Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: In-ear excellence

If you’re in the market for active noise canceling (ANC) earbuds, there’s a decent likelihood that you’ll find yourself pitting the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM5. But which one is worth your dollar? Let’s take each product head-to-head and see who wins.

Editor’s note: this article was published on September 26, 2024, and is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 compared to the Sony WF-1000XM5?

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is a very small set of earbuds, with low mass, and a high amount of contact area with your ears. On the inside of the earbud is a semicircular stabilizer fin to press against your outer ear (keeping the earbud pressed against your ear canal), and the ovoid nozzle makes for a less uncomfortable seal than circular ones tend to. The charging case can be topped up wirelessly, and offers a host of creature comforts, like Find My Device with a speaker to locate your earbuds via a loud sound. The earbuds themselves are built around the Tensor A1 chip, which crams a lot of power into their computation ability, including ANC and sound processing.

On the other hand, the Sony WF-1000XM5 is a glossy set of larger earbuds, that contain a lot of higher-end hardware in order to get you the best sound possible. The Sony WF-1000XM5 comes with a slew of ear tip sizes. The charging case is quite a bit smaller than you might be expecting, though it’s still formidable in your pocket.

Neither of these earbuds is uncomfortable enough to warrant mentioning, but they both sit in your ears securely. The Sony WF-1000XM5 does have a tendency to stick out of ears a bit, so if you have smaller ears, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is hands-down the better buy.

Controlling either the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5 is as easy as it gets, as both products use capacitive touch plates on the backs of each earbud. Gestures are intuitive, and allow you to control playback, calls, and voice assistants. Additionally, the Google earbuds allow you to interact with Gemini, Google’s AI platform. Though it’s still in its early days, it’s a solid bet that Gemini’s utility will improve over time as Google is forced to compete with other smartphone makers, OpenAI, and others.

Should you use the apps of either Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5?

If you stick with the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, you don’t need an app on an Android phone or Pixel phone. The settings you need to access are baked into the operating system (OS), just like Apple does for its AirPods. On the other hand, the Sony WF-1000XM5 uses the Sony Headphones Connect app to handle its settings, EQ presets, and firmware updates. Though the convenience factor of the former is undeniable, installing another app for the latter can be a pain if you’re unlikely to change settings all that much. Though Sony’s app is by no means a bad one, it might be something you elect to forgo.

Forgoing the Sony app will mean that you can’t use the 360 Reality Audio future, nor change EQ presets, or calibrate the ANC. It’s fine, really, but it’s something that could stick in your craw if you hate having yet another app control your hardware.

How do the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 connect?

Perhaps the greatest point of differentiation between the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5 is how each connects. Though the Sony WF-1000XM5 uses the best-regarded codec of the last few years with a Bluetooth 5.3 radio, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 only uses the SBC, Opus, and AAC codecs over Bluetooth 5.4. For anyone who isn’t up to date on the alphabet soup of codec names, the above can be distilled into: the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 opts for better compression, while the Sony WF-1000XM5 opts for better numbers on a spec sheet. Each approach has its drawbacks, but the loss in audio quality that you’d hear by choosing the former over the latter isn’t really as obvious as it may seem.

Weirdly enough, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, despite supporting the latest Bluetooth standards, does not offer compatibility with the mandated LC3 codec just yet. Though the Sony WF-1000XM5 doesn’t either, it’s frustrating that these products technically can do it, but something is preventing the implementation of the LE audio feature.

Is battery life better on the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5?

Neither of these earbuds has a battery life that we’d term “bad,” but the Sony WF-1000XM5 slightly edges out the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. In our standardized test, the Sony earbuds survived 9 hours and 24 minutes, while the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 eked out 7 hours and 55 minutes.

If you’re a commuter, both results are well beyond what you’ll ever need, and really, the only thing that might tear it one way or another is if you’re a frequent intercontinental traveler. If that doesn’t sound like you, either product will run laps around your battery life needs.

Do the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5 block noise better?

Sony is the king of ANC, and the Sony WF-1000XM5 is the company’s halo in-ear ANC earbuds. It should surprise very few that this product is able to cancel noise better than the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 — but not by as much as you might think.

Now, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is no slouch at all with its isolation, let alone with ANC. Firmly in the mix for the top tier of noise canceling earbuds, the Google earbuds do a rock-solid job of dispelling unwanted noise. Though the difference on a chart might appear huge, in practical terms this product only falls short of the Sony earbuds by about 4% of outside noise making its way through — an amount small enough that you likely won’t be able to tell.

Though the difference is mainly academic when compared subjectively, the Sony WF-1000XM5 is absolutely phenomenal at dispelling outside noise objectively. Though the charts look quite a bit different, pay attention to the sheer scale of the y-axis. That kind of noise attenuation is simply nuts.

Do the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 sound better than the Sony WF-1000XM5?

On the whole, more people will likely enjoy the Sony WF-1000XM5’s sound quality than that of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. However, the Google earbuds aren’t bad by any stretch — it’s just that their performance is merely “really good” instead of “exceptional.”

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the PRODUCT was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

Here, we can see that a simulated panel of a couple hundred listeners would rate the sound of the Sony WF-1000XM5 a bit higher than that of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. This is one of those times where a comparison as simple as this doesn’t tell the whole story, as you may personally prefer the sound of one set of earbuds over the other, and this is largely a consequence of how each product is tuned.

Objective Measurements

In general, the Sony WF-1000XM5 is quite a bit bassier than the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. While this might appeal to the masses, there are lots of people (like us) that prefer a response that gets a little closer to our preferred curve. So while the bass of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is more to our liking, mids and highs of the Sony WF-1000XM5 are a little more palatable than those of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2.

Of course, both of these products have different EQ modes that you can explore, and there’s also a five-band equalizer in both the Sony app and the Pixel Buds settings. Though neither of these equalizers are granular enough to make either product sound “perfect,” it’s better than nothing.

Do the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5 have a better microphone?

This comparison is tough, because the results of the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are so variable in comparison to those of the Sony WF-1000XM5. Though the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 does offer some interesting high-bandwidth options for calls, it’s locked to Pixel 8 or newer phones. The Sony earbuds don’t have such a limitation.

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Windy conditions):

In particular, you should pay attention to how each product handles wind noise, as this is usually the toughest complication for vocal recording that earbuds have to deal with. Though neither does particularly well, to my ears: the Sony WF-1000XM5 wins for most people here.

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM5: Price and availability

As both of these products are from top-tier tech companies, you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding either online or in brick-and-mortar stores. The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 debuted at $229, and the Sony WF-1000XM5 at $299. However, since the Sony WF-1000XM5 is over a year old already, you can probably find it for less if you shop around.

Additionally, there are likely to be sales toward the end of the year, and older products tend to pop up in those quite often. It’s not inconceivable that the Sony WF-1000XM5 could drop to a similar price as the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 on Black Friday or Christmas, for example.

Should you get the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or Sony WF-1000XM5?

Both products are great sets of earbuds, but they serve different users. The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 is the better choice for someone looking for an extension to their smartphone, while the Sony WF-1000XM5 is the far superior choice for anyone looking for audio quality above all else.

That said, neither of these options is deficient in any way and represents some of the better “all-rounder” options in the earbud market. Still, it’s worth thinking about what you want your earbuds to accomplish, as the Google earbuds are clearly better for those who want AI assistants injected into their lives, and the Sony earbuds are better for those who would prefer to do without.

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