The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless are high-end in-ears that are jam-packed with extra features. They support a variety of codecs including aptX HD and aptX-LL, and have a premium, well-built design. Unlike most other truly wireless headphones on the market, their carrying case can also be used as a wireless transmitter. However, while this feature can be used to connect the headphones to devices such as a gaming console, they lack mic support and have high non-Bluetooth wireless latency. Unfortunately, their 2.4-hour continuous battery life is also quite disappointing, even though their carrying case holds roughly four additional charges, and their companion app is fairly limited in additional features.
Our Verdict
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are passable for neutral sound. While vocals and lead instruments are present and detailed, their sound profile is still very bass-heavy, which adds extra thump, rumble, and boom to your mixes. Some users may find this to sound muddy. Their passive soundstage also seems closed-off and as if coming from inside your head, rather than from speakers placed around the room around you, which is to be expected from their in-ear design.
- Very well-built.
- Supports many codecs including aptX HD.
- 2.4-hour battery life.
- Bad passive soundstage.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are good for commute and travel. They have a lightweight, portable design and are able to block out a decent amount of background noise like the low rumble of bus or plane engines. They're also well-built and don't trap in heat around your ears. Unfortunately, their 2.4-hour battery life probably won't last through long trips on the road without pausing to recharge them up again.
- Great active noise isolation performance.
- Very well-built.
- 2.4-hour battery life.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are very good for sports and fitness. These headphones have a stable fit and don't trap in heat around your ears. They're also well-built and are rated IP54 for dust and water resistance. We don't currently test for this though. That said, while the headphones are fairly comfortable, they're bulky and stick out of your ear, so they could snag on something like your clothes, pulling them out of your ears.
- Very well-built.
- IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.
- 2.4-hour battery life.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are fair for office use. They have a fairly comfortable fit and don't leak much audio at high volumes. Their ANC is also able to block out ambient noise like office chatter around you. On the downside, their continuous battery life is very short, and you may need to recharge them a couple of times throughout your shift. They also lack multi-device pairing, which is disappointing if you want to stay connected to your smartphone and computer at the same time.
- Great active noise isolation performance.
- Very well-built.
- 2.4-hour battery life.
- No multi-device pairing.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are passable for wireless gaming. While you can use them wirelessly on Bluetooth-enabled PCs, their latency is likely too high to be suitable for wireless gaming. That said, you can use them via non-Bluetooth wireless by connecting the wireless transmitter case to your PlayStation console or PC using their USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to 3.5mm cable. If you have an Xbox console, you can only use the USB-C to 3.5mm cable. However, the latency via either connection is quite high across all consoles, and your audio and visuals may be out of sync. They also have a very short continuous battery life.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 can't be used wired and aren't suitable for wired gaming.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are alright for phone calls. Their integrated mic has an alright recording quality, so your voice sounds clear, although thin and lacking in depth. However, the mic has a bit of trouble separating speech from ambient noise, and your voice may be drowned out in noisy environments like a busy street. On the upside, their ANC is able to block out a great amount of ambient noise around you.
- Great active noise isolation performance.
- Very well-built.
- Fair recording quality.
- 2.4-hour battery life.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Your voice may be lost in noisy environments.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 19, 2023: Compared their controls with the Denon PerL Pro True Wireless'.
- Updated May 18, 2023: Added a comparison to the Sony WF-C700N Truly Wireless in the Battery box.
- Updated Feb 28, 2023: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 True Wireless in Compared To Other Headphones.
- Updated Jan 31, 2023: We've clarified the text in Bluetooth to distinguish aptX-LL (PC) vs iOS and Android latency.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 come in two color variants: 'White' and 'Charcoal'. We tested the charcoal variant and you can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the discussion section below and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 are premium in-ears with a hybrid balanced armature and dynamic transducer to help their audio reproduction. They have a great active noise cancelling system, support lots of codecs including aptX HD and aptX-LL, and their charging case can be used as a wireless transmitter. However, they have high latency via most codecs and connections, which isn't ideal if you like to stream video. They also have a very short battery life of 2.4 hours, which is shorter than their successor, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 True Wireless, and won't last through long listening sessions.
Check out our recommendations for the best true wireless earbuds, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and the best noise cancelling earbuds and in-ear headphones.
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless are better in-ears than the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless. The Bose are more comfortable, have a more neutral sound profile that some users may prefer, and have a slightly better noise isolation performance. They also have better battery performance. However, the Bowers & Wilkins have a carrying case you can use as a wireless transmitter.
The Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 True Wireless are the next generation of the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless. Both buds have a premium design, bass-heavy sound profiles, and great noise isolation performances. Just like their predecessor, the S2's carrying case also acts as a wireless transmitter, so you can connect them to devices that otherwise don't support Bluetooth. That said, the S2 have an improved battery performance and now support aptX Adaptive, which allows you to stream high-quality audio or keep lower latency, depending on your content. However, the first gen support aptX-LL, which is designed primarily to lower latency for streaming video.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are better in-ears than the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless. The Samsung are more comfortable, have a more neutral default sound profile, and their continuous battery life is longer. Their companion app also offers EQ presets. The Bowers & Wilkins are better built, and their ANC does a better job of blocking out background sound.
The Apple AirPods Pro are better in-ears than the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 True Wireless. The Apple are more comfortable and have a more neutral default sound profile, which some users may prefer, and they're able to isolate you from more ambient noise. They also have a better battery performance, and their H1 chip allows you to seamlessly pair them with your Apple devices. However, the Bowers & Wilkins have a carrying case that you can use as a wireless transmitter. They also support more codecs such as aptX HD and aptX-LL.
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