Bowers & Wilkins Pi8

Bowers & Wilkins' new flagship wireless earbuds hit the spot

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It’s not often a manufacturer goes back to the drawing board for a renewed product, but this is pretty much what Bowers & Wilkins has done for its flagship Pi8 wireless earbuds.

The company’s previous flagship, the Pi7, struggled to impress, and even a second-generation version failed to win over our test team. “Premium earbuds with not-so premium performance,” we said in our review.

For the Pi8, though, B&W has fired up its equivalent of the Bat-signal and called on the expertise of the in-house engineering team responsible for its Px7 S2 and Px8 over-ear wireless headphones. Both pairs we rated at five stars, so we have huge hopes for the new earbuds.

Pretty much everything about the Pi8 is brand new. The shape, the internals, the drivers; Bowers & Wilkins seems to have left no stone unturned in its pursuit of performance befitting that hefty price tag.

Out of the packaging, we really like what we see and touch. The Pi8 use premium plastics throughout and it's surprising just how nice they feel in-hand; they have a smooth, matte-plastic surface which is easy to grip. Even the wireless charging case feels nice. It looks stylish, with a colour-contrasting band wrapping around the middle, adorned with the Bowers & Wilkins logo. B&W admits some elements of its previous models, including the Pi7 S2, weren't quite up to scratch. For example, the mic and sensors on the old model weren't in an ideal position and could get blocked. This has been changed for the Pi8.

A slot runs around the outside of each earpiece, under which microphones and sensors have deliberately been positioned so they are free from potential obstructions. The Pi8 are IP54 rated and so are protected from limited dust and water spray - in theory you should be good to use them in the gym and for other forms of exercise.