These Google Pixel headphones have replaced over-ear headphones for me when I travel – here’s why

As far back as I can remember, I liked it earphone on headphones for travel. Yes, they’re bulkier, but the extra weight is always worth the superior sound quality and noise cancellation — if not the battery life.

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This year, however, Google introduced a pair of headphones that not only replaced the headphones in my backpack, but did so without compromising on any essential features. This makes Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Easily one of my favorite products of late.

This hardware is almost perfect for me

Google claims the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are designed “to be the most comfortable headphones around” and this is one of the rare cases where the marketing material matches reality. While comfort levels may vary from person to person because not all ear shapes are the same, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are without a doubt the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever used. They’re smaller, lighter and provide a snug fit that stays secure in your ears — even when you exercise.

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Most earbuds of this size and design compromise at least one of the following features: controls, sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC), or battery life. But Pixel Buds Pro 2 is different. Here’s how.

Starting with the controls, the headphones support almost all types of playback, ANC, volume and many more controls with tap and swipe gestures:

• Press once to play/pause or answer calls
• Double tap next song or end/reject a call
• Press three times for the previous song
• Press and hold to control the ANC
• Swipe forward or backward to adjust the volume

Most stemless headsets force you to choose between three of these four control options, but it’s incredible to get a full suite of gesture controls on a headset this small.

The sound is even better

Second, the sound quality of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 is excellent for their size. Despite only supporting AAC and SBC codecs, the level of detail and clarity is impressive. They sound more natural than their predecessors, with deeper and more precise bass. It’s not loud but balanced, and the headphones deliver clear vocals and energetic treble. Listening to my favorite music on it is just as enjoyable as listening to it on headphones.

As for ANC, Buds Pro 2 uses a twist-to-adjust design to create excellent in-ear tightness. The tight fit ensures excellent passive noise isolation while the software takes care of the rest. On flights, ANC significantly reduces in-flight noise, and playing music at 60% volume or higher completely cancels out outside sounds.

Battery life is also excellent. I wore these headphones for six hours straight without experiencing ear fatigue. Google claims it offers eight hours of playback with ANC on, and up to 30 additional hours with the charging case. After three months of use, I haven’t seen them die mid-session.

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They also have many useful features. The conversation detection feature automatically pauses the music when the headphones detect your voice. Plus, the new one Gemini lives This feature acts as a conversational Google Assistant. However, this feature still needs improvement before it becomes completely reliable. For example, if I require a quick calculation, I’d rather have the result in one sentence than know the mathematical procedure to achieve that result.

I only used Gemini Live for testing purposes and didn’t bother activating it in everyday life. I wish Google had included a feature like this Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Prothe ability to perform basic tasks like adjusting volume without requiring a wake word.

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the Pixel Buds Pro 2 excels at the basics: controls, sound quality, ANC, battery life and comfort. I used to rely on headphones for superior sound and ANC performance as well as better battery life, but the Google 2024 earbuds have made it easier for me to travel light and leave behind the bulkier form factor.

I no longer feel the need to carry headphones. Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 offer amazing sound quality and ANC performance along with unmatched comfort and great battery life. Plus, they save space in my backpack, and I can sleep with them on on flights — something that’s nearly impossible with headphones.