The Pixel Buds Pro's best feature has nothing to do with ANC

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Of all the hardware announced at Google I/O, far and away the most exciting product wasn't the Pixel Watch we've waited almost half a decade for; it was the Pixel Buds Pro.

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The Pixel Buds (2020) were amazing buds ruined by horrendous connection issues, but they nailed gesture controls better than anyone before — or since.

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And while the Pixel Buds A-series fixed the connectivity, they also lost the wireless charging and those gesture controls.

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ANC and up to 11-hour battery life made most earbud nerds cheer the Pixel Buds Pro, but what made me squee like the fangirl I am was the return of Pixel's Gesture controls.

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These controls are special in a few ways, and each makes the Pixel Buds Pro perfect for earbud users from any walk of life.

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Part of the allure of wireless earbuds is that you can often just have one in and leave the other free if you need to keep an ear out for the UPS guy or the kids breaking things upstairs.

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