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Pixel Buds Pro: Google's new in-ears can do ANC, 3D audio and multipoint

May 12, 2022

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As part of the Google I/O, Google presented new in-ear headphones from the Pixel Buds series. The new Pixel Buds Pro will be released in July and offer active noise cancellation (ANC) for the first time. Neither the Pixel Buds (test) nor the cheaper Pixel Buds A-Series (test) have this function yet.

ANC with custom SoC and pressure compensation

In addition to the ANC, which according to Google is one of the best adaptive noise suppressors will belong to the market, the Pixel Buds Pro also support a transparency mode to deliberately forward the environment to the wearer's ears, for example to be able to understand announcements.

For the processing and in particular a fast ANC, which should not have a negative effect on the latency despite high damping performance and feedforward and feedback adjustment with microphones pointing inwards and outwards, Google relies on an adapted SoC with six cores. An active pressure reduction should increase the wearing comfort. Three microphones are used for each earphone, and a bone conduction sensor is also used for telephony and speech recognition.

Multipoint and later also spatial audio

The Pixel Buds Pro will also support multipoint to seamlessly switch between different devices for playback or taking calls by being connected to two devices at the same time. The audio drivers have a diameter of 11 mm. Bluetooth 5.0 is used for the wireless connection.

The 3D audio technology Spatial Audio is to be submitted later in a software update in the course of the year, so it will not be available at the start of the Pixel Buds Pro. Find My Device can search for a misplaced earbud and show the last known location on Google Maps. The Google Assistant can be activated by voice at any time via “Hey Google”.

11 hours of battery life without ANC

According to Google, the battery life is up to 11 hours without using active noise cancellation. If ANC is used, the battery life should drop to up to 7 hours. The case can be charged via USB-C or wirelessly according to the Qi standard. Together with the charging case, up to 31 hours of music playback should be possible – 20 hours with ANC.

The earphones are protected against water according to IPX4, while the charging case is according to IPX2. The headphones each weigh 6.2 grams, the charging case 62.4 grams. The dimensions of the charging case are 63.2 × 50 × 25 mm (H × W × D).

Google Pixel Buds Pro Google Pixel Buds Google Pixel Buds A-Series Bluetooth Standard: 5.0 Audio Codecs: ? SBC, AAC Operation: Touch Battery life of the earphones: 11.0/7.0 (ANC) h 5.0 h Battery life with charging case: 31.0 h 24.0 h Wireless charging: Yes – ANC: Yes – Single use: Yes IP -Certification: IPX4 Weight per earphone/charging case only: 6.2/62.4 g 5.3/56.0 g 5.0/42.8 g USB charging port: USB-C Dimensions charging case: 63.2 × 50 .0 × 25.0 mm 63.0 × 47.0 × 25.0 mm Price: 219 € 199 € 99 € . for 220 euros

The Google Pixel Buds Pro can be pre-ordered from July 21st. General availability and delivery should then start on July 28th. The Pixel Buds Pro will be available in four colors (orange, green, blue, and black) and will cost $199.

In Germany, the Pixel Buds Pro will be $219 costs. The Google Store already lists them, but does not yet give a date for availability.