Google’s new Pixel Buds Pro 2 seem better in every way that matters

The overall design is quite similar to the original Pixel Buds Pro, but these are lighter and 27 percent smaller. Google has also brought back the wing fins, which should produce a more stable fit when you twist them into your ears during exercise.

The company claims that the Pixel Buds Pro 2 deliver noise cancellation that’s twice as powerful as the first-gen pair and now do a better job of reducing higher-frequency sounds. Could we be inching into Bose territory? Hopefully so. Google is putting a new chip — the Tensor A1 — in these earbuds, similar to the way Apple outfits AirPods with its own silicon.

Overall sound quality has also substantially improved, according to the company. The Pixel Buds 2 feature 11-millimeter drivers, and “multi-path processing on the Tensor A1 chip adds an additional signal path for music” without any of the ANC processing interfering with your source audio. (On some earbuds and headphones, music can sound slightly different depending on whether noise cancellation is enabled.)

The case is identical in shape to the previous model, but Google has added a speaker to it. This will let you easily locate the Pixel Buds Pro 2 if they go missing using the company’s now-more-capable Find My Device network. The earbuds are rated IP54 against dust and water.

Voice calls should be even clearer than before, as Google has updated its Clear Calling algorithms. And when it’s you doing the talking to someone else in the real world, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 support conversation detection and will automatically pause your music and engage transparency mode when your voice is detected. Yes, hands-free voice commands are still present; Google envisions people constantly chatting with its Gemini AI using this feature, but personally, I rarely use voice for anything other than adjusting volume, starting up a playlist, or calling someone.

Battery life can reach eight hours of continuous listening (with ANC enabled) or up to 30 hours overall if you count extra juice from the case. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 use Bluetooth 5.4 and are relatively futureproofed with LE Audio support, though they still lack a higher-bitrate codec like LDAC or AptX Adaptive. Like the first pair, you can take advantage of spatial audio head tracking, and these earbuds include multipoint connectivity for seamless handoff between two source devices at once.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are shipping on September 26th, so it’ll be a few weeks before I’m able to test them and reach a verdict on those ANC and sound quality improvements. But they look like a more capable version of what was already a very good set of earbuds, and that’s exactly what I was hoping to see.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge