It seems that Google is working on a number of hardware products, other than just smartphones, for the year 2022. The company is tipped to introduce its first-ever smartwatch, called the Google Pixel Watch, soon, and now rumors suggest that it could launch a Pro version of the Google Pixel Buds soon. In this guide, let's take a look at everything we know about the Pixel Buds Pro and what features we expect from it.

Pixel Buds Pro: Everything we know so far

The 2020 edition of Google Pixel Buds failed to live up to the expectations of becoming "AirPods for Android." At launch, the Pixel Buds came with a lot of problems, such as not-so-good battery life and connection issues. The absence of Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) was also one of the major drawbacks. Nonetheless, Google seems to be taking all the right steps to correct the previous mistakes.

According to the leaker Jon Prosser, Google will soon introduce Pixel Buds Pro. Though not a lot about the Pixel Buds Pro is known right now, the new earbuds could be a part of the company's renewed effort to take on the high-end in-ear earphones market that is currently dominated by Apple's AirPod Pro and Sony's WF-1000XM4.

In addition to revealing the name "Pixel Buds Pro," Prosser has revealed that the new Google earbuds will be available in three colors: Real Red, Carbon, Limoncello, and Fog. Adding to Prosser's claims, renowned Android enthusiast Mishaal Rahman also says that Google has been working on spatial audio, head tracking, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Audio support in Android 13.

The presence of audio features in Android doesn't confirm anything, but given that the company is working on a set of "Pro" earbuds, support for spatial audio and head tracking would not be a surprise. Apple's 2019 AirPods Pro, and even the latest AirPods 3, support both spatial audio and head tracking, so Google might be playing the catch-up game here.

But apart from the colors and support for spatial audio, no specs, upgrades, features, price, or even the launch date of the Pixel Buds Pro is known right now. Prosser only says that the Pixel Buds Pro is coming "soon." How soon? That's up in the air right now. Google is hosting its annual developer I/O conference next week, where we will reportedly see a lot of hardware announcements from the company. The Google Pixel Buds Pro could be unveiled at the event, but the chances of this happening hang by a thread.

https://twitter.com/MishaalRahman/status/1521583280176484353

What else we would like to see

Active Noise Cancelation

Despite costing around $180, the Google Pixel Buds didn’t come with Active Noise Cancellation. At this steep price, the omission of ANC felt like a major drawback. Nowadays, even $80 wireless earbuds come with some sort of noise cancellation. If Google wants to take on AirPods Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, ANC is a must-have feature that the company cannot skip in any case.

Improved battery life

One of the pain points of the 2020 Google Pixel Buds was its battery life. Google says the Pixel Buds offer up to six hours of battery life on a single charge and 24 hours with the case. While this is not bad, plenty of earbuds from other manufacturers can go much longer. The battery life could become one of the worrying factors of the Pixel Buds Pro, especially if the company decides to add ANC to the mix.

Better pricing

At a price of $179, the Pixel Buds (2020 edition) felt a bit overpriced. Right now, at the same price (and even lower), you can buy earphones from other companies that come with better audio quality and features like ANC, such as Beats Studio Buds and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. If the recent Google products have shown us anything, it's that the company now prices its products quite fairly. If the Google Pixel Buds Pro is priced aggressively, the company could easily challenge the likes of Apple and Samsung in the audio market.

Pixel Buds review

(Proper) Support for iPhone

Nothing, with its ear (1), has shown us that a pair of earphones can work equally well with an iPhone, just as it does with an Android phone. While the 2020 Pixel Buds can be paired with an iPhone and can be used normally just like another pair of wireless earbuds — even the gestures work — there is no app to control the settings of the Pixel Buds. With the Pixel Buds Pro, we hope Google adds proper support for iPhone, especially if it comes with support for ANC and Transparency modes.

What are your expectations from Google Pixel Buds Pro? Let us know in the comments section below!