First listening to Google Pixel Buds Pro won me over

The Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s fourth attempt at wireless earbuds, and arguably the most advanced on paper. They also happen to be the most expensive, with features like active noise cancellation, touchpad controls, wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.0, spatial audio (coming soon), big promises of sound from an 11mm speaker, and more. At a price of $199, they should be delivered.

Google sent me a pair of Pixel Buds Pro for review, and we’re working through the process right now to share our final thoughts with you on whether they fit or not. Actually today is the day most will post reviews, but I was out of town when they were delivered so we were a couple of days late. But listen, I’ve been using them consistently for 2-3 days now and wanted to at least give you some initial thoughts for those who want a pair right now and are trying to decide.

Google makes headphones for my ears.

I know that I was one of the few people who really liked the first true wireless Pixel Buds, and that later it turned out that they had design and hardware problems. I also know I gave the Pixel Buds pretty good scores, even though they’re a cheaper pair without all the fancy features that many headphones come with. I am clearly a fan of Google headphones, even if this is an unpopular opinion.

As for the Pixel Buds Pro, I’m enjoying the experience again and part of the reason has to do with the fit. Google really knows how to make headphones that fit perfectly in my ears. In fact, this was one of the main reasons I liked both previous Pixel Buds before this because Google seemed to use my ear to shape them. They were both light and liberating, never moving no matter what I did, and it allowed me to wear them for hours without fatigue.

These Pixel Buds Pro fit my ears right out of the box thanks to the medium eartips (they also come with small and large eartips). To put them in the right place, you need to move a little, but once you find them, they will not move much. Thanks to ANC, they’re bigger, although they don’t have those awkward wingtips or anything else that would make them difficult to wear. All you really have to do is rotate them a bit and then stick them straight in like magic.

So far, I’ve worn the Pixel Buds Pro in everyday settings, at my desk, as well as during a few intense workouts. They never fell out. I will say that I notice them a lot more than other pairs of Pixel Buds and I think it’s because of their size and weight. It’s not surprising when you look at what Google has packed into them, but I’ve seen my ears get tired of them after a longer session. Again, we’ll check it out to find out.

Overall, in terms of fit and feel, the Pixel Buds Pro wear well (at least in my ears).

The sound is pretty phenomenal.

With a $200 price tag and a long list of features, I think Google was right in suggesting the Pixel Buds Pro provide “top-notch immersive audio.” For most weeks I go without a pair of headphones in my ears because I work from home with speakers in my office and find peace by running or working without them. With the Pixel Buds Pro the last few days, I’ve been trying my best to wear them and spin all the tunes.

There’s smooth, deep bass that really holds up satisfactorily, which most true wireless earphones can’t. The Tall have an intoxicating richness and clarity. You get excited when you play a loud song in Buds Pro. Yes, I did my typical “High For This” The Weeknd test and they passed with flying colours. I blasted them with a bunch of Labrinth, his wild digital beats and heavy bass, leaving happy again. I called on Jeff Buckley for the first time in a long time to try and feel that emotion, and your boy is crying right now. Okay, that’s a little. Old Caamp, after being replayed for the last two years, sounds fresh again. This is head-spinning sound at its best.

ANC also works quite well and can reduce outside noise in a really impressive way. My super-clicky keyboard is inaudible with it, flushing the toilet did nothing, and cars flying past my house caused only a quiet squeal. I’ve used ANC in several pairs of headphones over the years, but this was one of the first times I thought, “Wow, this really works well.”

Of course, you can use the Transparency setting to let in outside noise, and that works well too. The sound quality is also not reduced, if you’re wondering. I haven’t tried the Buds Pro with ANC fully disabled yet, so I’ll get back to you on that.

Some other notes.

• Battery life: I don’t have any major battery issues for you because I didn’t have enough time with the Buds Pro, but after a long 1.5 hour listening session yesterday when I’m pretty sure I had ANC off, I fell about 15% in each bud. This would bring me closer to the 11 hours of use claimed by Google with ANC disabled if I exhausted them.
• Touch control: The full set of touch controls is back! Google brought back and forth volume controls, and oh my god, yes. I missed them from Serie A and can’t tell you how much I love them here. We also have single, double, and triple taps to pause or change tracks, as well as customizable long taps to launch Assistant or toggle ANC. You can even set one side to long press for Assistant and the other for ANC, which is how I set them up. You can even disable touch controls entirely if you wish.
• Audio switching and multipoint connectionsA: Google allows the Pixel Buds Pro to do some cool things with multiple devices that I haven’t been able to test yet. They will intelligently switch between multiple Android devices (phone and tablet, for example) and will also allow you to connect to your phone and PC setup if you need sound from your computer but still have access to your phone to make a call. I’ll do my best to test them, but the sound switching doesn’t seem like something I’d use often.
• A businessA: The case for the Pixel Buds Pro reminds me a lot of the Pixel Buds (2nd generation). It’s a heavy, well-built body with a black interior. Its lid has good movement and is very predilection frivolous in the sense that you could flip a pen to annoy people. As expected, it has wireless charging and USB-C. Sometimes the Buds Pro fit a little awkwardly inside it, like they need some extra help. Maybe I just need more practice.
• Calls: Haven’t taken it yet! I’ll do it soon.
• Audio cutouts: haven’t had any notch yet, so maybe Google finally fixed it on the third try. I was able to leave my phone at the office and walk all the way to the back of my house without losing connection. I covered both ears in this area and it ended up causing a small cut. So far, connectivity seems to be the best of any Pixel Buds to date.
• Application and its settings: There are some new settings in the Pixel Buds app, so here they are if you’re interested.

Okay, I actually wrote a lot there. I enjoy them if you can’t tell and I enjoy sharing my thoughts.

Any questions?