It’s been just over a year since the Pixel Buds Pro were released, but have Google’s earbuds improved enough to stay ahead of the competition?
The good remains good
When we first reviewed the Pixel Buds Pro, it was abundantly clear that Google had addressed every gripe we had about its past headphones while also maintaining everything that made them great.
For many, the Pixel Buds Pro manage to be both comfortable and secure while in one’s ears, even ditching the rubber fin that held older editions in place. And while they’re larger in size, they still manage to look reasonably fashionable in the ear without protruding too far.
That increase in size allowed for quite a few improvements, including to the sound quality, battery life, and feature set. Where the previous Pixel Buds aimed to balance your music with your ambient surroundings (while also alleviating the usual ear pressure of closed earbuds), the Pixel Buds Pro introduced active noise cancellation (ANC), which performed decently in our testing.
Meanwhile, on the plane, it took the roar of the engines I was sitting right next to down to a manageable level. I’ve experienced far better from over-ear headphones, such as Sony’s XM3, but the Pixel Buds Pro more than held their own, and I’d wear them again on a flight if only to save space in my backpack.
Between excellent comfort, solid ANC, and extended battery life, the Pixel Buds Pro are headphones you can wear throughout an entire workday without much fatigue. Even after a full year of steady use, they have remained the 9to5Google team’s go-to for everyday use.
Feature Drops
In the past year, Google has enhanced the Pixel Buds Pro on two occasions with what it calls “Feature Drops.” These were positioned to seem like the Pixel Buds improved over time, but one could pessimistically look at it as a way for Google to announce features that it couldn’t deliver before the original launch.
Of the two Feature Drops (with two more rumored to be coming soon), only one has been particularly relevant. Even then, that feature – the equalizer – really should have been available at launch and was also achievable through a third-party app.
Equalizer & volume balance
The first Feature Drop arrived just over two months after launch and brought a much-requested equalizer feature. In my experience, a little bit of fine-tuning can really make the sound profile of the Pixel Buds Pro shine, bringing out a noticeable amount of richness.
That said, Google’s official equalizer only offers five bands of adjustment, while a typical equalizer would more often include at least 10 bands, allowing for more precise adjustments. For those just beginning to go down the rabbit hole of audio enhancement, the five-band equalizer is a good starting point, at least.
This same update also included a volume balance option, allowing Pixel Buds Pro owners to make the left or right earbud louder or softer than the other.
Head-tracking spatial audio
Google’s second Feature Drop for the Pixel Buds Pro was arguably larger in its potential. In an attempt to match Apple’s AirPods lineup, Google’s earbuds gained head-tracking spatial audio.
The idea is that the Pixel Buds Pro determine which way your head is facing and adjust the position of the audio to match it. Done right, it would enable immersive 360° experiences, and from our testing, Google’s hardware got everything right.
However, a glaring mismatch holds back Google’s spatial audio from being useful. For starters, Google’s smartphones do not support Dolby Atmos, the format used by the few apps like Tidal that offer 360° audio on Android. On the flip side, this spatial audio is only available on the company’s Pixel phones; devices that support Atmos, like many Samsung Galaxy phones or tablets, simply cannot use it for now.
This means the only spatial audio available on the Pixel Buds Pro today is through traditional 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound media. As that audio is optimized for a home theatre, it’s far from a 360° experience.
Soon: Clear Calling & ‘Super Wide Band’
Earlier this year, 9to5Google exclusively reported that another Feature Drop would be coming to the Pixel Buds Pro. The upcoming functionality boils down to three new features.
First is “Clear Calling,” an effort that debuted with the Pixel 7 series, aimed at reducing background noise in (non-VoIP) phone calls. Building this into the earbuds makes some sense, as they’re the last step of the process before audio reaches your ears.
Relatedly, Google is said to be working on supporting something called “Super Wide Band,” which uses the additional capabilities of a 5G cellular connection to offer better overall audio quality during phone calls. There should also be some hearing-loss prevention features through Google’s Digital Wellbeing app.
Soon: Find My Device network
During this year’s Google I/O, the company took the wraps off of its Find My Device network, which will use the billions of Android devices worldwide to help locate missing phones, trackers, and headphones. While the company has since indefinitely delayed the network’s arrival, the Pixel Buds Pro should be supported when it launches.
The Assistant factor
Google Assistant has always been one of the key components that set the Pixel Buds series apart from the ever-expanding field of earbuds. Whether with a tap or by saying, “Hey Google,” your Assistant is always ready to change up the music, answer questions, or read your notifications aloud.
However, this is no longer an exclusive feature of the Pixel Buds. Google has allowed competitors like Sony and JBL to deeply integrate the Assistant into other earbuds, often with better audio quality.
More critically, Google Assistant has also been on a downswing as of late. In the smart home, Google hasn’t released an Assistant-first device in over two years (with the second-gen Nest Hub in 2021). And with the rise of AI technology, the company has been far more focused on products like Bard and SGE rather than improving Assistant as we know it today.
With any luck, the “supercharged Assistant” powered by AI will be just as accessible through the Pixel Buds Pro as it is on phones, but until that happens, the Google Assistant is simply losing relevance.
If Assistant can no longer shine through as one of the clearest reasons to buy Google’s headphones, are the Pixel Buds Pro still worth recommending? As more companies release excellent earbuds at compelling prices, it’s becoming a bit harder to say yes.
Stiff competition
In the intervening year, the competition against the Pixel Buds Pro has heated up. Just a few months after Google’s earbuds were released, Apple launched the significantly upgraded AirPods Pro 2.
While many of its software features require the use of an iOS device, the AirPods Pro 2 will happily connect to anything with Bluetooth, including your Android phone. Just on the merits of its sound quality, consistency, and its best-in-class noise cancellation, the AirPods Pro 2 are worth considering shelling out the extra money ($249 vs. $199, but the AirPods are frequently discounted) even if you don’t use an iPhone.
Or, if you’re more inclined to save a bit of money and get the full feature set of your prospective earbuds, the recently released Nothing Ear (2) earbuds offer a compelling package. At just $149, Nothing’s second-generation headphones offer surprisingly good audio quality and noise cancellation in a uniquely stylish design.
And that barely scratches the surface of the many true wireless earbuds on the market today, all vying for a place in your pocket or bag.
Are the Pixel Buds Pro still worth it?
Now a year older and wiser, the Pixel Buds Pro are still a solid contender in the earbuds space. We doubt that most buyers have felt the urge to seek out an upgrade.
However, current prospective buyers of Google’s earbuds have quite a few strong alternatives to choose from. In the end, the answer to which earbuds you should buy will depend on what you value most. Those seeking the best-possible noise cancellation or audio quality may be better served elsewhere, while budget earbuds have significantly improved in the past year.
For its part, Google has expertly crafted the Pixel Buds Pro as the perfect option for everyday wear, striking a good-enough balance between comfort, sound quality, noise reduction, battery life, and utility (even in the face of Assistant’s waning relevance).
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