Google Pixel Buds 2 has a secret weapon to fight Apple AirPods. Yes, because any tech company worth its stock price can develop its own elegant fully wireless headphones, Google has found a new way to attack Apple by outsmarting the AirPods Pro's Transparency mode.

And it sounds pretty cool. For example, when you go out for a walk. According to Google, "Adaptive Sound dynamically and subtly adjusts volume as you move between quiet and noisy environments. In other words, you don't have to keep tapping the volume or settings to hear the noise around you; the headphones adjust to hear the sound you need.

A great example I can think of is when I get to the checkout counter at the grocery store. As I start talking to the clerk and the ambient noise gets louder, the Pixel Buds' adaptive sound turns my music down accordingly.

Adaptive Sound is supposed to activate not only when it detects sound, but also when it detects "persistent noise," skipping "one-off background noises" like the clattering of keys in a door lock or mere mumbling. My AirPods Pro, on the other hand, has a "transparent" mode, which takes in all the ambient sound and even amplifies it a bit. [If Adaptive Sound works as advertised, it would be a great feature for the $179 Google Buds 2, priced a bit higher than the simpler $159 AirPods and $249 AirPods Pro, which boast active noise cancellation (ANC). Low.

My biggest concern about adaptive sound is what about when you are listening to a podcast? What about when listening to podcasts; according to Google, adjusting the volume "temporarily disables adaptive sound to respect settings."

You don't need an ultra-modern Android phone to enjoy this Pixel Buds 2 feature. Adaptive Sound is supported on devices running Android 6 (Marshmallow) or later, first introduced in 2015.