GooglePixel Buds Pro - Noise Canceling Earbuds - Up to 31 Hour Battery Life with Charging Case - Bluetooth Headphones - Compatible with Android - Coral

This is one of those situations where a 4.5 star rating would've been nice. And even though I point out a lot ticky-tack issues, I'd by these again, no problem.PROS:- Excellent sound quality, especially for the price point and size- Lightweight- Premium design of both the buds and case- Wireless charging on the case is a nice touch (especially since they kept wired charging with it)- Excellent batter life- Solid (if not perfect) noise cancellation- Multi-device switching is awesome- Single-bud use works greatCONS (and these are rather minor, but I'll cover them in detail):- Fit is finicky, regardless of earbud tips- Tend to slip out/loosen fit with too much jaw/head motion- Controls too easy to accidentally trigger- Sometimes auto-connection failsIn General:For true audiophiles, you're not going to be bowled over with the ANC or sound quality, but you will be satisfied with the performance. For normal users, you'll love the rich depth and sound quality out of such a compact and well-designed package. The tools for sound adjustment work well, and if you're not used to ANC, you'll find the experience very cool, if not a little disturbing in how well it isolates background noise, especially continuous din/hums. The multi-device capability is something I've wanted for years out of my Bluetooth devices; not just the ability to connect to multiple phones (which many devices have) but to switch between media playback on the different devices seemlessly. Add to this the wireless charging of the case and you've got an excellent overall package that sounds great, travels well, and ticks all the usability boxes.Fit:This is one of those things that's going to change from person to person, because ears are so varied. First, it took a bit to find the right sized ear tip for each ear, going back and forth testing the sound quality and seal for ANC. Next, there was just getting used to the way the buds sit inside the ear: the body of the bud is a bit on the bulky side compared to some other earbuds, so it took a little while to grow comfortable with the feel. The light weight build however really helped here.Exercise:Regarding the claims of "secure fit", well... I'm an athletic person, and I'd strongly advise against using these in training. First - and this may be a problem for some but not others - if you sweat a lot you'll end up with sweat buildup behind the buds (in the ear), which is not a nice feeling. Second, despite the claims of a secure fit, I find that even just walking around or chewing gum they'll tend to loosen over time. Again, could be the way my jaw/ears are shaped, but even while doing basic tasks/maintenance around the house I found they'd loosen, especially if my head changed orientation. I wouldn't wear these training outdoors anyway (since you should hear your surroundings for safety) but even wearing them during weight training I'd find they'd loosen when moving from standing to prone positions and back again.Another note: if you're using Ant+ devices (HRM, power meter, cadence sensor, etc.), I found that these tend to lead to more dropouts than my other BT headsets. Not sure if it's the stronger signal, or the multiple signals from each bud, etc., but it's something to be aware of.Controls:The touch controls mean you don't have to push them into your ear to control them, which is nice. And they do work exactly as advertised. The compact size can lead to some mis-clicks, especially when taking them in/out of the ears. The ability to program what the long-press does on one or both buds is a nice touch.Connectivity:For the most part, this works excellently. Once in a while, it will fail to connect to my phone automatically. However, this is no different than my other BT devices. When switching from a single bud to both buds, I've occasionally encountered sync/distortion issues requiring me to reconnect them. Single strength however is strong, and I've been able to remain connected to devices in other rooms, much further than my other BT headsets.Call Quality:This one is... odd. Sometimes it's great, especially when using both buds - never had a problem when using both. When on a single bud though, I've had trouble with people hearing me clearly. The clarity of the other person on the line has never been a problem, however.Overall:This is a great "premium-features at sub-premium price" option for those that want good sound on the go.

TLDR: I'm keeping these over the new Sony WF-1000XM5's and the Bose Quietcomfort 2's, because of the quality for the price, but almost without even considering the price!I have been dreading the day when my old Bose Quietcomfort earbuds would start losing battery life, and it finally has happened. I have been researching and trying to decide my best options, and I came up with the Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose Quietcomfort 2. Someone at work told me to also consider these, and at first, I was skeptical, but I figured for about half the price, maybe they would compete, for the price difference.I finally decided to buy all three, and get the best experience at the same time, and return the 2 that I don't like. Now, I am not going to take price into consideration here (sorry Pixel Buds, even playing field). So, here is my comparison of the three:Sound Quality: Wow. All three earned great marks. I have been a Bose guy for about 10 years, but the QC2's for some reason didn't hit the same way as the QC1's. Don't get me wrong, they sound fine, but I wasn't blown away. The Sony's sounded very similar, but had a much better EQ in the app, so I could actually make them sound a tiny bit better. But then I listened to the Pixel Buds... They weren't better than either, but they were right on par! They also have a good EQ in the app that allowed me to customize the sound to be about equal to the Sony's, and actually a little better than the Bose (which honestly SHOCKED me).Winner: Sony and Pixel Buds tie for 1st, Bose 2nd but still great.Noise cancelling: This is where Sony and Bose shine. Bose was the winner for me, here. Very quiet. Sony was very close. But I think the fit (which I'll get to later) was the factor that gave Bose the edge. The Pixel Buds aren't terrible with noise cancellation, but they weren't really in the same league.Winner: Bose 1st, Sony a very close 2nd, Pixel Buds 3rd for sure.Battery life: The Sony's had better battery life than either the Bose or the Pixel Buds, which were pretty similar. I didn't keep an exact count, but I'm pretty sure the Sony's lasted 1-1.5 hours longer, give or take.Winner: Sony 1st, Bose and Pixel Buds tied for 2nd.App for phone: The Sony's and Pixel Buds have a clear advantage here. I happen to have a Pixel phone, so I am biased here, but the Pixel Buds work best for my phone. Their app has plenty of features and its user friendly. The EQ in there is absolutely needed, but once you use it, like I said earlier, you can make these things sound amazing. Sony was very similar. I like the noise cancelling features more than the Pixel Buds in the app, and the EQ was right on par with the Pixel Buds. Both very good. The Bose app has been a disappointment of mine for years... And still is. The EQ isn't great, and its pretty feature deficient. But it does the job.Winner: Pixel Buds 1st, Sony and very close 2nd, Bose an easy 3rd.Comfort: This is where Bose always shines for me, and they didnt disappoint here. They won this category easily. Now, that might be because of my ears, and everyone's are shaped a little different. The Sony's and Pixel Buds are about the same. The Pixel buds come with 3 sizes, the Sony's with 4. I didn't notice a difference between the small and x-small on the Sony's, but they are technically different... But I would say they are equals in comfort level and fit. You can get a decent seal with either, though not as good as Bose.Winner: Bose 1st, Sony and Pixel Buds 2nd.Value: Now, I haven't put price in the comparison thus far, but here is where it hits pretty hard. Depending on sales and what not, The Sony's and Bose range from 250-300. The Pixel buds from 140-190. That is a huge difference! Considering how close the Pixel Buds are to the other 2, in every category, they win this by a huge margin.Verdict: If Noise Cancellation is the most important feature of earbuds for you, these should still be considered, but they might not be your favorite over the Sony's or Bose. But for everything else, they are so close that I have returned the Sony's and Bose in favor of these, and I have zero regrets. Highly recommend.