Bowers & Wilkins has introduced two all-new premium True Wireless earbuds: the Pi6 and Pi8. The global audio company boasts that its latest products were developed by the same design and engineering teams responsible for the brand’s Px7 S2e and Px8 headphones.

Through their all-new industrial design and completely revised mechanical, electronic and acoustic engineering Bowers & Wilkins points out the Pi6 and Pi8 are designed to be more comfortable, fully featured and the best sounding earbuds that it has ever made. Utilizing Qualcomm wireless transmission technology and equipped with state-of-the-art active noise cancellation, both the Pi6 and Pi8 include all the key features and technologies demanded by today’s discerning consumer. For Bowers & Wilkins, the aim is clear it boasts: To deliver the same category-defining success in earbuds that the brand has already achieved in premium over-ear headphones.

“I’m thrilled that the Bowers & Wilkins team has once again been able to raise the bar for premium design, performance and quality in the headphone category,” states , Giles Pocock, Vice-President of brand marketing, Bowers & Wilkins. “Our new Pi6 and Pi8 earbuds are truly special – I’m certain they will be just as successful as our Px7 S2e and Px8 headphones have been.”

Pi6 and Pi8 Earbuds Incorporate the Latest Bluetooth Technologies

Built on the same core platform as its Pi8 sibling, the new Pi6 has been designed to offer high levels of comfort, features and performance at a more affordable price point. Bowers & Wilkins asserts the performance of the new earbuds are comparable with that of the outgoing Pi7 S2, the flagship model in the company’s older range of earbuds.

2024 Lighting Controls and Fixtures Report

Lightapalooza took place in late February, and the growth of the event has mirrored the rapid ascension lighting fixtures and controls.

Download your copy now!

The flagship Pi8 reaches even greater heights of performance than Pi6. Its all-new 12mm drive units feature proprietary Carbon Cone technology, as used in the Px8 over-ear headphones. To ensure the best possible results from this formidable drive unit technology, the Pi8 earbuds add support for both aptX Adaptive at 24-bit/96kHz and aptX Lossless, the current state-of the-art in wireless headphone transmission technology. This platform is supported by a dedicated DSP, DAC and amplification from ADI, ensuring the maximum possible resolution and accuracy.

The newly announced Pi6 and Pi8 earbuds are IP54-rated to allow users to employ the products for activities such as running, weightlifting and other endeavors in which users will be sweaty while wearing the products.

Earbuds House a Tremendous Amount of R&D Payoff in a Small Package

Continuing its explanation of the two new earbuds, Bowers & Wilkins says that every aspect of the design of the new Pi6 and Pi8 has been engineered with purpose. The overall shape of both models was inspired by an extensive Bowers & Wilkins research project into the variation in human ear form across both gender and ethnicity. Bowers & Wilkins’ industrial design team used the results of this study to create an all-new earbud form that delivers comfort and fit plus, along with noise cancellation for the broadest possible range of listeners.

The Pi6 and Pi8 earbuds also benefit from comprehensive improvements to set up and user experience. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing uses upgraded antennae and offers simpler connectivity from audio devices to the earbuds; for example, users can now quickly pair a second device to their Pi6s or Pi8s without having to remove the buds from their ears.

Made for iPhone (MFI) support ensures seamless integration with iOS devices and effortless onboarding into the Bowers & Wilkins Music app – and Google Fast Pair (GFP) support will follow shortly after launch. Once configured, Pi8 owners can also access a user-adjustable Bowers & Wilkins five-band Advanced EQ function to fine-tune the sound of the earbuds to their personal taste. For listeners who prefer the True Sound of Bowers & Wilkins, this can be easily bypassed at the touch of a button. Meanwhile, bass and treble tone-control adjustments are included for Pi6 users.

These improvements to setup and usability are partnered by significant revisions to the user interface. The top of each earbud represents a large capacitive touch surface with more advanced sensors that improve the responsiveness and reliability of touch-based interactions. The new industrial design also repositions all antenna and microphones within the earbud to avoid the possibility of accidental blockage of wireless or audio signals, while a new IR proximity sensor provides more reliable and responsive wear sensing.

Pi8, Pi6 Reintroduce Wireless Audio Retransmission from Analog Sources

In addition, the Smartcase supplied with the flagship Pi8 retains support for both wireless charging and its innovative Wireless Audio Retransmission technology. First introduced to the market in the ground-breaking Pi7, this allows listeners to retransmit audio to their earbuds wirelessly from connected analogue or digital sources, such as in-flight entertainment systems, home computers or even the latest generation of USB-C-enabled iPhones. Pi8’s Smartcase can retransmit in aptX Adaptive at up to 24-bit/96kHz quality, delivering a performance upgrade over the older Pi7 S2.

Both the Pi6 and Pi8 earbuds feature carefully positioned microphones designed to reject unwanted external noises during voice calls. The Pi6 earbuds are built around the same noise-rejection platform used in the outgoing Pi7 S2, while the Pi8 adopts the technology found in the flagship Px8 over-ear headphones. This is teamed with new noise cancellation, including a proprietary ANC algorithm developed by Bowers & Wilkins to deliver the best possible results in Pi8.

Both the Pi6 and Pi8 offer more battery life than the company’s previous version earbuds. The Pi6 can deliver up to eight hours of listening from its earbuds before charging is required; the charging case supports up to 16 hours of further use, giving 24 hours in total. The Pi8 with its upgraded DSP/DAC, offers 6.5 hours of sound quality from the earbuds and a further 13.5 hours from the Smartcase, for 20 hours of total use. As before, all these figures are quoted with ANC on and both models can be rapidly recharged, with just 15 minutes of charge providing enough energy for two more hours of use.

Bowers & Wilkins adds the Pi6 will be offered in storm grey, cloud grey, forest Green and glacier blue, while the Pi8 is offered in a choice of anthracite black, dove white, jade green and midnight blue.

The Pi8 earbuds are available now for a retail price of $399. The Pi6 earbuds will be available in September for a retail prices of $249.

• Page 1