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The Pixel Buds Pro are the best thing I’ve stuck in my ears – and they’re reduced by £70 right now
AirPods for the Android crowd, Google’s wireless earbuds are cheaper than ever at Amazon
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Your support makes all the difference.Hello there! I’m a technology expert, somehow. You don’t set out to become one. Tim Cook doesn’t thank you for your service and put a big medal around your neck. There’s no framed certificate that says “proper technology expert” on it unless you spend an afternoon making one yourself in Photoshop.
No, to become a tech expert, you simply have to spend way too much time reviewing and writing about laptops and phones until you’re the person people come to when their roomba starts trying to sell them bitcoin or their smart speaker gets stuck in French.
As a tech expert, I’ve got recommendations coming out of the wazoo. Too many to keep to myself. That’s why, each week, I’m bringing you my top tech pick from Amazon and beyond – one gadget I love, and that I think you will too.
This week, it’s the Google Pixel Buds Pro wireless earbuds, which, as well as being in my ears right now, have £70 off at Amazon.
Google Pixel Buds Pro: Was £199, now £129, Amazon.co.uk
Just as the AirPods pair nicely with the iPhone, the Pixel Buds Pro are designed to work seamlessly with the Pixel. Apple users might wonder what the fuss is about, but as somebody who’s been using Google phones since the Nexus days, I’ve been waiting for Google to reach this level of hassle-free, Cupertino-slick setup for years.
Open the Pixel Buds Pro for the first time and your phone’s screen will light up in anticipation, like a lost dog recognising its owner, inviting you to marry the two devices with a press.
Of course, the easy-peasy pairing would be worthless if they didn’t actually sound good. Luckily, the Pixel Buds Pro sound decent for earbuds of this size. The active noise-cancellation spares my sanity on a daily basis by tuning out the endless parade of traffic that seems to do laps around my flat, and while I’ll often turn to Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones (£249.99, Amazon.co.uk) for the superior noise-cancelling experience, I still prefer the more discrete Pixel Buds Pro when walking around outside.
Read more: Google Pixel Buds Pro review
Being able to quickly switch to transparency mode, which dials down the noise-cancelling effect and isolates voices, and to call on the Google Assistant with the “Hey, Google” trigger phrase, also means I can keep my phone safely tucked away in my pocket while out walking.
Other earbuds can do the same, but you’re probably not going to find a better-performing pair at £199. You definitely won’t at £129. I’d bet my hastily Photoshopped “tech expert” certificate on it.
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