Google announces Pixel Buds Pro with ANC, 11-hour battery life

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At Google I/O 2022, Google unveiled its latest true wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro. Priced at $199, these pack all the capabilities you’d expect out of a premium set of buds today: active noise cancellation, solid battery life, pumping sound, and even goodies like real-time translation, spatial audio (coming later this year), and IPX4 splash resistance.The Pixel Buds Pro are the first in Google’s roster to offer ANC, and Google appears to have taken the matter seriously. In fact, the Buds Pro deliver “one of the best noise cancellation perfomances in wireless earbuds today,” in Google’s own words.

We’ll have to first hear them to believe them, but on paper, the Pixel Buds Pro do sound intriguing. ANC is enabled by a custom 6-core audio chip that runs sound through Google-developed algorithms, while sensors measure the pressure in your ear canal to avoid that plugged ear feeling. Additionally, there’s built-in compensation for any sound that may leak through gaps in the ear tip – a feature Google calls Silent Seal.

Transparency mode is on board, naturally, and so is a set of beamforming microphones. The latter are backed by Google’s AI wizardry to suppress background noise during phone calls or online meetings. 

Support for Spatial Audio will be added to the Pixel Buds Pro later this year through a software update – in time for the release of the Pixel 7, we’d guess. Spatial Audio is a sound experience aimed to put you “in the middle of the action” in movies and TV shows that support it. Multi-point connectivity is also present. The Pixel Buds Pro will be able to seamlessly switch between compatible devices, such as phones, tablets, or TVs.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Google product without hands-free Assistant integration – in cases when you need walking directions, for example. Or you can take advantage of real-time translation in 40 languages. Find My Device support is available, so you can track a missing earbud even if you’ve only lost one of them. 

Battery life stands at 11 hours of listening time on a single charge or 31 hours if we count the extra charge stored in the case (which supports wireless charging, by the way). That’s without ANC, though. Enabling active noise cancellation brings the single-charge figure down to 7 hours, which is still enough to last you through a coast-to-coast flight. For comparison, the AirPods Pro with ANC enabled last 4.5 hours on their own or 24 hours with their case.The Pixel Buds Pro will be available in 4 colors: Coral, Lemongrass, Fog, and Charcoal. The case comes only in white, however. You’ll be able to pre-order a pair on July 21 for $199.

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