Google Pixel Buds Pro Truly Wireless Headphones Review

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have a similar look to the Google Pixel Buds A-Series Truly Wireless, with the brand's logo embossed on the round touch surface. However, they're a bit bulkier and stick out of your ear quite a bit. They come in four color variants: 'Fog', 'Charcoal', 'Coral', and 'Lemongrass'.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are decently comfortable. They're lightweight and sit well inside of small ears. However, they have a deep in-ear fit, and you can accidentally trigger controls when placing them in your ears. They also stick out, and users have reported their units popping out of their ears, which can be frustrating if you want them to stay in place.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have good touch-sensitive controls. They're easy to use and responsive as the controls are the same on each bud. You can also use either bud while the other charges without losing any of the controls. That said, there isn't a voice assistant by default, and you have to map it. There are only beeps to let you know which command was registered, which can be confusing since the beeps can sound similar.

On either bud:

• Single tap: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers calls.
• Double tap: Skips to the next track. Also rejects calls.
• Triple tap: Skips to the previous track.
• Touch and hold: Cycles between ANC on, ANC, off, and transparency mode.
• Swipe forward: Raises the volume.
• Swipe backward: Lowers the volume.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are very portable headphones. They're pretty small and can easily fit into most pockets or bags without a problem.

The carrying case is pretty small, lightweight, and certified IPX2 for resistance against light rain. There's an LED light outside the case to indicate that it's charging and another light inside the case for the buds. There's a pairing button on the back of the case too.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's build quality is good. The buds are mostly made of plastic and silicone but feel sturdy. They're certified IPX4 for resistance against water splashes, making them a solid choice for working out. However, the ear tips feel like they can rip with continuous use.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have decent stability. Although they don't have stability fins, they don't move around much with casual use. They can fall out if you're using them during intense physical activity. If you have big ears, it may also be hard to get a good seal, meaning they can pop out of your ears.

• Google Pixel Buds Pro headphones
• 3x ear tips
• Charging case
• Manuals

Note: A charging cable isn't included in the box.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have a more v-shaped sound profile than the neutral response we measured. The buds continually fall out of our testing rig's ears, which disrupts their low-bass delivery. In subjective listening, they have a thumpy, rumbly sound that's well-suited for genres like EDM and hip-hop. They also have extra treble, so sibilants like cymbals are bright and somewhat piercing. On the upside, their companion app offers a 5-band graphic EQ to help you adjust their sound to your liking.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's frequency response consistency is outstanding. Assuming you can get a consistent fit that doesn't pop out of your ears, you won't experience deviations in bass and treble delivery.

These headphones have more bass than what our graph shows. During testing, the buds constantly popped out of our test rig's ears, resulting in an underemphasized bass response. In reality, they deliver extra thump and rumble that will please fans of EDM and hip-hop.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's mid accuracy is excellent. Their mid range is remarkably flat, except for a dip in the mid-mid, which nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix. That said, these sounds are still clear and detailed in mixes.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's treble accuracy is good. The low-treble is fairly flat, so the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments are bright, but not harsh. The peak in the mid-treble can make sibilants like cymbals a bit piercing. When you're listening to songs like Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), the S and T sounds in the second verse's lyrics 'I'm tearin' you asunder' are sharp.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. There's a drop in the mid-mid that affects the right driver more than the left, pushing vocals and instruments to the back of the mix. A large peak across the treble range makes the upper harmonics of vocals and instruments sound harsh, while sibilants like hi-hats are piercing and painful.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's imaging performance is good. Google doesn't normally have a lot of issues when it comes to the quality control of their drivers. That said, imaging can vary across units. Our unit's L/R drivers are mismatched when it comes to phase response and sounds from the mid-mid to treble range skew to the left side. It's noticeable with real-life content.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro don't have a very immersive passive soundstage. However, that's normal from their in-ear design since they completely bypass your outer ear. Since they have a closed-back design, their soundstage doesn't sound very open or spacious either.

These buds are compatible with Google's Spatial Audio, which enables surround sound for a more immersive audio experience. At the moment, this feature is only available via Google Pixel phones. The manufacturer is planning to roll out head tracking at a later date.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's weighted harmonic distortion performance is great. At regular and high volumes, all frequencies fall within good levels, resulting in clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these buds, and our results are only valid in this configuration.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's noise isolation performance is excellent. Their ANC can block many of the low rumbles of bus and plane engines, especially compared to the similarly priced, Status Between 3ANC True Wireless. They can also tackle office chatter and the hum of computer fans very well, making them a versatile choice for everyday use.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's leakage performance is great. Leakage is mostly concentrated in the treble range and sounds thin. If you're using these headphones in a moderately noisy environment like an office, it's unlikely that others around you will hear it.

The integrated mic's recording quality is mediocre. The mic quality isn't as bad as what's reflected in the score. However, the mic performs very similarly to the recorded speech audio file. Your voice doesn't have much bass, but it's bright. Sibilants like S and T sounds are piercing.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro's integrated mic's noise handling performance is poor. The mic struggles to separate your voice from ambient noise, so if you have to make an important call, it's best to do so from a quiet space.

These headphones have a wind-blocking mesh filter. It can help cut down some wind noise, but your voice can sound more scratchy since the filter still lets in some wind.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro have a decent battery performance. The manufacturer advertises them to have a continuous playback time of seven hours with their ANC on, and we measured just above that. Battery life can depend on your usage, though. That said, their carrying case supplies an additional 1.8 charges if you need it, and you can use one bud while the other one charges.

The Google Pixel Buds is a good app. Once you've updated to firmware 3.14, you can access a 5-band graphic EQ and presets to help you customize their sound. There's also a Volume EQ feature, but this acts more like a night mode, equalizing the bass and treble range when the headphones reach a high volume. It can be handy if the volume varies depending on the content you're listening to. There are additional features like turning on/off multipoint connection, audio switching, and in-ear detection. You can also remap the touch and hold command, use the ear tip seal check, and find your buds.

When you connect these headphones to your Google Pixel phone, you can access HD Audio AAC On/Off, allowing you to use AAC codec (which is Apple's default codec) instead of SBC codec (which is the default codec for most devices) for a better audio experience. You can also access Spatial Audio, which is a feature that enables surround sound.

The Google Pixel Buds have great Bluetooth connectivity. You can connect them with up to two devices at a time, which is nice if you want to stay connected to your smartphone and PC at the same time. They also support Google Fast Pair, making it easy to connect your device to supported devices. However, they have high latency on PCs, and it's noticeable. YouTube may be compensating for the delays, though. On the upside, their latency on iOS and Android devices is lower, ensuring your audio and visuals stay in sync if you're streaming video. That said, some apps and devices compensate for latency, so your experience may be different.

Unlike most other headphones, they don't come with a charging cable, so you have to buy this separately.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro can only connect to PCs using Bluetooth.

These headphones come with a small charging case that's similar in design to the Google Pixel Buds A-Series Truly Wireless. It only has a USB-C port for recharging it, but it supports Qi wireless charging.