In this article, we will discuss the new Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 and Pi6 true wireless in-ear headphones and compare them to their predecessors and competition to see if they are the right fit for you.

Company & Product Overview

Bowers & Wilkins, the renowned high-end speaker manufacturer from England, has just launched new noise-canceling True Wireless earbuds, the Pi6 and Pi8. These headphones are direct updates from their extremely popular Pi5 and Pi7 models, which we reviewed when they came out back in 2021. Back then, they quickly rose to the top of our list as some of our favorite headphones in the in-ear category, so we were excited to get an early look at the new Pi6 and Pi8 models and see if they are a worthy upgrade.

Since the launch of the Pi7 and Pi5 models in 2021, a lot has changed in the fast-evolving wireless in-ear headphones category. Brands are making charging cases smaller, implementing the latest Bluetooth, updating the drivers, creating new supporting software, improving the noise-canceling features, and most importantly, making the overall sound quality much, much better. While over-the-ear headphones will typically still have a leg up in sound quality, there is no denying that you can now truly get lost in your music with a good pair of in-ear noise-canceling headphones like you haven’t been able to do in the past. Plus, nothing beats the convenience of zero wires and their small form factor.

Design & Build Quality

In the box, Bowers & Wilkins includes their quick start guide, additional ear tips in sizes extra small, small, and large, USB-C to 3.5mm cable, USB-C to USB-C cable, and the earbuds themselves inside the charging case with the medium-sized ear tips already attached.

The immediate update we noticed was the new shape of the charging case. It is a bit wider and slimmer than the previous version and has a nice matte texture. B&W has also eliminated the pairing buttons and allows you to simply hold the top of the earbuds while they’re in the case to put them into pairing mode. A small LED under the Bowers & Wilkins logo on the front indicates whether it’s pairing, connected, or low on battery. A USB-C port to charge them is on the bottom of the case, and a small reset button is accessible only with a pin. This updated case gives them a sleeker and more elegant look that is also extremely functional. Even when we did a quick shake test to simulate if the case would open up and have the earbuds fall out in your bag, the lid stayed shut, and the magnets inside the case kept the earbuds locked into position.

However, one of the most welcomed features of the new case on the Pi8 model, as with the Pi7 S2, is its wireless charging ability. It seems that wireless charging has taken a few years to really take off, but now that most of us have wireless charging pads around our houses, it makes it extremely convenient to place the Pi8s down on any charging pad and not worry about plugging them in to charge. The Pi8 also offers a really unique feature that was introduced in the Pi7 a few years ago, which makes longer journeys easier to cope with. The Smart charging case that comes with the Pi8 will also connect to an external audio source – such as an in-flight entertainment system, PC, tablet, or smartphone using a 3.5mm or USB cable to wirelessly retransmit audio from that source to the earbuds — all now available in outstanding hi-res aptX AdaptiveTM sound quality. This one extra feature is really cool, making these the only headphones you need for daily use, flights, and even desktop listening.

The earbuds themselves also have a more cohesive design to them than their predecessors. The Bowers & Wilkins logo is incorporated on the outside, and the earbud itself feels and looks premium. By inserting the ear tips into your ears and slightly twisting them in, they lock into your ear with a very comfortable fit for all-day listening. In our review of the Pi5 and Pi7 earbuds, we noted that they were best for working at your desk or light exercise, as they didn’t always stay in our ears. However, we can confidently say that with the right ear tips, the updated design greatly improved their ability to stay in your ears even during the most rigorous of workouts. The new design on these earbuds features a slightly raised lip on them, which the Pi5 and Pi7 did not have. This small lip is a rubber material that helps hold them in place in your ear and keep them from getting too warm in your ears, so they are comfortable for all-day listening and will stay in more people's ears much more easily. Plus, both models are IP54 rated, so they can handle some dust and water, should you decide to take them on a hike or sweat while using them.

It’s nice to see Bowers & Wilkins taking what they learned from their previous models and updating certain aspects, like the new shape and design of these earbuds. But they didn’t stop there. In addition to customer feedback, in typically Bowers & Wilkins fashion, they went above and beyond to make a product that was aimed to suit everyone by carrying out an anthropometric study that lasted multiple months. Their main goal was to evaluate and better understand the human ear across different genders, ethnicities, ages, and more. Since the shape of your ear is so important for comfort and acoustics, especially for earbuds going inside the ear canal, their findings allowed them to design earbuds that fit comfortably with a good seal for the best acoustics for a wider range of people throughout the world. To us, that is quite impressive to see a company go that far to make their product better than stand out among the competition.

In addition, the color options for both models are absolutely gorgeous. The Pi6s will have finish options of Storm Grey, Cloud Grey, Glacier Blue, or Forest Green. The Pi8s will be available in Anthracite Black, Dove White, Midnight Blue, or Jade Green.

Features & Technology

Bio-Cellulose vs Carbon Cone Drivers

One of the biggest differences between the Pi6 and Pi8 is the drive units inside. They both share a larger 12mm driver compared to the Pi5/Pi7 9.2mm driver. However, the Pi6 uses bio-cellulose drive units, which is a technology adapted from their Px7 S2e over-ear headphones, while the Pi8 has been upgraded to Carbon Cone drive units, which is the technology found in their flagship Px8 headphones.

These drivers both derive from their award-winning over-the-ear headphones, proven to deliver outstanding clarity and detail in your music, but the Carbon Cone technology will undoubtedly allow your music to really shine in the Pi8s. Since carbon is extremely rigid, the diaphragm in them remains stiff throughout all frequencies, which both reduces distortion and allows the Carbon Cone driver to respond to transient attacks in a more pistonic manner as instruments and other nuances hiding in your music reach up into those higher frequencies. So you can expect to have improvements in resolution, especially in the top-end extension when there are a lot of instruments playing all at once.

Bluetooth aptX Adaptive vs aptX Lossless

When it comes to Bluetooth, the Pi6 model handles up to 24-bit / 96kHz wireless connections supported by aptX Adaptive. This not only gives you good-quality sound, but it will dynamically adjust the bit rate to give you seamless and glitch-free audio. Plus, if you plan to watch videos or play games on your phone, there is extremely low latency, so you won’t need to worry about audio sync issues.

Stepping up to the Pi8, you get the latest generation Qualcomm chipset that supports aptX LosslessTM. This is the latest and greatest codec from Qualcomm that can transmit CD-quality (or ‘lossless’) music losslessly without any loss of data. For reference, a CD file is 1,411kbps, and aptX Lossless can transmit data around 1,100kbps-1,200kbps, whereas aptX Adaptive’s maximum bit rate is 420kbps. So, while there is some compression going on, once it gets uncompressed, there won’t be any loss of data, and it is “bit-for-bit” exact.

The difference between these headphones may not even matter in your situation. If you’re an iPhone user, aptX Lossless isn’t supported, so you won’t be able to take advantage of those new features on the Pi8 headphones. However, with the latest generation iPhone 15 (or later), the USB-C audio support is now included, meaning you can connect your iPhone via the Smartcase and enjoy the sound quality benefits of aptX Adaptive. This is just super cool! To see if your Android phone supports aptX Lossless, you can check out Qualcomm’s website for the complete list.

Noise Canceling

One of our favorite tests of headphones is how well their noise-canceling works. To do this, we like to take them out in the real world and visit busy coffee shops, airports, and other spots with lots of background noise. The Pi6 and Pi8 headphones both have the option for no noise-canceling, a pass-thru feature to hear your surroundings (great for running or in an office when you need to hear people talking to you), and an active noise-canceling feature. You can cycle through these with just a tap on the earbud or through their dedicated app.

During our testing, we found the active noise canceling to be extremely effective. Was it the absolute best noise canceling we’ve heard on in-ear headphones? No. But that depends on how you would judge what “good noise-canceling” means to you. If you want to completely block out every single piece of background noise, even if it will affect the sound quality, then these are not for you. Bowers & Wilkins took a different approach and allows these to block out distracting noises without affecting the sound quality so your music is still very natural sounding. Don’t get us wrong, the active noise canceling is still up there with some of the best we’ve heard in terms of isolation, but these don’t give you that extreme isolation, which can sometimes even be fatiguing to listen to music after a while. We think this was a very intelligent and respectable decision by Bowers & Wilkins, seeing that we think many people who buy these will want them for their superior sound quality instead of their noise-canceling features alone.

In addition, we compared the Pi8s and Pi7s back to back, and not only was the noise canceling improved and more natural, but the pass-thru mode was greatly improved. When we initially reviewed the Pi7, we noticed that some sounds would be amplified more than others, especially when they were coming from behind you. The Pi8s solved all of these minor issues by moving the microphones a bit further away from your ear so they have more of a clear path to hear your surroundings and adjust accordingly. They actually added a slight space between the end cap of the earbud and the rest of it with a small area that has a sort of small grille where they have cleverly placed all the microphones and antennas. This gives the new models a more cohesive and realistic transparency mode sound where you can hear sounds that are near you in a comfortable manner. In fact, the noise rejection technology used in these is the same that they developed and use in their flagship Px8 over-ear headphones.

This new placement of microphones also greatly improves call quality. They picked up our voice and were smooth and clear for the user on the other end. This makes them a great choice if you want to utilize them for meetings or phone calls.

Battery Life

If you’re looking for in-ear headphones with superb battery life, look no further. The Pi6 can last a whopping 8 hours, and the Pi8 will last around 6.5 hours, both with ANC on. In our testing, we got closer to around 7 hours and 5 hours of battery life while testing them on phone calls, using ANC, and using varying volume levels. Still, these were some of the longest-lasting in-ear headphone batteries we’ve used and are up there with some of the best like the Denon PerL in-ear headphones. Plus, the charging cases can add 16 hours for the Pi6 and 13.5 hours for the Pi8. We were pleasantly surprised with this battery life due to how powerful and feature-rich these headphones are. In addition, both can utilize quick charging to get around 2 hours of listening with only a 15-minute charge.

Bowers & Wilkins Music App

One feature that makes Bowers & Wilkins headphones so great is their easy-to-use app. Setup is a breeze with the app, and it allows you to use their 5-band equalizer (on Pi8), change your touch controls on the earbuds, turn on/off the wear sensor, and even log into your preferred music service and stream directly from the app. We absolutely love this feature because you have access to all your settings and music services without switching between multiple apps. Plus, you can get software updates, view your battery, and more. It makes the overall experience so much more pleasing when you have an elegant, fast, and easy-to-use app paired with your headphones, and B&W has designed just that.

Performance & Sound Quality

It seems as if Bowers & Wilkins has thought of just about everything when it comes to features and technology that can be packed inside these new in-ear headphones. When it comes to battery life, ergonomics, noise canceling, the wireless charging case, and the rest of the great features, both of these headphones are absolutely in competition with the best true wireless in-ear headphones on the market today. But with so many options, what makes the new Pi6 and Pi8 stand out among the rest? To us, it’s simple. The quality of sound from these new in-ear headphones is simply outstanding. Let us explain how they are able to make them sound so good.

As we mentioned at the start, Bowers & Wilkins is known for having some of the best loudspeakers ever made. In fact, we’ve been carrying their products since 1981, so that is high praise indeed! You’ll even find their well-respected 800 Series loudspeakers at well-known recording and post-production studios, such as Abbey Road and Skywalker Ranch. This is a testament to how much sound engineers love Bowers & Wilkins for their extremely accurate sound reproduction and the low distortion and colorations. We say all this because Bowers & Wilkins certainly knows what they’re doing when it comes to sound reproduction, and some of your favorite albums have probably been mixed and mastered on their speakers.

All of this R&D trickles down through their loudspeaker lineups and into their headphones, and it is the magic behind what makes even a pair of small in-ear headphones sound better than others.

We tested many different genres of music on the Pi8 and Pi6 headphones, and each track delivered every detail with precision and effortlessness to the sound. To us, they have a very natural response that should give you a more accurate representation of what the artist intended you to hear. The low end offered a deep and controlled bass response with tight and well-defined bass notes that added a great foundation to the rest of the music without overwhelming other frequencies. Moving to the midrange, vocals and instruments were clear and detailed, with an intimate and lifelike soundstage for an in-ear headphone. The treble was engaging with articulate highs without any harshness. Intricate cymbal work and delicate harmonics were handled very well and gave the overall listening experience a well-balanced sound. And if you really want to bring the music to life a bit more, we found that bumping up the bass a bit in the app can make a big difference if you’re looking to rock out!

Are These For You?

We’d feel comfortable recommending the Pi6 or Pi8 to anyone looking for an in-ear headphone that wants superb sound quality compared to the competition. If you have the previous versions, we’d even still say that these are worth the sound upgrade if you’re looking to extract the most from your music. But when you have options from brands like Apple, Sony, Denon, Devialet, and so many others, it might be confusing to know which ones will be best for you. Well, the fact that these new headphones from Bowers & Wilkins have almost every single feature that you can think of compared to others on the market, and we would argue they sound better or the same as the best out there, these should be one of your top considerations. Bowers & Wilkins’ rich history in the reproduction of sound and their commitment to research and development can give you confidence that these will be some of the best-sounding in-ear headphones you’ve ever heard.

Overall Recommendations

We honestly had a very tough time thinking of any downfalls to the new Pi6 and Pi8 headphones. The battery life is outstanding, the sound quality is superb, and the design, fit, and finish are up to par for the price they command. If we were being picky, we think it would be nice to be able to control the noise cancellation ourselves instead of relying on the ANC to adapt to each situation. There are times in our testing that it would have been convenient to have the same level of noise cancellation, no matter our setting. In addition, these headphones are not the most affordable option on the market. The Pi6 is a great option for the price, but unless you have a larger budget, which many people tend to save for their over-ear headphones, you’ll be paying top dollar for the Pi8 headphones. But if you value sound quality, it will be well worth it.

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