actions are all available, albeit cemented in place. The press-and-hold action can be customized between noise-cancelling modes and Gemini activation.

The controls are easy to use, although the smaller face of the earbuds makes them a little unpredictable. You can tap once to play or pause audio, or double-tap to skip a track. Swiping your finger forward on the earbud increases the volume, while swiping backward decreases the volume.

As for digital assistants, Google has integrated some parts of the Gemini experience for the user. That simple long press will bring up the AI ​​assistant. The overall integration, however, feels a bit lackluster. I was expecting a shortcut to easily access Gemini Live, but instead you have to say out loud, “Hey Google, let’s talk live” or something similar. This starts a Gemini Live session with no visuals and only a notification.

As for the experience, it’s nice to be able to start a Gemini Live session, turn off the phone’s screen, and just chat. The interaction feels less forced than it might on a Pixel phone. After all, the point of Gemini Live is to facilitate normal interaction. With the Buds, that’s exactly what happens. You can chat as if you were on the phone, as weird as that may seem. I found this to be a really interesting way to interact with Gemini Live. It also gave me a chance to test the microphones, since the Gemini didn’t exactly pick up everything I had to say correctly.

Google’s Find My Device integration seems like a useful addition, though. The Buds Pro 2 are visible within the Find My Device app and can be found like any other device. One interesting choice Google made was to make both the case and the buds individually trackable. The page lets you select which part you want to track, whether that’s the case with the buds inside or an errant bud stuck in the couch. All three pieces can play sound to help you locate them, though the case is significantly louder than the 11mm drivers in each bud.

Headphone Cufflinks

The unveiling of Gemini on Android phones was a tough one. In short, Google prioritized the conversational nature of Gemini over making a good phone assistant. To that team’s credit, they’ve changed their minds in the months since, and it’s going to be a pretty solid replacement for Google Assistant after everything announced at I/O 2024 about the full launch of Gemini Extensions.

Unfortunately, Google fell into the same trap with the launch of Gemini on earbuds. Google over-indexed Gemini Live and made it the showcase feature of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 at the expense of offering a decent headphone assistant that can help with more mundane (everyday) tasks.

When you invoke the primary Gemini assistant (not Live) while your phone is in your pocket, the screen will still light up to show the usual overlay. There’s no way to activate it without the phone’s display lighting up because Google says it’s optimizing for how users prefer to have longer conversations with Gemini. To that end, Gemini lights up the screen so people can refer to the conversation transcript. That said, Google has “taken steps to reduce the likelihood of accidental touches by turning off certain features when the screen is activated by Gemini voice commands.”

Even when I’m on the go, I still have my phone in my hand. After I got the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and summoned Gemini, I kept unconsciously tapping the lock button to turn off the screen, thinking it was an accidental screen activation. In the meantime, I canceled out Gemini listening to me and its response.

Even worse is how the Gemini on the Pixel Buds Pro 2 can only read out — “Hey Google, do I have any notifications?” — alerts from messaging apps, like Google Messages, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, as well as Google Chat and Voice. Previously, you could set Google Assistant to read aloud notifications from specific apps, like the news (urgent alerts) or even email.

Pixel Buds Pro vs Pro 2

With Gemini, Google tells us it’s “rebuilding the notifications experience from the ground up.” The company is starting with messaging apps, given their importance, and is “constantly working to further improve this experience,” with other types of apps under evaluation.

We’ll continue to work on this, and we’re really excited about the many ways Gemini can improve your overall notification experience for messaging and non-messaging apps when using Pixel Buds.

Another regression is how a verbal command, “read my notifications,” is the only way to have message alerts read aloud. Similar to the removal on the existing Pixel Buds, the Pixel Bids Pro 2 lacks the touch-and-hold feature that reads the time and all available notifications. That gesture was great for those who wanted a discreet way to see their alerts if they couldn’t get to their phone or just didn’t like speaking in public.

The Gemini’s lack of touch-and-hold and limited notifications is deeply disappointing and makes it a poor assistant for headphones at launch. Instead of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 building on those features, it feels like the Gemini has done a great reset of capabilities that ignores what people love about the Assistant on the Pixel Buds.

The Gemini Assistant experience on phones ultimately worked, but it didn’t make a great initial impression, as it did with the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Drums

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 also feature good battery life, both in the earbuds and in the case.

With both ANC on and off, the earbuds get an extra hour of life. With the case, however, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 get at least 10 or more hours of life. That equates to 30 and 48 hours for ANC on and off, respectively.

The increased battery life, coupled with the new IPX4 water resistance rating, is likely why the case feels a bit heavier than the previous model.

My time with the Buds has been a little too short to get a firm grip on battery life so far, but my usage and battery estimates are right on track with Google’s claims. I’ve been completely satisfied with what I’m getting out of these buds—they seemingly never let up.

Unless I’m on a plane or in a crowded environment, I don’t use ANC very often, which means I usually see more battery life from my earbuds. In this case, it doesn’t really make a huge difference. Google has done a great job of making sure the earbuds last a full day, even if you’re trying to turn everything off.

That, and the added bonus of charging the earbuds with a lot more power in the case, means that time between charges is pretty limited. When it comes time to charge, you have USB-C or Qi wireless charging.

Audio quality

This is the part where I wasn’t completely blown away by the Pixel Buds Pro 2. On the other hand, I wasn’t sold on the previous model either. Maybe I’m a little biased because of my iffy experience with the first version, but I’d like to think I’m being impartial here.

These Buds sound overemphasized in the low frequencies, and the high frequencies, like cymbals and hi-hats, simply lack detail. That sense of a full soundstage falls apart when the high notes of the drums sound grainy and out of place. Of course, this is a nitpick. Most of the time, those detail losses go unnoticed and the overall profile is perfectly acceptable.

Google added EQ adjustments to the original Pixel Buds Pro a while back, and this model brings that functionality with it. That said, you can adjust the audio profile to your liking. It makes a bit of a difference, but an EQ band is often more of a Band-Aid than a solution. The 11mm drivers just don’t cut it for me, and other newer options like the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, which offer the same driver size, simply dominate the Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Google says the new A1 processor processes audio 90 times faster than the speed of sound. This also affects the ANC processing and transparency. Both work well, but they’re not perfect by any means. The new transparency mode is a bit cleaner than the one without the A1 chip. Comfort is a different issue, as I feel a similar pressure sensation when ANC is turned on. It’s still an improvement over the first Pro version, but it’s an issue I don’t think we should have anymore when so many other earbuds do something similar at lower price points.

The sacrifice you make in audio quality when you turn on ANC is very noticeable in these earbuds as well. As soon as ANC or noise canceling is turned on, music takes on a completely different profile. It starts to sound muffled or tinny, losing a lot of depth.

All of which speaks to the fact that these earbuds aren’t necessarily for audio geeks. They’re built for productivity, incorporating decent listening modes with easy access to Gemini and notifications. The audio profile also suggests a better listening experience when tuning into podcasts or audiobooks with deep, rich human voice enhancement. On top of that, the earbuds offer good call quality and even better comfort for all-day use, thanks to a more comfortable design.

From that perspective, they’re good earbuds. They get the job done and fit well into Google’s ecosystem, especially if you plan on using Fast Pair or Multipoint between devices. However, those looking for great audio-focused earbuds may want to look elsewhere.

At $229, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are more like powerhouses that make things a little easier on the go or in the office, though I don’t know if Google added much in the way of quality to justify the price. You can certainly kick back and rock out to music, but they’re not the best overall option if that’s all you want. Instead, the value is in the software and Gemini.

Abner Li and Damien Wilde contributed to this review.