Pixel Buds Pro 2 vs Nothing Ear and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: There’s a clear winner

Ben Schoon | Oct 17 2024 - 9:30 am PT

Truly wireless earbuds are everywhere in 2024, but finding the one that’s right for you can be tough. Over the past few months, the standout choices for me have been the Nothing Ear, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and most recently, the Pixel Buds Pro 2. In my book, there’s a clear winner of the three.

Hardware and fit

One of the most important aspects of any pair of earbuds comes down the hardware and how the earbuds actually fit in your ears, and there have been a couple of clear approaches. There are earbuds that sit in your ears, and the ones that have a stem.

Google has continued to stick with the former, with the Pixel Buds Pro 2 embracing a design that rests on your ear canal more than anything else. The earbuds “float” in your ears, as Andrew Romero explained in our review. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of that. It results in more “pressure” in the ear, though it does come with the benefit of comfort.

That said, comfort is something that varies wildly from person to person.

For someone else, the stem design of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Nothing Ear might be better. I’ve certainly come to the conclusion that the shift in weight this design brings makes for a much more comfortable experience over time. I’d give Samsung’s buds a slight win in fit, especially over longer periods of time, but just barely compared to Nothing Ear, which fit far better than I ever expected them to. The blocky design of the earbuds disguise the really good in-ear fit.

Speaking of, let’s talk the design.

Google’s strategy remains the same as it’s been for a while. You get some fun colors on the touchpads, and that’s about it. There’s nothing all that flashy, and you get to pick the color you do want to show off between a handful of options.

Nothing has its signature transparent look that shows off some of the internals. It’s a futuristic and fun choice, and makes the stemmed design not feel like a clone of Apple’s AirPods.

Samsung’s… well, they’re just an AirPods clone. There’s no point in splitting hairs. The design Samsung has settled on is eerily similar to Apple’s, and that’s fine as long as you can stand behind it. The grey color helps. The only other point in Samsung’s favor is the “blade” lights, but they’re functionally entirely pointless.

The case is just as important as the earbuds

In my book, the case your earbuds are stored in is just as important, if not almost more important than the earbuds themselves.

With Pixel Buds Pro 2, you get the same familiar “pebble” case Google has been using for the past few generations. It’s compact, easily pocketable, and works really well. This year, it also has a built-in speaker to help with pairing status and Find My Device, and it retains a physical button on the back for manual pairing when Fast Pair isn’t working or isn’t an option. But, the case this year is also more prone to damage and staining, as members of our team have noticed over the course of using them. /im

Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have a brand new case, ditching the square shape of previous generations for something that, well, is identical to Apple’s AirPods Pro. But that means it’s compact and easy to keep in your pocket. There’s a clear portion at the top so you can see the “blade” lights when the earbuds are charging, and a pairing button at the bottom. I noticed that the case is very easy to damage, but it gets the job done.

Finally, there’s Nothing Ear. The bulkiest of the three, the case here is bigger and thicker, but the transparent design is unique, and it’s as well constructed as the rest. It also has a pairing button on the backside next to the USB-C port. Personally, it’s my least favorite case of the three here.

Does software matter?

Another important factor to consider is the software side, and there are two aspects to look at. The first is features and where they work.

The main special feature of Pixel Buds Pro 2 is Gemini integration, which works across all Android phones. The same goes for most of the Pixel’s features, as you’ll also get Find My Device and Fast Pair, as well as being able to use most controls through your phone’s Settings menu (in some cases you’ll need to download the Pixel Buds app).

Nothing Ear also generally works the same regardless of what device you’re paired to. You’ll get Fast Pair and plenty of controls through the Nothing X app. The only feature directly tied to one device is ChatGPT integration, which only works if you’re paired to a Nothing Phone.

With Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, you’ll find that a lot of features are only available with a Galaxy phone. The best audio settings, fast pairing, and more are only available when paired to Galaxy devices, but the Galaxy Wearable app does bring support for most controls to other Android devices too.

Audio quality and what codecs are supported?

Audio quality obviously matters, and all three of these options are pretty solid. In my own personal experience, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have the richest overall sound stage, while Pixel Buds Pro 2 are pretty flat (but still sound pretty good for the most part, especially for voices). Nothing Ear is a perfect compromise between the two, with excellent quality across the board without going too heavy on the low-end.

However, audio quality is pretty subjective, so this really boils down to what you like. All three have plenty of customization options for the audio profile.

In terms of widely supported codecs, Nothing Ear are going to be your best choice. While support varies slightly depending on the device you’re pairing to, you’ll find support for AAC, SBC, LDAC, and LHDC 5.0. In other words, you’ll get standard support, as well as some hi-res support when you need it.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro support AAC, SBC, and SSC codecs, as well as Samsung’s own proprietary codec which supports considerably higher audio quality, but only when paired to compatible Samsung devices. For example, the 24-bit/96kHz hi-res audio that Samsung touts will only work on Galaxy devices with One UI 6.1.1 or higher.

Google doesn’t officially list what codecs are supported on Pixel Buds Pro 2, but they still support the same AAC and SBC codecs as the previous generation, making them easily the most limited of the bunch.

Where does this matter? For the average user, it arguably doesn’t. But if you’re looking for better audio quality than the run of the mill, you’ll definitely want to opt for a pair with better codec support, something you certainly won’t find on Pixel Buds.

If battery life is important, there’s an obvious standout

Battery life will either be important or irrelevant when picking out a pair of earbuds. If it’s important, you’ll want lengthy usage times between charges. If it’s not, just a few hours if probably plenty. For the latter, Nothing Ear and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are perfectly suitable with decent battery life for daily use.

For longer listening sessions that last basically all day, Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a clear winner. They last significantly longer on a charge, meaning you’ll be able to use them uninterrupted for as long as you reasonably want to before the battery dies.

Battery life for all three is below, as provided by each brand.

	ANC On	ANC Off	With Case (no ANC)
Pixel Buds Pro 2	8 hours	12 hours	48 hours
Nothing Ear	5.2 hours	8.5 hours	40.5 hours
Galaxy Buds 3 Pro	5 hours	7 hours	30 hours

What do you prefer?

To me, the clear winner across the board here is Nothing Ear.

They’re the cheapest by a long shot, have the widest audio support, solid quality and ANC, and excellent hardware. The only clear downside in my eyes is the case, which is too big and bulky. Yet, these are the earbuds that will remain in my pocket for the forseeable future. And, if we’re talking about Nothing Ear, Ear (a) is also right there, with 90% of the quality and features, and a better case, for just $99 (or even less).

There’s one other standout that’s not mentioned here, just because I’ve not had a chance to try them, and that’s the OnePlus Buds Pro 3. They’ve got a great case, better audio quality according to our Damien Wilde, and they’re cheaper than Google and Samsung options at $179 (and often discounted beyond that too).