The Pixel Buds Pro 2 Earbuds takes the performance lead with a 0% higher overall score, driven by its more shader cores, more of memory, and higher TFLOPS of compute power. In gaming benchmarks at 1440p, it delivers roughly 0% more frames per second across demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2.

However, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 Earbuds tells a compelling value story. At $230 versus the WF-1000XM5 Earbuds's $230 price tag, it costs $0 less while delivering performance that's only 0% behind. Its of memory is still more than enough for 1440p and even 4K gaming in most titles.

Our recommendation: for the majority of gamers targeting 1440p or even 4K with upscaling enabled, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 Earbuds is the smarter purchase. The WF-1000XM5 Earbuds only makes sense if you need the absolute maximum performance for native 4K ray tracing, professional 3D rendering, or AI workloads where the extra VRAM and compute power provide a tangible advantage.