Google Pixel Buds Pro 2

While AirPods have quite a few flaws and shortcomings, I think there is a serious lack of a serious equivalent among third-party options. That's not to say that there aren't in-ears that sound much better than {AirPods Pro} in the {Android} ecosystem, but broadly speaking, when you also consider other aspects like control, voice assistant and comfort, you have to give it to {Apple} that their product is a slam dunk in most of them.

Google has long tried to create a kind of defacto set of in-ears for {Android} users, and has come pretty close on several occasions. Their latest offering, the {Pixel Buds Pro 2}, also comes close, but it's not as stylish, cohesive or ambitious a product as some of the {Pixel} phones this year, I'm afraid.

Let's start with design. Yes, the case and devices are overall 27% smaller than the last model and 24% lighter. It's noticeable, and both devices and the egg-like case are decidedly petite - Google must have that. Magnets, materials and the new rubber wings borrowed almost directly from the cheaper A-series are all welcome and solid additions, and with eight hours of use and an additional 30 hours in the case even with noise cancellation turned on, Google has a competitive product here.

Comfortable they are, and thanks to the aforementioned rubber wings, they are also more secure. Unfortunately, Google has kept the touch surface from before, and it's not just unreliable, probably mostly because there's not really enough surface area on each device to properly understand granular gestures, especially if you're in a hurry. It's not too bad, and thankfully the surface is sensitive enough that you don't have to press the device further into the ear canal to pause or accept a call. But compared to the 'stems' on {AirPods Pro} or OnePlus' {Buds Pro}, this is just not as intuitive a design.

Beyond that, though, I've had pretty good luck with the core, fundamental parts of the user experience. Wireless charging has been a breeze, the new {Clear Calling} processing works with the new microphones to make calls via {Buds Pro 2} downright enjoyable, and I've had nothing but praise for the sound quality on my end too, and {Natural Transparency} is almost a new standard for consciously letting the outside world into your sphere. It seems that the new Tensor A1 chip is off to a better start than Google's proprietary smartphone chips did.

And then there's {Gemini}. It must be said that there are still a number of features that either work exclusively or just work better in English, but I've struggled with the basics. From the start, I was shocked that {Gemini} requires you to unlock your phone to ask for a simple command like calling a contact. This can be fixed in the settings, but I found that the assistant often misunderstood simple commands through the microphones on {Buds Pro 2}. I haven't seen this reported in other reviews, so I'm slightly concerned that I'm just communicating in a tone of voice or at a pace that trips the assistant up, but surprisingly it hasn't been a very good 'first meeting', especially now that I know how much {Gemini} can actually do.

Eventually, {Gemini Live}, which allows more natural conversation back and forth, will work in localised languages, and with improvements to word and sentence recognition in particular, we're in for something of a revolution. But that's not how {Buds Pro 2} worked for me in the test window. It kept insisting that I didn't have a contact named 'Klara', who incidentally is my partner, my primary contact for emergencies and the one I, on daily, call most often. 'I couldn't find a Klara Sofia among your contacts' - really, {Gemini}...

I don't want it to sound like you're getting a pair of bad in-ears here. Clear calling, great active noise cancellation, solid 11mm drivers, great construction with a comfortable fit and satisfying battery life - Google is on board. But this is still a few steps, a few iterations, a few redesigns away from becoming {Android}'s defacto in-ears, and that's a shame.