Both Google and Apple’s best ANC earbuds are on sale right now

While the last set of earbuds I’ve ordered are still on their way to me (the latest CMF Buds Pro 2), I can without a doubt name my favorite earbuds that I’ve used to date: the AirPods Pro (1st/2nd gen) and the Pixel Buds Pro. Thus far in my testing, all others fall short in the categories that mean the most to me, and of the two, Apple’s earbuds are still my favorite.

My 4 pillars of great earbuds

There are plenty of people who judge earbuds that may have far more comprehensive lists than me, but in my opinion, a great earbud experience comes down to four main things: fit/comfort, ANC/passthrough, case size, and latency/software. Now, you may look at that list and wonder about things like sound stage, clarity, bass response, phone call quality, etc.

Like I said, there are a lot of factors when choosing a set of earbuds, but I’ve found most do all the other stuff well enough not to be terrible. Sure, one may sound better on calls than the next, but I don’t take tons of phone calls. Those four pillars I mentioned above are the things that irk me when they aren’t done right, so that’s what I really worry about.

And both the Apple AirPods Pro and Google Pixel Buds Pro get most of it right. The AirPods Pro are by far the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn, I can keep them in my ears for long periods, the ANC and passthrough are fantastic, the case is small enough for my front pocket, and gaming latency is solid.

For the Pixel Buds Pro, the same is mostly true, though I can’t seem to comfortably keep them in my ears as long as I can with the AirPods Pro. ANC/passthrough is great, latency is good, and the case is also tiny enough to keep in my pocket with no real issues. And because they are a Google product, they work seamlessly with my phone and my Chromebook.

As for their faults, the AirPods Pro don’t do well with allowing me to update them or change settings unless I connect them to an Apple product. I still have an old iPad I can use for that, but it’s annoying. And with the Pixel Buds Pro, I sometimes struggle to get the fit right since there are no stems to help position them, and that can lead to ear fatigue quite a bit faster than I see with the AirPods Pro.

Both are on sale right now

At the end of the day, however, my hangups with both of these sets of earbuds are minor, and I really do enjoy both very much. Leaks seem to indicate the new Pixel Buds Pro won’t be a major departure from what we currently have, so getting the current models at a steep discount is always a win.

At the moment, the Pixel Buds Pro are discounted down to just $139.99 and the AirPods Pro 2 (with USB-C and Magsafe) are only $189.99. Both of these deals mark significant discounts in the standard pricing these earbuds tend to stay around, so if you are in the market for an audio upgrade, now is your time. Don’t miss it!