Technologies

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 Are Now Just $179, Their Lowest Price of 2026

With a $50 discount, these wireless earbuds are a bargain you won’t want to miss.

Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a great pair of wireless ANC earbuds, and right now they’re available for just $179 at Amazon. That’s a $50 discount and the retailer’s lowest price of 2026, and you can choose from four different colors when ordering. Act fast, though, because this limited-time deal is unlikely to hang around for long.

The Pixel Buds Pro 2 are among the best wireless earbuds available right now, and are our top pick for Android users. That makes this price all the more impressive, and that’s before we get into the list of premium features on offer.

These updated earbuds provide noticeably improved sound quality and noise cancellation compared to their predecessor. They’re built with Google’s powerful Tensor A1 chip and designed to offer rich, immersive sound. It’s the first time a Google Tensor chip has been featured in any earbuds and the result is robust active noise cancellation and advanced sound.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds deliver deep bass with their built-in 11 mm drivers and a new high-frequency chamber for smoother treble. CNET’s audio expert David Carnoy noted that compared to the original Pixel Buds Pro, «there’s more depth and richness to the sound with better overall definition and extension.» Read his full review of the Pixel Buds Pro 2 to get the full lowdown.

These buds also got a design upgrade, with Google making them 27% smaller and 24% lighter to securely fit even more ear types. If you want to wear them during workouts, there’s a twist-to-adjust stabilizer to help lock your earbuds in place while you’re moving around and sweating.

There’s also a conversation detection feature that pauses your music and switches your earbuds to the transparency mode if you start talking. And with an impressive 30-hour battery life, you can listen to all your favorite songs, audiobooks and podcasts for hours on end without having to recharge.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

At $179, these earbuds are a great buy thanks to advanced active noise cancellation, impressive sound quality and a lengthy battery life. The current deal makes the Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds cheaper than we’ve seen them all year. But the deal won’t be around for long, so act fast if you want to take advantage of this discount.

Technologies

A Hacker Threat Is Hiding in Your Car’s Tire Pressure System

A new study reveals that a car’s tire pressure monitoring system can be easily accessed by hackers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Feb. 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 27.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Was today’s Mini Crossword too short for you? The New York Times now has a Midi Crossword, which is not as big as the original NYT Crossword, but longer than the Mini. Read on for the answers to today’s Mini Crossword. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Lacking locks
Answer: BALD

5A clue: One of the Great Lakes
Answer: ERIE

6A clue: Movie with the fake newspaper headline «Wonder Elephant Soars to Fame!»
Answer: DUMBO

8A clue: Live tweeter?
Answer: BIRD

9A clue: The slightest bit
Answer: ATAD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Hard thing to leave on a cold day
Answer: BED

2D clue: Caribbean island northwest of Curaçao
Answer: ARUBA

3D clue: The sky, in a saying
Answer: LIMIT

4D clue: Actress Messing
Answer: DEBRA

7D clue: Like this clue number
Answer: ODD

Technologies

Smartphone Sales to Plummet 13% in 2026 Due to RAM Crisis, Says IDC

AI-fueled memory scarcity is hitting the phone market hard this year, particularly for inexpensive, low-end devices.

The projected shortage of memory chips worldwide will have a more serious impact on smartphone sales in 2026 than previously projected, according to new data from International Data Corporation Worldwide. Whereas the company just in November had estimated a drop of between 0.9% and 5.2% (the latter being its «pessimistic scenario»), now it sees a 12.9% decline this year, based on its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

«What we are witnessing is not a temporary squeeze, but a tsunami-like shock originating in the memory supply chain, with ripple effects spreading across the entire consumer electronics industry,» Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for Worldwide Client Devices at IDC, said in a statement.

The hardest-hit companies are expected to be those selling to the lower end of the market, which can’t absorb the higher component costs while maintaining profitable margins. As a result, Jeronimo says, many of those players will pass the added costs on to consumers.

That also includes regional markets like the Middle East and Africa that sell mostly inexpensive smartphones, which could see a steep 20.6% drop year-over-year.

By contrast, IDC expects Apple and Samsung to be better able to withstand the crisis. «As smaller and low-end-positioned Android vendors struggle with rising costs, Apple and Samsung could not only weather the storm but potentially expand market share as the competitive landscape tightens,» said Jeronimo.

Memory has become scarce due to the insatiable demand to feed generative AI. Essentially all of the memory set to be manufactured this year is already earmarked. What started as a demand for graphics processors has expanded to other components. For example, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital announced in early February that it had already sold out of its supply for 2026.

«We expect consolidation as smaller players exit, and low-end vendors face sharp shipment declines amid supply constraints and lower demand at higher price points,» said Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, projecting a 14% rise in the average selling price of smartphones to $523.

Popal expects memory prices to stabilize by the middle of 2027, but doesn’t see them coming down to earlier levels. The sub-$100 segment, made up of approximately 171 million devices, will be «permanently uneconomical,» she said. «In short, there is no return to business as usual for vendors and consumers.»