Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Review: The best smart speaker to put at the side of your bed

In a world where a smartphone is charging on every nightstand, the humble alarm clock is a bit of an antique. Or is it? Lenovo certainly doesn’t think so with its now second attempt at a smart clock that’s part smart speaker. The first one, the Smart Clock Essential, came with Google Assistant. The sequel makes the switch to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

That makes it less of a proper sequel, more like a spin-off. If you own and love the original and you use Google Assistant, you don’t necessarily want to get this one. And you don’t need to, either. Despite an updated design, the two devices remain simplistically similar. But if you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant, as I do, it becomes a more attractive proposition.

The obvious use case is in the bedroom, a modern take on the classic alarm clock. But in essence, this is an Amazon Echo at heart, albeit made by Lenovo. So you can use it anywhere you like, and for more than just telling the time.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

A modern take on a traditional alarm clock with the added power of Alexa. And no camera so it's perfect for the bedroom.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Amazon

Navigate this review:

• Specs
• Pricing and availability
• Design and features
• Who should buy one?

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa specs

Specification	Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa
Processor	Amlogic A113X
OS	Linux/Alexa built-in
RAM	4GB
Display	Digital LED (monochrome, non-touch)
Connectivity	WiFi 5 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 5.1
Weight	249g
Dimensions	93.3mm x 113.48mm x 71.33mm / 3.67″ x 4.46″ x 2.80″
Color	Clay Red Misty Blue

About this review: This review was written using a Smart Clock Essential with Alexa provided by Lenovo. At no point has Lenovo had any input on the content of this article. 

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Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa is available to purchase now from Lenovo directly and other third parties such as Amazon. The regular price is $69.99, though there are frequent deals that have taken as much as $25 off that.

It comes in two colors; Misty Blue and Clay Red.

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Design and Features

• Same simplistic approach as its predecessor.
• Substitutes Google Assistant for Alexa.
• Bright display with additional glanceable information.
• The sound quality is a little behind the Echo Dot.

I bought and lived with the original Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. It was great. Exactly the type of smart device I’d been looking for to put on my nightstand. The key to that was not having a camera or a full display. I wanted to be able to see the time through half-open 6.30 a.m. eyes, play music, and ask the usual basic smart speaker questions. For me, the only drawback was a preference for Alexa. As a result, rather than using two assistants in the same house, I ended up replacing it with the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. As a nightstand device, I like the Echo Dot less than I like the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential.

The best part of this new Smart Clock Essential is that all the good bits remain. All the reasons you would choose it to go on your nightstand are still here. The clock is large and easily legible through sleepy eyes. There’s no camera, the physical controls are easy to feel around for and it doesn’t have a touch screen. It’s simple. And thankfully Lenovo kept that simplicity.

Despite not having a full-touch display, the Smart Clock Essential is a little more advanced than the clock-toting Echo Dot. You get a little more glanceable information, including the current weather conditions temperature, and humidity, saving one more morning question for Alexa. It even has a rudimentary decibel meter. The display also has an auto-dim feature, so at night you’re not going to be lighting up your bedroom. In this version, that display is trimmed with a redesigned housing that makes it a little bigger than the old model, but hardly large. It’s still going to take up less room on your nightstand than an Echo Show 5 or a Google Nest Hub. It comes in two colors, blue or red, trimmed in fabric.

The hardware controls all live along the top edge and it’s the usual fare. You get hardware volume controls, an action button to trigger Alexa, and an alarm button. This is an important feature retained from the original model, after all, it’s an alarm clock. You can use your phone or you can use the button. And silencing the alarm with your voice works just the same as on any Amazon Echo. The only hardware control not on the top is the mute switch, which is awkwardly placed on the back by the power input. You won’t accidentally activate it, at least, but you can’t just roll over and tap it.

The sound quality is good, though if you’ve used the latest generation Echo Dot you might be a little disappointed. For what it is though it’s not bad and certainly loud enough to wake you up with your favorite tunes. Being an Alexa device, it has the same setup process using the Alexa app as an Amazon Echo and most of the same benefits. The setup isn’t quite as seamless, and it’s not made immediately obvious that you have to choose “clock” not speaker. It’s also a little disappointing that some of the custom Amazon Alexa alarms, like The Grand Tour, aren’t made available to the Smart Clock Essential.

There’s also no audio output on the Smart Clock Essential with Alexa. It’s not a deal-breaker for the type of device this is meant to be, but it isn’t an option to add some smarts to an existing home audio setup.

---

Who should buy the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

• Someone who wants a smart device on the nightstand without a camera.
• If you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant.
• If you’re looking for a better clock than the Echo Dot can offer.

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa is a simple device and a solid alternative to the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. As a device for a nightstand or even an office desk, somewhere you genuinely want a glanceable clock, it’s the better choice. The display gives you the essential information without becoming a distraction.

If better quality sound is important then the Lenovo falls behind a little, but it’s hardly a huge difference. Both have an excellent range on their microphones, too. And of course, if you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant, this is the one to get over Lenovo’s other model.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

Lenovo's smart clock packs Alexa-powered smarts, decent sound, attractive design and a great price into one neat little box for your nightstand.

See at Amazon

It’s a device that at first glance you might not get too excited for, but that does it a disservice. As an affordable smart speaker, it’s most excellent, especially if you’ve been looking for that perfect nightstand device that doesn’t have a camera.

The post Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Review: The best smart speaker to put at the side of your bed appeared first on XDA.

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Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Review: The best smart speaker to put at the side of your bed

In a world where a smartphone is charging on every nightstand, the humble alarm clock is a bit of an antique. Or is it? Lenovo certainly doesn’t think so with its now second attempt at a smart clock that’s part smart speaker. The first one, the Smart Clock Essential, came with Google Assistant. The sequel makes the switch to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

That makes it less of a proper sequel, more like a spin-off. If you own and love the original and you use Google Assistant, you don’t necessarily want to get this one. And you don’t need to, either. Despite an updated design, the two devices remain simplistically similar. But if you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant, as I do, it becomes a more attractive proposition.

The obvious use case is in the bedroom, a modern take on the classic alarm clock. But in essence, this is an Amazon Echo at heart, albeit made by Lenovo. So you can use it anywhere you like, and for more than just telling the time.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

A modern take on a traditional alarm clock with the added power of Alexa. And no camera so it's perfect for the bedroom.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Amazon

Navigate this review:

• Specs
• Pricing and availability
• Design and features
• Who should buy one?

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa specs

Specification	Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa
Processor	Amlogic A113X
OS	Linux/Alexa built-in
RAM	4GB
Display	Digital LED (monochrome, non-touch)
Connectivity	WiFi 5 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 5.1
Weight	249g
Dimensions	93.3mm x 113.48mm x 71.33mm / 3.67″ x 4.46″ x 2.80″
Color	Clay Red Misty Blue

About this review: This review was written using a Smart Clock Essential with Alexa provided by Lenovo. At no point has Lenovo had any input on the content of this article. 

---

Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa is available to purchase now from Lenovo directly and other third parties such as Amazon. The regular price is $69.99, though there are frequent deals that have taken as much as $25 off that.

It comes in two colors; Misty Blue and Clay Red.

---

Design and Features

• Same simplistic approach as its predecessor.
• Substitutes Google Assistant for Alexa.
• Bright display with additional glanceable information.
• The sound quality is a little behind the Echo Dot.

I bought and lived with the original Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. It was great. Exactly the type of smart device I’d been looking for to put on my nightstand. The key to that was not having a camera or a full display. I wanted to be able to see the time through half-open 6.30 a.m. eyes, play music, and ask the usual basic smart speaker questions. For me, the only drawback was a preference for Alexa. As a result, rather than using two assistants in the same house, I ended up replacing it with the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. As a nightstand device, I like the Echo Dot less than I like the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential.

The best part of this new Smart Clock Essential is that all the good bits remain. All the reasons you would choose it to go on your nightstand are still here. The clock is large and easily legible through sleepy eyes. There’s no camera, the physical controls are easy to feel around for and it doesn’t have a touch screen. It’s simple. And thankfully Lenovo kept that simplicity.

Despite not having a full-touch display, the Smart Clock Essential is a little more advanced than the clock-toting Echo Dot. You get a little more glanceable information, including the current weather conditions temperature, and humidity, saving one more morning question for Alexa. It even has a rudimentary decibel meter. The display also has an auto-dim feature, so at night you’re not going to be lighting up your bedroom. In this version, that display is trimmed with a redesigned housing that makes it a little bigger than the old model, but hardly large. It’s still going to take up less room on your nightstand than an Echo Show 5 or a Google Nest Hub. It comes in two colors, blue or red, trimmed in fabric.

The hardware controls all live along the top edge and it’s the usual fare. You get hardware volume controls, an action button to trigger Alexa, and an alarm button. This is an important feature retained from the original model, after all, it’s an alarm clock. You can use your phone or you can use the button. And silencing the alarm with your voice works just the same as on any Amazon Echo. The only hardware control not on the top is the mute switch, which is awkwardly placed on the back by the power input. You won’t accidentally activate it, at least, but you can’t just roll over and tap it.

The sound quality is good, though if you’ve used the latest generation Echo Dot you might be a little disappointed. For what it is though it’s not bad and certainly loud enough to wake you up with your favorite tunes. Being an Alexa device, it has the same setup process using the Alexa app as an Amazon Echo and most of the same benefits. The setup isn’t quite as seamless, and it’s not made immediately obvious that you have to choose “clock” not speaker. It’s also a little disappointing that some of the custom Amazon Alexa alarms, like The Grand Tour, aren’t made available to the Smart Clock Essential.

There’s also no audio output on the Smart Clock Essential with Alexa. It’s not a deal-breaker for the type of device this is meant to be, but it isn’t an option to add some smarts to an existing home audio setup.

---

Who should buy the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

• Someone who wants a smart device on the nightstand without a camera.
• If you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant.
• If you’re looking for a better clock than the Echo Dot can offer.

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa is a simple device and a solid alternative to the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. As a device for a nightstand or even an office desk, somewhere you genuinely want a glanceable clock, it’s the better choice. The display gives you the essential information without becoming a distraction.

If better quality sound is important then the Lenovo falls behind a little, but it’s hardly a huge difference. Both have an excellent range on their microphones, too. And of course, if you prefer Alexa over Google Assistant, this is the one to get over Lenovo’s other model.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa

Lenovo's smart clock packs Alexa-powered smarts, decent sound, attractive design and a great price into one neat little box for your nightstand.

See at Amazon

It’s a device that at first glance you might not get too excited for, but that does it a disservice. As an affordable smart speaker, it’s most excellent, especially if you’ve been looking for that perfect nightstand device that doesn’t have a camera.

The post Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Review: The best smart speaker to put at the side of your bed appeared first on XDA.

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I’ve tried many wireless earbuds, but I still return to AirPods

Throughout the course of my working day there is one constant: headphones. I’m either listening to music, a podcast, the news, or on a Google Meet call basically all day. And I also like to be able to move about without missing anything, so they have to be wireless. Since over-the-ear headphones can get tiring, I use wireless earbuds most of the day.

And for those, I have finally resigned myself to using Apple AirPods. Specifically, at least for now, the second generation AirPods. The wireless earbuds that I ridiculed when first announced are my favorite and by a fairly wide margin now.

This is actually my second pair of AirPods after the first met an untimely death at the hands of our washing machine. In between, I’ve tried and enjoyed a lot of alternatives, but ultimately ended up back where I started. It might say more about me than it does about the AirPods, but I’m still a little surprised.

The alternatives to AirPods

I am pretty terrible at buying headphones. I wouldn’t ever claim to be an audiophile, but I love music and I seem to enjoy earphones. And after my initial spell of ridicule, I tried AirPods and instantly fell in love with them. But when I left them in a pocket and destroyed them in the washing machine, I decided to try out the competition first instead of just replacing them with a second pair.

I won’t list everything I’ve tried, it’ll get way too boring. But brands like Razer, Xiaomi, Amazon, and Huawei are all in there, as well as some smaller ones such as Anker’s Soundcore. I only ever came across a couple of pairs of wireless earbuds I really didn’t like, but none I liked as much as AirPods.

The closest was Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro. Everything about them is great. The sound quality is superb, the ANC is very good, they’re not actually too expensive and the battery life is at least comparable to Apple’s. The FreeBuds Pro is actually more feature-packed than my AirPods since I went for the regular old second-generation ones.

But none of that or anything offered by any wireless earbuds has mattered as much as what the AirPods can offer to me: comfort.

AirPods just fit my ears

This is where it might say more about me than anything else. Perhaps my ears are built differently, but no other wireless earbud fits me as well as the AirPods do. The combination of the shape and the weight and the lack of a silicon tip makes the AirPods just nestle into my ears better than anything else. And this has been the case since Apple included the EarPods in the box with the iPhone.

I can sacrifice ANC, I can sacrifice a little on the sound quality. Purely because these seem to be the only buds that actually fit me. With all the others I’ve tried, even the FreeBuds Pro which I did come really close to sticking with, my ears feel fatigued after a couple of hours. With the AirPods, I can pop them in and forget they’re there, which is important to me and my daily routine.

If I want to really enjoy a piece of music, I reach for my favorite over-ear headphones, currently the Audio Technica ATH-M50X. But I don’t want to wear those all day. They’re wired, and for podcasts and meetings, they’re overkill. For everything else I use AirPods. They sound surprisingly good given their size and since I work at home on my own all day, I don’t miss ANC.

I carry an iPhone and I’ve recently moved to working on a Mac again, and using AirPods helps to appreciate how tight Apple has its ecosystem integration down. Switching between the two is so absurdly seamless, it’s almost like magic (and yes, I feel dirty using that word).

So, that’s me. I’m an AirPods guy now. Or I will continue to be assuming Apple doesn’t radically change the design down the line. My ears just seem to be designed for them. I’m sure Tim Cook is thrilled.

---

Apple AirPods (2nd Gen)

Apple's now iconic earbuds sound good, are stupendously easy to live with and the previous generation model is now pretty affordable.

See at Amazon

See at Apple

If you have a favorite pair of wireless earbuds right now, toss it into the comments section below and tell us what makes them just right for you.

The post I’ve tried many wireless earbuds, but I still return to AirPods appeared first on XDA.

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via IFTTT

I’ve tried many wireless earbuds, but I still return to AirPods

Throughout the course of my working day there is one constant: headphones. I’m either listening to music, a podcast, the news, or on a Google Meet call basically all day. And I also like to be able to move about without missing anything, so they have to be wireless. Since over-the-ear headphones can get tiring, I use wireless earbuds most of the day.

And for those, I have finally resigned myself to using Apple AirPods. Specifically, at least for now, the second generation AirPods. The wireless earbuds that I ridiculed when first announced are my favorite and by a fairly wide margin now.

This is actually my second pair of AirPods after the first met an untimely death at the hands of our washing machine. In between, I’ve tried and enjoyed a lot of alternatives, but ultimately ended up back where I started. It might say more about me than it does about the AirPods, but I’m still a little surprised.

The alternatives to AirPods

I am pretty terrible at buying headphones. I wouldn’t ever claim to be an audiophile, but I love music and I seem to enjoy earphones. And after my initial spell of ridicule, I tried AirPods and instantly fell in love with them. But when I left them in a pocket and destroyed them in the washing machine, I decided to try out the competition first instead of just replacing them with a second pair.

I won’t list everything I’ve tried, it’ll get way too boring. But brands like Razer, Xiaomi, Amazon, and Huawei are all in there, as well as some smaller ones such as Anker’s Soundcore. I only ever came across a couple of pairs of wireless earbuds I really didn’t like, but none I liked as much as AirPods.

The closest was Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro. Everything about them is great. The sound quality is superb, the ANC is very good, they’re not actually too expensive and the battery life is at least comparable to Apple’s. The FreeBuds Pro is actually more feature-packed than my AirPods since I went for the regular old second-generation ones.

But none of that or anything offered by any wireless earbuds has mattered as much as what the AirPods can offer to me: comfort.

AirPods just fit my ears

This is where it might say more about me than anything else. Perhaps my ears are built differently, but no other wireless earbud fits me as well as the AirPods do. The combination of the shape and the weight and the lack of a silicon tip makes the AirPods just nestle into my ears better than anything else. And this has been the case since Apple included the EarPods in the box with the iPhone.

I can sacrifice ANC, I can sacrifice a little on the sound quality. Purely because these seem to be the only buds that actually fit me. With all the others I’ve tried, even the FreeBuds Pro which I did come really close to sticking with, my ears feel fatigued after a couple of hours. With the AirPods, I can pop them in and forget they’re there, which is important to me and my daily routine.

If I want to really enjoy a piece of music, I reach for my favorite over-ear headphones, currently the Audio Technica ATH-M50X. But I don’t want to wear those all day. They’re wired, and for podcasts and meetings, they’re overkill. For everything else I use AirPods. They sound surprisingly good given their size and since I work at home on my own all day, I don’t miss ANC.

I carry an iPhone and I’ve recently moved to working on a Mac again, and using AirPods helps to appreciate how tight Apple has its ecosystem integration down. Switching between the two is so absurdly seamless, it’s almost like magic (and yes, I feel dirty using that word).

So, that’s me. I’m an AirPods guy now. Or I will continue to be assuming Apple doesn’t radically change the design down the line. My ears just seem to be designed for them. I’m sure Tim Cook is thrilled.

---

Apple AirPods (2nd Gen)

Apple's now iconic earbuds sound good, are stupendously easy to live with and the previous generation model is now pretty affordable.

See at Amazon

See at Apple

If you have a favorite pair of wireless earbuds right now, toss it into the comments section below and tell us what makes them just right for you.

The post I’ve tried many wireless earbuds, but I still return to AirPods appeared first on XDA.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro Review: Amazing hardware with terrible out-of-the-box tuning

Google’s been in the audio game for quite a while now, and the Pixel Buds Pro is the latest addition to the company’s portfolio. We’ve had Pixel Buds before, and the company has launched the Buds-A series in the past as a complement of sorts to the likes of the Google Pixel 6a. The Pixel Buds Pro is the first all-out attempt from Google, and while it’s an admirable effort, the company is really just playing catch up.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro has a few neat features that put them above the rest, though there are some confusing omissions. It features a comfortable design that stays put in your ears, has great touch controls, decent active noise canceling, multipoint support, and long battery life. There are some things it doesn’t have that you’ll notice though, such as no higher-quality codecs like AAC and no built-in EQ (yet). The tuning out-of-the-box is terrible, so you either need to not care, or know what you need to change.

In short, the Google Pixel Buds Pro do a great job at being good earphones, but they’re costly and merely represent the company playing catch-up rather than innovating the space. If these earphones were released a year or two ago, they’d still merely feel on par with the rest of the competition. They do everything else so well, and the sound quality is great (with some tweaks), but it’s the out-of-the-box tuning that makes these earphones sound a lot worse than they should. If you’re not an audio snob then you probably won’t notice it, but otherwise, you’ll likely need to use an app like Wavelet.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are a flagship pair of earphones from Google with a ton of features, a great fit, and long battery life.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Amazon

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Specifications

Specification	Google Pixel Buds Pro
Build	Plastic
Dimensions & Weight	Earbuds (each): 22.33 x 22.03 x 23.72 mm with the medium (default) eartip attached, 6.2 g (with medium eartip) Wireless charging case: 25 x 50 x 63.2 mm, 62.4 g (with earbuds)
Speaker drivers	11mm dynamic drivers
Microphone(s)	Triple microphone array per earbud Wind blocking mesh covers
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0
Battery & Charging	Earbuds only: ANC on: Up to 7 hours ANC off: Up to 11 hours Earbuds+Case: ANC off: Up to 31 hours USB-C charging Wireless charging Five-minute charge for one hour of playback 15-minute charge for three hours of playback
Other Features	Active noise cancellation support (48dB peak) Touch controls IPX4 (IPX2 case)
Colors	Charcoal Fog Coral Lemongrass

About this review: I received the Google Pixel Buds Pro for review for IrishTech on the 28th July, 2022. While Google sent us these earphones for review, it had no input into the contents of this review.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Price & Availability

The Pixel Buds Pro comes in four colorways — Charcoal, Fog, Coral, and Lemongrass — at a price of $199/£199/€219. They are available for purchase now on Google’s own store and on Amazon in a wide range of regions, including the United States and across Europe.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Design

The Google Pixel Buds Pro has a rather unique design, especially for earbuds. Ignoring the fact that the company launched funky colors like the lovely “Coral” pair that we received, these are a design that we haven’t really seen anywhere else. The orange top functions as a touch panel for inputs, whereas the earphones themselves are longer, designed to be twisted into the ear rather than placed in it.

The touch controls on the Pixel Buds Pro are excellent

The touch controls are excellent too, and that’s largely thanks to the large, even surface area of the earbuds. It’s a simple flat circular surface, and the gestures make sense. Swipe up or down for volume, double tap to skip, single tap to pause/play, and hold down to either toggle ANC, or call the Google Assistant. All of these can be modified in the Pixel Buds app (or in your Google Pixel’s settings) to give you a bit of control over what controls are enabled.

The Pixel Buds Pro are the most comfortable pair of earphones I have ever used

However, the best part of these earphones is comfort. These are the most comfortable pair of earphones I have ever used, and I’ve left them in my ears until they’ve died several times now. Google says that there’s technology that helps remove the “plugged ear” feeling that most earphones give, and with ANC enabled, it’s definitely noticeable. I’m not sure how the tech works, but it feels like magic. They’re very comfortable to wear for long stretches of time and stay in my ears when I’m working out, which is a major plus. I can yawn and eat with these in my ears and they still remain comfortable.

I didn’t have to downsize or upsize to the other tips provided in the box, but there are other sizes if you need them. There’s never going to be a “one size fits all” solution to earphones, but that’s fine so long as there are additional options in the box. Transparency mode is also fine, though I tend to find that feature subpar on practically any pair of earphones that I’ve used.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Sound quality

When I first used these earphones, I had come off previously using the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2. They support the LDAC codec, which is a high-bitrate codec that supports up to 990Kbps of audio. The highest bitrate of MP3 that you’ll get is 320Kbps, which leaves room for a lot of overhead but ensures that you’ll get the full quality of your audio transmitted to your ears. Prior to that, I had used the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, which supports the AAC codec at 264 Kbps.

Having used both of those earphones recently, I expected that the Google Pixel Buds Pro would sound completely fine. When I set them up for the first time, I listened to music and assumed they had defaulted to SBC, as it sounded as if I was listening to low-bitrate MP3 files. That turned out to not be the case, and I couldn’t figure out why they sounded the way they did.

I compared these earphones to the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2, with a FreeBuds Pro 2 in one ear and a Pixel Buds Pro in the other. I listened to hand crushed by a mallet by 100 gecs which is a song that has a fantastic dynamic range. I noticed that a hi-hat I could clearly hear on the FreeBuds Pro 2 was barely audible on the Pixel Buds Pro. I also noticed a much stronger bassline on the Pixel Buds Pro, one that seemed to drown out the kick drum. That’s when it clicked with me: these earphones have a terrible out-of-the-box tuning. The highest frequencies drop off terribly, the mid-range is a bit too high, and the bass overpowers the mix.

For context, compressed MP3 files are compressed by removing frequencies above a certain frequency range. A 320Kbps MP3 removes frequencies from roughly above 19.5kHz, which doesn’t hugely matter as human hearing generally only maxes out at 25kHz, anyway. However, compressing audio down to 192Kbps removes frequencies above 18KHz, and 128Kbps removes frequencies above 16KHz. Both of these tend to be noticeable. There is an element of subjectivity when referring to frequency ranges, but the low-end refers to bass, and the high-end refers to treble. Treble is where the likes of cymbals, high-hats, and other high-frequency instrumentation can be heard the most, though the removal of some of the highest frequencies in the 10kHz-20kHz range may not be immediately apparent.

I found that I could use Wavelet to boost the 19.2kHz frequency band significantly, reduce the 9.6kHz band, and reduce the low-end significantly, and these earphones became a whole lot more tolerable. Boosting 19.2kHz alone won’t do a whole lot for the audio, but because it’s a frequency band that encompasses a wide range of frequencies from above 9.6kHz, it also boosts frequencies going back to there, too. After doing that, they sound nearly on par with any other pair of earphones that I use now when previously it felt like I was listening to a radio directly in my ears.

Wavelet: headphone specific EQ (Free, Google Play) →

It’s crazy just how much tuning matters when it comes to earphones, and it’s disappointing that Google shipped these earphones with this tuning. Google has promised to add a full five-band EQ to the Pixel Buds app, but until then, you’re going to have to resort to the likes of Wavelet to make these changes. Previously, the bass very much overpowered the audio experience, and the rest of the audio experience felt hollow.

Once I applied my changes, however, these earphones sound really, really good. They’re loud, they’re clear, and they’re comfortable. They’re great for listening to all kinds of music, and the great audio hardware combined with proper tuning makes these an excellent pair of earphones. It is disappointing to not have many codecs supported out of the box, but AAC is a universal one that will work on pretty much anything.

The hardware on the Google Pixel Buds Pro is amazing, but the tuning out of the box is terrible

Nevertheless, a lot of this experience is still inexcusable. The hardware is amazing, but it needs some work on its tuning.

On the bright side, the call quality is decent. I can be understood completely fine pretty much anywhere when using these earphones on my phone, and haven’t had any problems with having conversations when using them.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Software, settings, and battery life

On the software front, the Google Pixel Buds Pro benefit from both simplicity and direct Android integration. The setup process is easy thanks to Google’s Fast Pair (with fast switching, by the way), and the software controls for these earphones will be built into your phone — if you use a Pixel, anyway. If you don’t, then you can install the Google Pixel Buds app from the Google Play Store, and it will provide you with the same interface as you’ll get on a Pixel phone.

Google Pixel Buds (Free, Google Play) →

As you can see, there are quite a lot of features and controls to choose from. The biggest addition here that you’ll find that other earphones don’t have is the Google Assistant. Simply saying “Hey Google” will activate it, and you can ask any questions that you would normally of the Google Assistant. It’s a great way to check things when you’re out and about if you need to, and you can enable reading your notifications out to you if you want. That way then you won’t have to take your phone out if you’re walking down a busy street or carrying something.

The other major addition is “Multipoint”, which makes use of Google’s Fast Pair quick switching technology. Essentially, you can connect to up to two devices at a time, and seamlessly transition between the two. If you’re playing media on one device, you can stop playing media on that device and then switch over to the other and start playing, too. However, if you get a phone call on one device while watching a video on the other, your earphones will intelligently decide to switch over to the device receiving the call, because it’s assumed that you’d want to take the phone call.

In terms of battery life, these earphones are excellent. I can keep them in my ears all day and they just go, and go, and go. The case honestly feels like it needs a slightly bigger battery, though that’s probably because I get so much life out of the earphones.

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Should you buy the Google Pixel Buds Pro?

The Google Pixel Buds Pro is an excellent pair of earphones that cost a lot of money, in the same price range as the best wireless earphones. Coming in at $199 puts these well above the likes of the OnePlus Buds Pro, on-par with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (at launch), and a little bit below the AirPods Pro. Google is making a statement by selling these earphones at what is essentially a flagship earphone price.

For what it’s worth, I love the Google Pixel Buds Pro after making my equalization changes. The tuning on these earphones out of the box is extremely bass-heavy with a massively reduced treble, and it ends up creating an effect that sounds like it’s a low bitrate. You can remedy it with the use of third-party software, but generally speaking, that’s not merit you should ever buy a product on. There is a five-band EQ said to be coming to the Google Pixel Buds later this year, and that’ll be the way that you should make those modifications from then on.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are a flagship pair of earphones from Google with a ton of features, a great fit, and long battery life.

See at Amazon

If you don’t consider yourself an audiophile, then you’ll love the Google Pixel Buds Pro. I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to audio as I have a musical background, but that also meant I knew what I was able to change to make these earphones sound good. If you don’t think you’ll care, then these are definitely a great pair of earphones to pick up. Alternatively, you can copy my settings and they might fix them for you as well.

The post Google Pixel Buds Pro Review: Amazing hardware with terrible out-of-the-box tuning appeared first on XDA.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro Review: Amazing hardware with terrible out-of-the-box tuning

Google’s been in the audio game for quite a while now, and the Pixel Buds Pro is the latest addition to the company’s portfolio. We’ve had Pixel Buds before, and the company has launched the Buds-A series in the past as a complement of sorts to the likes of the Google Pixel 6a. The Pixel Buds Pro is the first all-out attempt from Google, and while it’s an admirable effort, the company is really just playing catch up.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro has a few neat features that put them above the rest, though there are some confusing omissions. It features a comfortable design that stays put in your ears, has great touch controls, decent active noise canceling, multipoint support, and long battery life. There are some things it doesn’t have that you’ll notice though, such as no higher-quality codecs like AAC and no built-in EQ (yet). The tuning out-of-the-box is terrible, so you either need to not care, or know what you need to change.

In short, the Google Pixel Buds Pro do a great job at being good earphones, but they’re costly and merely represent the company playing catch-up rather than innovating the space. If these earphones were released a year or two ago, they’d still merely feel on par with the rest of the competition. They do everything else so well, and the sound quality is great (with some tweaks), but it’s the out-of-the-box tuning that makes these earphones sound a lot worse than they should. If you’re not an audio snob then you probably won’t notice it, but otherwise, you’ll likely need to use an app like Wavelet.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are a flagship pair of earphones from Google with a ton of features, a great fit, and long battery life.

Features:

Pros: Cons:

See at Amazon

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Specifications

Specification	Google Pixel Buds Pro
Build	Plastic
Dimensions & Weight	Earbuds (each): 22.33 x 22.03 x 23.72 mm with the medium (default) eartip attached, 6.2 g (with medium eartip) Wireless charging case: 25 x 50 x 63.2 mm, 62.4 g (with earbuds)
Speaker drivers	11mm dynamic drivers
Microphone(s)	Triple microphone array per earbud Wind blocking mesh covers
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0
Battery & Charging	Earbuds only: ANC on: Up to 7 hours ANC off: Up to 11 hours Earbuds+Case: ANC off: Up to 31 hours USB-C charging Wireless charging Five-minute charge for one hour of playback 15-minute charge for three hours of playback
Other Features	Active noise cancellation support (48dB peak) Touch controls IPX4 (IPX2 case)
Colors	Charcoal Fog Coral Lemongrass

About this review: I received the Google Pixel Buds Pro for review for IrishTech on the 28th July, 2022. While Google sent us these earphones for review, it had no input into the contents of this review.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Price & Availability

The Pixel Buds Pro comes in four colorways — Charcoal, Fog, Coral, and Lemongrass — at a price of $199/£199/€219. They are available for purchase now on Google’s own store and on Amazon in a wide range of regions, including the United States and across Europe.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Design

The Google Pixel Buds Pro has a rather unique design, especially for earbuds. Ignoring the fact that the company launched funky colors like the lovely “Coral” pair that we received, these are a design that we haven’t really seen anywhere else. The orange top functions as a touch panel for inputs, whereas the earphones themselves are longer, designed to be twisted into the ear rather than placed in it.

The touch controls on the Pixel Buds Pro are excellent

The touch controls are excellent too, and that’s largely thanks to the large, even surface area of the earbuds. It’s a simple flat circular surface, and the gestures make sense. Swipe up or down for volume, double tap to skip, single tap to pause/play, and hold down to either toggle ANC, or call the Google Assistant. All of these can be modified in the Pixel Buds app (or in your Google Pixel’s settings) to give you a bit of control over what controls are enabled.

The Pixel Buds Pro are the most comfortable pair of earphones I have ever used

However, the best part of these earphones is comfort. These are the most comfortable pair of earphones I have ever used, and I’ve left them in my ears until they’ve died several times now. Google says that there’s technology that helps remove the “plugged ear” feeling that most earphones give, and with ANC enabled, it’s definitely noticeable. I’m not sure how the tech works, but it feels like magic. They’re very comfortable to wear for long stretches of time and stay in my ears when I’m working out, which is a major plus. I can yawn and eat with these in my ears and they still remain comfortable.

I didn’t have to downsize or upsize to the other tips provided in the box, but there are other sizes if you need them. There’s never going to be a “one size fits all” solution to earphones, but that’s fine so long as there are additional options in the box. Transparency mode is also fine, though I tend to find that feature subpar on practically any pair of earphones that I’ve used.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Sound quality

When I first used these earphones, I had come off previously using the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2. They support the LDAC codec, which is a high-bitrate codec that supports up to 990Kbps of audio. The highest bitrate of MP3 that you’ll get is 320Kbps, which leaves room for a lot of overhead but ensures that you’ll get the full quality of your audio transmitted to your ears. Prior to that, I had used the Honor Earbuds 3 Pro, which supports the AAC codec at 264 Kbps.

Having used both of those earphones recently, I expected that the Google Pixel Buds Pro would sound completely fine. When I set them up for the first time, I listened to music and assumed they had defaulted to SBC, as it sounded as if I was listening to low-bitrate MP3 files. That turned out to not be the case, and I couldn’t figure out why they sounded the way they did.

I compared these earphones to the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2, with a FreeBuds Pro 2 in one ear and a Pixel Buds Pro in the other. I listened to hand crushed by a mallet by 100 gecs which is a song that has a fantastic dynamic range. I noticed that a hi-hat I could clearly hear on the FreeBuds Pro 2 was barely audible on the Pixel Buds Pro. I also noticed a much stronger bassline on the Pixel Buds Pro, one that seemed to drown out the kick drum. That’s when it clicked with me: these earphones have a terrible out-of-the-box tuning. The highest frequencies drop off terribly, the mid-range is a bit too high, and the bass overpowers the mix.

For context, compressed MP3 files are compressed by removing frequencies above a certain frequency range. A 320Kbps MP3 removes frequencies from roughly above 19.5kHz, which doesn’t hugely matter as human hearing generally only maxes out at 25kHz, anyway. However, compressing audio down to 192Kbps removes frequencies above 18KHz, and 128Kbps removes frequencies above 16KHz. Both of these tend to be noticeable. There is an element of subjectivity when referring to frequency ranges, but the low-end refers to bass, and the high-end refers to treble. Treble is where the likes of cymbals, high-hats, and other high-frequency instrumentation can be heard the most, though the removal of some of the highest frequencies in the 10kHz-20kHz range may not be immediately apparent.

I found that I could use Wavelet to boost the 19.2kHz frequency band significantly, reduce the 9.6kHz band, and reduce the low-end significantly, and these earphones became a whole lot more tolerable. Boosting 19.2kHz alone won’t do a whole lot for the audio, but because it’s a frequency band that encompasses a wide range of frequencies from above 9.6kHz, it also boosts frequencies going back to there, too. After doing that, they sound nearly on par with any other pair of earphones that I use now when previously it felt like I was listening to a radio directly in my ears.

Wavelet: headphone specific EQ (Free, Google Play) →

It’s crazy just how much tuning matters when it comes to earphones, and it’s disappointing that Google shipped these earphones with this tuning. Google has promised to add a full five-band EQ to the Pixel Buds app, but until then, you’re going to have to resort to the likes of Wavelet to make these changes. Previously, the bass very much overpowered the audio experience, and the rest of the audio experience felt hollow.

Once I applied my changes, however, these earphones sound really, really good. They’re loud, they’re clear, and they’re comfortable. They’re great for listening to all kinds of music, and the great audio hardware combined with proper tuning makes these an excellent pair of earphones. It is disappointing to not have many codecs supported out of the box, but AAC is a universal one that will work on pretty much anything.

The hardware on the Google Pixel Buds Pro is amazing, but the tuning out of the box is terrible

Nevertheless, a lot of this experience is still inexcusable. The hardware is amazing, but it needs some work on its tuning.

On the bright side, the call quality is decent. I can be understood completely fine pretty much anywhere when using these earphones on my phone, and haven’t had any problems with having conversations when using them.

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Google Pixel Buds Pro: Software, settings, and battery life

On the software front, the Google Pixel Buds Pro benefit from both simplicity and direct Android integration. The setup process is easy thanks to Google’s Fast Pair (with fast switching, by the way), and the software controls for these earphones will be built into your phone — if you use a Pixel, anyway. If you don’t, then you can install the Google Pixel Buds app from the Google Play Store, and it will provide you with the same interface as you’ll get on a Pixel phone.

Google Pixel Buds (Free, Google Play) →

As you can see, there are quite a lot of features and controls to choose from. The biggest addition here that you’ll find that other earphones don’t have is the Google Assistant. Simply saying “Hey Google” will activate it, and you can ask any questions that you would normally of the Google Assistant. It’s a great way to check things when you’re out and about if you need to, and you can enable reading your notifications out to you if you want. That way then you won’t have to take your phone out if you’re walking down a busy street or carrying something.

The other major addition is “Multipoint”, which makes use of Google’s Fast Pair quick switching technology. Essentially, you can connect to up to two devices at a time, and seamlessly transition between the two. If you’re playing media on one device, you can stop playing media on that device and then switch over to the other and start playing, too. However, if you get a phone call on one device while watching a video on the other, your earphones will intelligently decide to switch over to the device receiving the call, because it’s assumed that you’d want to take the phone call.

In terms of battery life, these earphones are excellent. I can keep them in my ears all day and they just go, and go, and go. The case honestly feels like it needs a slightly bigger battery, though that’s probably because I get so much life out of the earphones.

---

Should you buy the Google Pixel Buds Pro?

The Google Pixel Buds Pro is an excellent pair of earphones that cost a lot of money, in the same price range as the best wireless earphones. Coming in at $199 puts these well above the likes of the OnePlus Buds Pro, on-par with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (at launch), and a little bit below the AirPods Pro. Google is making a statement by selling these earphones at what is essentially a flagship earphone price.

For what it’s worth, I love the Google Pixel Buds Pro after making my equalization changes. The tuning on these earphones out of the box is extremely bass-heavy with a massively reduced treble, and it ends up creating an effect that sounds like it’s a low bitrate. You can remedy it with the use of third-party software, but generally speaking, that’s not merit you should ever buy a product on. There is a five-band EQ said to be coming to the Google Pixel Buds later this year, and that’ll be the way that you should make those modifications from then on.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are a flagship pair of earphones from Google with a ton of features, a great fit, and long battery life.

See at Amazon

If you don’t consider yourself an audiophile, then you’ll love the Google Pixel Buds Pro. I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to audio as I have a musical background, but that also meant I knew what I was able to change to make these earphones sound good. If you don’t think you’ll care, then these are definitely a great pair of earphones to pick up. Alternatively, you can copy my settings and they might fix them for you as well.

The post Google Pixel Buds Pro Review: Amazing hardware with terrible out-of-the-box tuning appeared first on XDA.

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