Google Pixel Buds Pro BT, ANC – terrific earphones (AV review)

The Google Pixel Buds Pro BT (Bluetooth) and ANC (Noise Cancelling) earphones are not only great value at $229 but are among the sweetest-sounding we have heard, putting many more expensive buds to shame. They come in Bay, Porcelain, Charcoal, Fog, and Lemongrass colours.

Quick comparison – Google Pixel Buids Pro versus Google Pixel Buds A-series

When the Pro version was released, most made the mistake of thinking that just because they look similar, the performance was similar. As this table shows, the main differences are proper ANC (noise cancelling) and ambient pass-through, Multi-point connections, Qi charge, and a fuller sound signature (better bass). better hands-free and longer battery life.

The A-series represents great value – Google Pixel Buds A series earphones (AV review).

Item	Pixel Buds Pro	Pixel Buds (A-series)
Website	Product Page	Product page
Price	$229	$159
Colour	Bay, Porcelain, Charcoal, Fog, Lemongrass,	No, but active in-ear pressure relief
Weight	6.2g each	5.1g each
ANC	Yes, plus passive	Passive only
Transparency mode	Yes	No
Vented (open back)	No, but active in-ear pressure relief	Yes
Multi-point	Yes	No
Touch controls	Yes	Same
Conversation detection	Yes	No
Hey Google	Yes	Yes
In ear detection	Yes	Yes
BT	5.0	5.0
BT gaming low latency mode	Yes	No
Codecs	SBC, AAC, No aptX	Same
IP	IPX4 and case IPX2	IPX4
Battery life	Claim up to 11 hours ANC 7 hours ANC (test)	Claim up to 5 hours. 5 hours (test)
USB-C	Yes	Yes
Qi charge	Yes	No
Speaker	11mm	12mm
Sound signature	Balanced: (bass boosted, mid recessed, treble boosted) but with slightly more bass	Same
EQ	5-band Volume EQ	Bass increase or recess
Mics	3 Beamforming Super Wideband for higher sampling rates Voice Accelerometer Wind-blocking mesh cover	2 Same No

We test objectively (measuring) the Frequency response of in-ear earphones. We also use a series of test tracks that fully exercise bass, mid, treble and sound stage. Our opinion – it has a neutral sound signature (good) with decent bass and bright vocals well.

Australian Review: Google Pixel Buds Pro

Price	$299
Manufacturer	Google
Product page	Here
Warranty	Two years
Country of manufacture	China
About	Google is an American company most commonly known as a search engine. Although the company made its name as a search engine and most of its income comes from advertising, it has branched out into Made By Google Hardware.
More	CyberShack Google news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Pass+

It is Google Style – a white ceramic-looking USB-C/Qi charge case  (with a reset button and now water resistant) and mid-height-profile buds. It comes with S/M/L ear tips (11/12/13mm), and the App has a seal test to help you select the best fit.

It is a closed-back design yet has in-ear pressure monitoring and relief to reduce ANC pressure. Pulsatile Tinnitus (hear your heart in your ears) and Tinnitus suffered should be able to use these.

Comfort – Pass+

The buds fit well and stay in your ear despite having no wing tips. Google has sensors that actively measure the ear canal pressure and can vent that if necessary. We tested with eight hours of continuous use at 75% volume – and got to 7 hours before it needed a charge. These are among the more comfortable we have tested, although at 6.2g each, they are a fraction heavier than the competitors.

They are IPX4 sweat-resistant, but the lack of stability fins means it is best not to use them in physical sports.

Battery – Pass+

Battery life is over 7/20-hours (buds/case) ANC On and 11/31 ANC off. USB-C charge time is less than 80 minutes (5V/1A/5W) and about 120 minutes on Qi. Five minutes gives about an hour of listening time.

Sound – Pass+

It has large 11mm drivers that produce lots of well-controlled bass, flat mids and low to mid treble at relatively low distortion rates. The neutral sound signature can be controlled by a full EQ that downloads the settings to the buds.

The is however a lack of 10-20kHz high treble. Most cannot hear this, but it is vital to add a sense of sound direction and a feeling of ‘air’, a reality as though the music were really there.

Out of the box, we tested with several EQ genres, and while it is pretty good, the EQ makes a huge difference. You can select from Default, Heavy Bass, Light Bass, Balanced (mid-recessed), vocal boost, and Clarity (1-4kHz boost). Or adjust the EQ’s low bass (<40Hz), Mid, Treble and Upper Treble. Excellent, and the EQ is the secret sauce that makes these better performers than most competitors.

Like all closed-back buds, the sound stage is just within your head, but Dolby Atmos content expands that somewhat with 3D spatial and 2D horizontal sound object placement.

It has volume EQ that adjusts the sound depending on sound levels – it works well at lower volumes.

Latency – Pass+

These are fine for video lip sync at <200ms, but forget gaming.

Bluetooth BT 5.0 – Pass

It supports multi-point pairing and fast pairing, and mono listening.

But it only supports SBC and AAC (no aptX), which may be a deal breaker to an audiophile. That is logical, as the Pixel 6 and 7 don’t have a Qualcomm SoC and aptX support.

It has a BT Find my Buds feature.

ANC – Exceed

The ANC mixes passive (correct fit) and active noise cancelling. The fit right (ear seal check) will block deep rumble and general chatter.  There is little noise leakage.

Ambient Sound – Pass+

It picks up the surroundings quite well using its external mics and allows you to converse without removing them.

Hands-free – Pass

It has average call quality and limited noise cancellation, but overall, it is acceptable for most hands-free use.

Touch controls – no voice prompts – Pass+

Activate	Music	Phone
One tap	Play / Pause	Answer call
Two taps	Next track	Reject call
Three taps	Previous track
Tap and hold	Toggle ANC/transparency modes
Swipe forward	Volume up	Volume up
Swipe backward	Volume down	Volume down
“Hey, Google”	Voice your request or inquiry

If you use one bud, you lose the phone controls.

Google Assistant – Get out of my head – Pass

Naturally, it has Google Assistant and is always in listening mode.

Other features

Transcribe mode lets you hear 80+ spoken translated languages in the buds and a transcript on the phone. 

Right in-ear detection for single-bud use.

CyberShack’s view – Google Pixel Buds Pro BT, ANC are an excellent buy

Google has the formula right – decent ANC, great music quality, long battery life, excellent comfort and style. It now has competitive $229 earphones.

My daily drive is the $399 Sennheiser Momentum 3 Sennheiser True Wireless Momentum 3 BT/ANC earphones (review and update) (mainly for music quality). While the Google Pixel Buds Pro is tempting, the Momentums is worth the extra $100 investment if only for the Qualcomm aptX codec suite.

Rating Explanation

They are $130 less than Sennheiser and $200 less than Sony WF-1000Xm5. Yet the experience is close enough to compare them to substantially more expensive earphones.

• Features: 85 – has it all except Qualcomm, aptX
• Value: 95 – in the zone and presents excellent value
• Performance: 90 – good battery life, fast and Qi charge, and a good sound signature
• Ease of Use: 85 – needs some setup, and the App can be a little daunting
• Design: 85 – typical Google style