Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 earphones have something the AirPods Pro don’t – here’s how to buy them

The new, second-generation Pi7 and Pi5 wireless earphones are available to buy right now

The wireless earphones feature active noise-cancelling and are available in a range of colours (The Independent)

British audio company Bowers & Wilkins has announced two pairs of new wireless earphones – and they are available to buy right now.

The new earphones are called the Pi5 S2 and Pi7 S2. They come almost two years after their series-one predecessors, are available in three colours, and priced at £249 and £349, respectively.

This makes the flagship Pi7 S2 £100 more expensive than the latest Apple AirPods Pro (£249, Apple.com), but there’s a very good reason for that – the Bowers & Wilkins earphones come with a charging case that can be connected to other audio systems, such as a plane’s in-flight entertainment system.

Instead of buying a separate adaptor or cable, the charging case plugs into the headphone socket of the in-flight system, then transmits the audio to the earphones, bringing wireless, high-quality audio to every flight.

The new Pi7 S2 also boasts high-resolution sound, 24-bit audio with support for the aptX Adaptive standard. There’s also active noise-cancelling, Bluetooth 5.0, wireless and USB-C charging via the case, and up to 21 hours of battery life.

Read more: Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 review

Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 wireless earphones: £349, Bowerswilkins.com

(Bowers & Wilkins)

• Battery life (earphones): Five hours
• Battery life (charge case): 15 hours
• Wireless charging: Yes
• USB-C charging: Yes
• Audio: True 24-bit with aptX Adaptive
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Water-resistance: IP54 (earbuds only)

The Pi7 S2 are the new flagship wireless earbuds from Bowers & Wilkins. They are available in satin black, canvas white and midnight blue. The earphones have five hours of battery life on their own, plus an additional 15 hours when popped into the charge case. B&W says the earbuds gain two hours of battery life when plugged into the charge case for 15 minutes.

Weighing 7g, the earphones each have three microphones for handling phone calls, along with active noise cancelling. The earphones have IP54 water-resistance, so should be safe to use in the rain or while exercising.

Sound is generated by a 9.2mm ‘dynamic drive’ two-way speaker in each earphone, and they connect to each other using a high-quality, 24-bit audio connection.

As mentioned above, the big feature here is how the charge case acts as a wireless retransmission device. Plug it into another audio source, such as the headphone socket of a plane, and the audio will be streamed wirelessly to the earphones. Bowers & Wilkins says this is an industry-first when it comes to earphone charge cases.

Buy now

Bowers & Wilkins Pi5 S2 wireless earphones: £249, Bowerswilkins.com

(Bowers & Wilkins)

• Battery life (earphones): Five hours
• Battery life (charge case): 15 hours
• Wireless charging: Yes
• USB-C charging: Yes
• Audio: True wireless with aptX
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Water-resistance: IP54 (earbuds only)

Announced at the same time as the flagship Pi7 S2, the Pi5 S2 sit just below in the Bowers & Wilkins hierarchy. These wireless earphones are available in storm grey, cloud grey and spring lilac. They also benefit from aptX audio (albeit not 24-bit) and active noise-cancelling, plus the same 9.2mm dynamic drive units as their bigger sibling.

Read more: Bowers & Wilkins Px8 review

Battery life is the same too, with a claimed five hours for the earbuds themselves, plus 15 hours from the charge case. The earbuds have IP54 water-resistance and the charge case can be topped up wirelessly or with the included USB-C cable.

The only real difference here is that the Pi5 S2’s charge case does not have the same wireless transmission technology as the Pi7 S2. At £249, they cost the same as Apple’s latest AirPods Pro (£249, Apple.com).

Buy now

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