Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 - Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds - Peony

I'm really enjoying my 30s so far. They're way less tempestuous than my 20s, and I'm making more money; so, I can buy premium stuff! Take that, poor-child-past-me! Absolutely no regrets with this purchase. It took some trial and error with the eartip size and the app settings over the first couple days, but once I figured it out (Turns out I have large ear holes. The more you know!), it was sonic bliss. Truly, this beautiful piece of technology is the amalgamation of all humankind's efforts to perfectly transport audio into your ears. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 create a stereo sound quality at least as good as any speaker system or headphones I've ever heard (bearing in mind I've produced audiobooks, and I run the soundboard at my church) while being wireless and so comfortable, I can forget they're there. I was obviously stunned by how much bass it produced, but I was even more shocked by how clear the higher frequencies sound. I honestly think it's something I've never heard. Listen to some of your favorite music, and I think you'll hear something new. Pro tip: Find the right eartip size (it should create a tight seal but fit comfortably), turn on Noise Cancellation*, turn out the lights, and play your favorite song. You will be transported to a world where only that song exists. My personal test songs, for the 16 folks who are interested: "She's So Mean" by Matchbox 20, "X Rated" by Excision, "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift, and "Zunge" by Till Lindemann Sound quality aside... They're comfortable and secure. I *love* how snappy it is to put the earbuds in the case. Downsides: -Wirelessly charging the case is possible but impractical. -The volume slide gesture can be finicky when I'm even slightly sweaty. -Once, I did have one earbud randomly stop playing audio for ~30 minutes. Just don't be surprised if you experience any glitches or annoyances. *Do you know how Noise Cancellation works? It's *crazy*. Using the built-in headphones, microphones, and Tensor processors, The Pixel Buds listen to audio surrounding you, and send exact opposite soundwaves into your ears in real-time to completely cancel out the noise. Awesome. What a perfectly designed universe we were born into.

I had the Beats earbuds for the last three years after I tried a few others and researched the hell out of the best ones. The beats died after a year (went through 3 in three years) and I decided to get those puppies. I am blown away by the sound, the many options, and the comfort. They stay very secure in the ears. they don't budge even when shaking my head testing to see how firm they are in the ears. nothing. they don't budge. but the sound is better than the beats and even better than the Bose. just phenomenal sound for music and podcasts/ audio books. the options to tap to skip, rewind, pause, answer and hang up calls are awesome and simple. just taps vs clicks. but my favorite is the swipe to change the volume. I haven't seen that in any earbuds, and it is so sweet that I don't have to reach for my phone to change the volume. The only minor bummer is that it has a feature where it detects when you talk to someone and it automatically pauses. that feature doesn't work unfortunately. I think it works only in super quiet environments. when tested it in my home where background sound is silent, it worked. but outside with outdoor noise like cars, etc. it doesn't work. I'm hoping it'll be improved in the next update. There are also head movement gestures, where you nod your head up and down for an action, or left and right for another action. that doesn't work at all for some reason. but those are a bonus if they work, and I can live without them because everything else is beyond amazing! I use them all day and the battery life is great (about 5 hours of continues listening) but it charges really fast when in the case, and the case charges really fast too. plus the case can be charged wirelessly or with a USB C. but even wirelessly it charges very fast. and did I mention that the sound is amazing? its the first time I turned down the bass in earbuds. that's how good the bass is! I appreciate quality and don't mind paying premium for a premium product, and I researched earbuds for hours and days before getting the Beats, and now researched a whole lot before getting the Pixel earbuds. I can say hands down that the Pixel earbuds are by far the best earbuds in the market nowadays. nothing comes close to it. I just hope they stay working like that for a long time. I will update if anything changes. until then, stop looking and get them.

Though these ear buds are kinda pricy, I do love them. The sound quality is great, they're comfortable, and I love the different listing modes. I used the active noise cancellation on a recent flight, and they don't block out all the noise like regular over the ear headphones can, but they did pretty well. I've also used the 'transparency' setting while out walking and that works great. I also love that they will automatically pause what I am listening to when I stop to chat with someone. The battery life is great and they will charge from the case when you put them away. They paired with my Pixel phone quite easily (as they should) and they come with different sized ear things so you can figure out which size is best for you. I've worn them for hours at a time without my ears getting sore. That is a first for me. They do seem like they could be easy to lose, but you can at least just replace what you lose rather than having to buy the whole set again.

PLEASE BE AWARE THERE ARE MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THESE EARPHONES. If you plan to use these devices with anything other than pixel phones (and even then it's honestly not perfectly seamless) be aware there are serious software driver compatibility problems that are not available to be worked around. If for instance you want to use them with your computer for zoom or discord you will struggle to do so because your computer will have a hard time figuring the correct mic or sound output channels. So, you might get mic but no sound or sound but really bad mic. - THERE IS A WEBAPP, you are supposed to be use to correct this but often times the web app is unable to detect the earphone device that is correctly connected. - THIS IS A SERIOUS FAULT, to the point that your video drivers may stop working correctly, meaning video games may not run correctly when these earphone drivers are acting up and your youtube videos won't even play. If for another instance you want to use zoom, phone call or discord call on your phone (since you can't use them like that on the computer) you will have this strange problem of the mic quality being extremely poor on the other side and any level of crowd noise filter not working for them. Save yourself the money (because quite frankly all other comparable earphones are cheaper) and the headache, get some non-big name company earphones that don't try to monopolize the market that the products only work with their own stuff. It does have some of the best noise cancelling I have seen on an earphones, however. But sound is really meh for it's price range especially poor bass. Just for amazon completion sake: I do like how it fits in your ear with the size options working out well for and not itching the inside of my ear that often have suffered with similar earbuds in the past. Obviously it is portable. The battery life is surprisingly extremely below average compared to others in it's price range

My main attraction to these buds were the Gemini integration and I'm very happy with it in this regard. Saying "Hey Google" works even in noisy places like a busy café and it accurately understands your questions even in said places. It occasionally seems to crash and won't respond to "Hey Google" at all, but it's rare and can be quickly remedied by force stopping the Google app. Gemini itself can be buggy and frustrating in terms of interpreting instructions but these are unrelated to the buds. Microphones: The mics are excellent. In my own recordings I definitely sounded clear and audible, however a little unnatural. However they do cut out background noise very well, perhaps the former is a trade off for this. I have never had any complaints on phone calls even in noisy places that I can't be heard or understood, which is the important thing. Controls: Controls are also good, not great. The swipe controls are very responsive but they don't trigger with damp fingers which is a bit of an annoyance. The Galaxy Buds 3 pro controls work with wet hands (though those have their own problems) Transparency: Very good and realistic, I'd give it a Al, not A+ because there is noticeable white noise you hear when it's quiet. Transparency mode is very important for me and I can say that I'm overall very happy with them for this, though they could definitely use improvement to reduce the white noise. ANC: I've never cared much about ANC, but I would give it E when the earbuds are in "relaxed fit" and a B when in "secure twisted fit". In relaxed fit it's near useless for me, barely block outs anything. But at least in secure fit it is quite effective, however even though it reduces sounds it's not by a massive amount. Also of course secure fit is less comfy. Sound quality: The sound quality is nice to me, though I'm not an audiophile so I almost never have an issue with sound quality. Though an important thing to note is that the quality becomes garbage and straight up unlistenable in normal mode (both ANC & Transparency off), even to my non-audiophile ears. It literally sounds like you're listening to AM radio in a toilet. So take the "ANC off battery life" measurement they list with a grain of salt. )

As someone who is a daily driver of both generations of Pixel Buds Pro, I can say confidently that these are quality audio devices. Near instantaneous response time with touch controls, great battery life, quality audio, connectivity, etc. (and yes this is real human written feedback, I'm just mindful with my spelling and sentence structuring;) The transparency is noticeably better on the 2nd Gen (much more natural sounding.) In fact, because it's so much lighter than the previous generation, it's possible to forget they're in your ears while in transparency mode. ANC might be slightly better but is less noticeable (strong on both.) I personally find the fit on the 1st Gen more comfortable and easier to slide into my ears for an instantly secure and snug fit. Whereas the 2nd Gen I'll sometimes need to twist them back and forth a few times to secure them and get a good seal for ANC. The only thing I'd suggest/request is more battery life. I wear buds for entire workdays to drown out the sounds of equipment while listening to intelligent conversations and music. I know solid state batteries are coming soon, but in the meantime instead of making products smaller with similar runtime, why not keep them the same size or ever-so-slightly bigger and enhance the energy storage of the device. Like making earbuds that could easily last for 12 hours with ANC on in real world conditions? I feel like the 2nd Gen PBP's would probably achieve this if it were kept close to the same size as the 1st Gen PBP's, with the extra space from the renewed design used for a bigger battery. Just a thought. Other than that keep up the great work of making quality products and making them affordable via periodic sale events.

Much has been said about the audio quality of these buds vs the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 3 and the Airpods 2, and I think much of that commentary is inaccurate. It is true these buds do have a steep rolloff cliff at 15khz, but it is also true most adults don't hear well over 15khz - this is why the best lossy codecs such as Frauenhofer's famous MP3 codec, which people in studies could not differentiate from lossless at 320kbps, recommend rolling frequencies above 16khz off. Because its better to have accurate sound in the most audible frequencies with 16khz+ rolled off, than to have inaccurate sound in the most audible frequencies with 16khz+ intact. And this is where sites like RTINGS fail in interpreting their own graphs when they score these buds low in "accuracy", but then give the Galaxy Buds Pro 3 and Airpods 2 a higher rating despite them being less accurate in the most audible frequencies. The Galaxy Buds Pro 2 have bass boosted inaccurately, and the Apple Airpods 4 deviate from neutrality in the mids and highs - while the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are neutral - offering a higher fidelity listening experience. Would it be nice if earbuds went up to 20khz *and* were accurate in the audible range? Yes, but none of these three options do this currently. ALSO, it is worth noting that the Pixel Buds Pro 2 *nail* the Harman curve, unlike any of the other options. TLDR; if you want the most accurate sound in the *most audible* frequencies, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are the best choice. Also the Pixel Buds Pro 2 offer cool AI features the competition does not, such as nodding to accept a call, or shaking your head to decline a call. Now, I would not say they are flawless. I feel like the active noise cancelation (ANC) is slightly imbalanced, with the right being stronger than the left a bit. I tried two pairs, and the 2nd pair seemed better in this regard. I thought they were both extremely comfortable and stayed in the ear well with the default tips. The "wing" helps a lot in this regard. Haven't had them long term yet so can't comment on long term reliability. But so far, I would highly recommend them.

UPDATED 6/11/25 I'm now on my 3rd pair of these under warranty. I love the buds sound, functionality, features etc (see original review below). However, they have a fatal design flaw that fails regularly. I believe it always fails, but some may not notice or not as sensitive. There is a mic placed on the body of the bud that is responsible for pressure relief. Unfortunately, it's placement is too close to the ear which means it can get blocked by oil/ear wax. My first pair failed within 3 months. 2nd pair failed within 7 months. I tried everything to keep the vent clean, wipe the buds after each use, use Google's micellar water clean method, but one still failed. You can feel the increase in pressure and the ear tip seal never succeeds when it fails. I'm pretty sure it will fail again but could be out of warranty then I'm out of luck. This is a known issue. It's too bad because I really love everything else about them. I can't recommend though if they have a fatal design flaw. Hopefully Google will fix it. UPDATED 12/2/24 *Down to 4 stars. I had to do an RMA for the issues below. This did fix the issues and Google was quick with the resolution in sending me a new pair. However it isn't perfect. There is a new issue where sometimes the single tap doesn't pause the music nor does taking out the buds. This will resolve with a restart but it happens often. It doesn't seem to happen on another device (Google TV) so I'm not thinking it's the fault of the buds it may even be the fault of my Pixel Android 15 update. It's still on Google however so I will keep the 4 star rating. In looking at all the other earbuds out there, all seem to have their quirks must be the technology. I can live with the single press to play/pause for now* The buds have appeared to develop an issue. It's hard to explain but before, the buds seemed to alleviate pressure when in-ear. Now, that seems not to be happening so they aren't as comfortable. Before, it felt like I didn't have earbuds in. Now it feels like I have earbuds in (plugged, can hear heartbeat sometimes). Transparency and Noise Cancellation still work but the in ear pressure relief seems to not work. I've contacted Google but they are dragging their feet. We will see if they get me a new pair or what the resolution is. I plan to keep this review updated as time goes so users can see how these work long-term wise. Stay-tuned for updates. -------------------------- If you are looking for an exceptional pair of earbuds to pair with your Pixel or Android phone this is it! It has AMAZING sound quality. The fit is exceptional. The earbuds are small and light so there is very little pressure. They also have a fin to help keep them in place. I'm amazed with them. You can tune them to fit your needs (I added a bit more bass). The features and integration with Android are of course a HUGE plus. The menu is laid out perfectly. Also, the battery life is amazingly long even if you use noise cancelling all the time. I came over from being burned by two sets of defective Bose buds and I hope these last a long time. They see much better. Not really any significant cons I see. This is my first foray into noise cancelling and I'm amazed at what it can block. Literally jaw-dropping. You do hear a static floor noise on it and transparency but I think all buds/earphones have that as it's a part of the noise cancelling process. I wouldn't say these are "audiophile" buds as it doesn't support advanced codecs. However it's great for me as I enjoy great sounding music and reliable products. This fits into my lifestyle perfectly and I think if you get them, you won't be disappointed! Quick Summary: PROS: +Sound Quality +Noise Cancelling (top tier!) +Transparency mode +Features (multipoint, auto pause, conversation detection, seal check, hearing wellness etc) +Fit & size +Battery Life +Aesthetics +Pixel/Google integration CONS: -Some slight static in noise cancelling/transparency modes (inherent to all products however) -Some may not enjoy the fit (as with all earbuds 100% won't work for everyone) -Not an audiophile product (does not support high end codecs)

I am not complaining about the product, but the seller, I bought this product and one earpiece is damaged and getting heated while I tried to pair it. And pairing Also didn't happen.

Better sound quality....

Excelente

Se escucha robotico el audio. Al mometo de correr se escucha mucho el golpeteo con los audifonos y la piel. No considero que valga la pena el cambio de la primera versión.

the right earbbuds start to have a very very low volume after just 1 month of use Note: i ,most of the time, only use the right earbuds. now i use the left one as the right one as i said become very low and have no idea if the left one will also follow the steps of the right one or last longer (i doubt it) Highly not recommended it