Despite looking all-but-identical to their predecessors, the new Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are packing some serious upgrades, like double the ANC and far improved battery life, all built out on a new processor in the Tensor A1.
Google announced the new earbuds amid its still-ongoing Made By Google event, wherein new products from the Pixel Watch 3 to its newest lineup of Pixel phones are steeped in their own bountiful upgrades. With its newest entry among the best wireless earbuds, Google is slimming down its design by as much as 27% — and they’re lighter, too.
This time the Google Pixel Buds 2 Pro will come in four main colors that include Porcelain, Hazel, Peony, and Wintergreen, dropping the Sky Blue tone. A new IP54 rating, bumped up from that mere IPX4-rated Google Pixel Buds Pro, is a welcome upgrade for those prone to dropping their buds.
At $229, the Google Pixel Buds 2 Pro will be more expensive than predecessors at launch, which is set to kick off come September 26. By all accounts, these new earbuds are proving major upgrades over their earlier models and could give both the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra a run for their money.
The A1 of Pixel Buds
With its new Google-made A1 processor, the Pixel Buds 2 Pro are set to deliver a slew of exciting upgrades, namely far improved battery life, improved ANC performance, clearer calls, and more. They might look the same, but there's loads to love with these new wireless earbuds.
Case in point is its updated battery capacity, which Google claims can hit as much as 8 hours of continuous listening with ANC enabled, while the case will provide up to 30 hours of extra power. Although the buds themselves are rated IP54, there's no word on if the case has any protective measures as seen with its predecessor's IPX2.
While we might not know the IP rating on the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2's case, we do know it will feature a built-in speaker, making it far easier to locate when lost thanks due in large part to Google's fancy Find My Device network. Given their smaller and lighter size, this will come in quite handy.
The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are built on 11mm drivers with multi-path processing. This is a neat feature built out thanks to the new Tensor AI chip, ensuring there's little to no ANC processing interference thanks to an additional signal pathway for music.
There won't, however, be any LDAC or AptX Adaptive support on the Pixel Buds Pro 2, but Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity in tandem with LE Audio support is a nice touch. Spatial audio head tracking as seen on its predecessor will also make its way onto the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
Google claims the Pixel Buds Pro 2 will have far superior call quality due to its updated Clear Calling algorithms, plus support for conversation detection means your audio will automatically pause when speaking with people around you.
And that's not all, as the A1 processor is designed for AI and Google is drawing a big emphasis on its Gemini platform. The Buds 2 Pro will thus have hands-free voice controls similar to that of the Samsung Buds 3 Pro and will also have a virtual AI assistant for everything from walking directions to full-on conversations via Gemini Live. Google calls it "like having a sidekick right in your pocket."
The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 will launch on September 26.
