Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Discussion
Morning all.
So I got my Pixel Bud Pro 2s yesterday and thought I'd post up a small review of them, comparing them to my Airpod Pro 2s.
Firstly, wow! They are really small and light. The case is quite large, but the buds are tiny. They are very comfy for me and seem to stay in my ears quite happily, although I moved up to Large tips from Medium. The rotate-to-fit more tightly thing I always do, and you forget they are in your ears - like APP2s, which are also really comfy for me.
Sound is great for me - I've just turned 54 and spent my younger days riding motorcycles and going to concerts, so my ears aren't absolutely perfect, let's say, but they sound great to me with decent bass, nice separation and a clear sound. This is hugely subjective, though, of course. They differ from the APP2s, but I couldn't say that makes them better or worse personally. I haven't played with the EQ either to be honest as I'm happy with them how they are.
The noise cancelling is excellent - seems as good as APP2s, which is about as good as in-ear buds can get. The adaptive mode is very good too, again it seems on a par with APP2s which are the standard.
Touch controls - hmmmm. Can't say I am a huge fan of this. The rubber touch areas are very small so for me it's really faffy trying to pause them, (tap to pause/play, long tap for adaptive/noise cancellation, swipe for volume). Now maybe I will get better at this, but the fact you can't see them and they are at an odd angle (at least for me) means it's just a bit hit-and-miss. This then brings me on to another problem - when they get even slightly wet they freeze.
I took the hound out for a walk in them, and it started raining. First off, I put my hood up, and it kept activating the buds, causing them to play/pause and go into adaptive/NC mode - very annoying! Then they just stopped working altogether, and I had to use my phone to operate them. Once home and dry, they worked again. How common this is I don't know, but if they pack up when they get damp, that's a massive problem. APP2s don't do this.
Battery life is amazing so far - quite a bit better than my APP2s, although they are over 2 years old now and used every single day quite a lot. I would say the quote of 8 hours with ANC on is accurate.
Microphones - there have been a few people online saying the mics in these are bad. I can't say I have noticed this myself, and I have tried recording things wearing them, and it has been fine, but I've probably not used them well enough to say for certain. If you use them a lot for phone calls, further investigation may be advisable.
The cross-play/multicast feature - this seemed to work really, really well at first - just play a video on my Macbook while listening to my phone, and it would pause the one and play the other. Very smooth and easy. Then it froze, and I couldn't play anything on my phone until I had closed the lid on my MacBook. So, the jury is out at the moment on this. When it works, it's great... until it doesn't. Hopefully, a software update will fix this as it is flaky as hell right now.
Gemini - works really well on the buds. Gemini has some fairly major annoyances at the moment, though. You can't get it to play music or set reminders unless your phone is unlocked, which is ridiculous. I use the 'extended unlock' feature on my Pixel with my Pixel Watch 3 to keep it unlocked to get around this; it's not perfect but does solve the problem. The integration with the buds is excellent and responsive though.
I still think the APP2s are king. They just do everything really, really well and nothing badly. I am going to keep my Pixel Buds though and see if I can get used to the touch controls.
Anyway, thought someone may be interested if they are looking for a new set of buds. Happy to answer any questions.
So I got my Pixel Bud Pro 2s yesterday and thought I'd post up a small review of them, comparing them to my Airpod Pro 2s.
Firstly, wow! They are really small and light. The case is quite large, but the buds are tiny. They are very comfy for me and seem to stay in my ears quite happily, although I moved up to Large tips from Medium. The rotate-to-fit more tightly thing I always do, and you forget they are in your ears - like APP2s, which are also really comfy for me.
Sound is great for me - I've just turned 54 and spent my younger days riding motorcycles and going to concerts, so my ears aren't absolutely perfect, let's say, but they sound great to me with decent bass, nice separation and a clear sound. This is hugely subjective, though, of course. They differ from the APP2s, but I couldn't say that makes them better or worse personally. I haven't played with the EQ either to be honest as I'm happy with them how they are.
The noise cancelling is excellent - seems as good as APP2s, which is about as good as in-ear buds can get. The adaptive mode is very good too, again it seems on a par with APP2s which are the standard.
Touch controls - hmmmm. Can't say I am a huge fan of this. The rubber touch areas are very small so for me it's really faffy trying to pause them, (tap to pause/play, long tap for adaptive/noise cancellation, swipe for volume). Now maybe I will get better at this, but the fact you can't see them and they are at an odd angle (at least for me) means it's just a bit hit-and-miss. This then brings me on to another problem - when they get even slightly wet they freeze.
I took the hound out for a walk in them, and it started raining. First off, I put my hood up, and it kept activating the buds, causing them to play/pause and go into adaptive/NC mode - very annoying! Then they just stopped working altogether, and I had to use my phone to operate them. Once home and dry, they worked again. How common this is I don't know, but if they pack up when they get damp, that's a massive problem. APP2s don't do this.
Battery life is amazing so far - quite a bit better than my APP2s, although they are over 2 years old now and used every single day quite a lot. I would say the quote of 8 hours with ANC on is accurate.
Microphones - there have been a few people online saying the mics in these are bad. I can't say I have noticed this myself, and I have tried recording things wearing them, and it has been fine, but I've probably not used them well enough to say for certain. If you use them a lot for phone calls, further investigation may be advisable.
The cross-play/multicast feature - this seemed to work really, really well at first - just play a video on my Macbook while listening to my phone, and it would pause the one and play the other. Very smooth and easy. Then it froze, and I couldn't play anything on my phone until I had closed the lid on my MacBook. So, the jury is out at the moment on this. When it works, it's great... until it doesn't. Hopefully, a software update will fix this as it is flaky as hell right now.
Gemini - works really well on the buds. Gemini has some fairly major annoyances at the moment, though. You can't get it to play music or set reminders unless your phone is unlocked, which is ridiculous. I use the 'extended unlock' feature on my Pixel with my Pixel Watch 3 to keep it unlocked to get around this; it's not perfect but does solve the problem. The integration with the buds is excellent and responsive though.
I still think the APP2s are king. They just do everything really, really well and nothing badly. I am going to keep my Pixel Buds though and see if I can get used to the touch controls.
Anyway, thought someone may be interested if they are looking for a new set of buds. Happy to answer any questions.
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