Bowers & Wilkins’ latest headphones have better connectivity, longer battery life and new colours.

The original Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 and Pi5 noise canceling headphones launched in April 2021 and were the classic British audio brand’s first foray into the world of true wireless headphones. The company has announced significant improvements to the two pairs of true wireless earbuds. Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2 replace the first generation versions.

The new Pi7 S2 headphones have the same high-resolution sound as their predecessors. Now they’ve been updated with improved connectivity and longer battery life, and there are three new premium finishes available. The Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2 also feature improved wireless connectivity thanks to a redesigned antenna design that increases Bluetooth range up to 25m, ensuring high-quality and stable wireless reception.

Both new models have improved battery life with up to five hours of listening time before they need to be placed back in the charging case for a recharge. Both models continue to offer a quick charge feature that can provide two hours of listening time from a 15-minute burst charge. Each charging case also provides additional battery life, with an additional 16 hours for the Pi7 S2 and 19 hours for the Pi5 S2.

Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2 are also available in several new finishes. Pi7 S2 can be ordered in Satin Black, Canvas White, and Midnight Blue. Meanwhile, the Pi5 S2 is available in the original Cloud Gray and Storm Gray colors, plus vibrant new Spring Lilac and Sage Green colors.

Both new headphones are fully integrated with the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, providing a seamless user experience for settings, noise canceling modes, and wear sensor adjustment. The Music app also supports the ability to stream hi-res directly from a mobile device to the headphones with premium music streaming services like TIDAL, Qobuz, or Deezer.

Like its predecessor, the Pi7 S2 headphones continue to offer wireless audio streaming. This innovative feature allows users to connect to an external audio source, such as an in-flight entertainment system, and then wirelessly stream audio from that source to the headphones using the smart charging case.

Both pairs of earbuds are controlled by one-button capacitive touch controls on each earbud that can be used for multiple tasks. Depending on the connected device, there is also support for voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant. The Bowers & Wilkins Music app also offers a variety of settings for fine-tuning the sound of your headphones.

As Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship true wireless headphones, the Pi7 S2 offers support for Qualcomm’s apt-X Adaptive codec for streaming high-resolution music from streaming services and compatible smartphones, at up to 24-bit/48kHz quality. between each earphone. These technologies make the Pi7 S2 one of the few truly wireless headphones that supports Hi-Res Audio from the music source to the listener’s ears.

To produce audiophile-quality sound, the Pi7 S2s are also equipped with 9.2mm Bowers & Wilkins driver units in each ear cup and a high-frequency balanced armature driver. Each of the four headphone drivers has its own amplifier to improve sound quality. The Pi7 S2 also offers an Adaptive Noise Cancellation feature that automatically monitors, analyzes, and adapts noise cancellation to suit the situation. The ANC system has six microphones, three on each earcup, for clearer phone calls.

The new Pi5 S2 earbuds also use TWS technology for high-quality earbud-to-earbud sync and a single 9.2mm drive unit in each earbud. The Pi5 S2 can support CD-quality playback using Qualcomm’s apt-X audio codec when used with an aptX-enabled mobile device. The Pi5 S2 also offers seamless access to user-selectable noise cancellation and an Ambient Transfer mode for hearing announcements of travel or surrounding hazards. There are two built-in microphones for making phone calls.

Prices and availability: The Pi7 S2 and Pi5 S2 headphones are available at bowerswilkins.com and select retailers starting January 25. The Pi7 S2 headphones are available in Satin Black, Canvas White and Midnight Blue and cost $399 / £349 / €399. Meanwhile, the Pi5 S2 is available in Cloud Grey, Storm Grey, Spring Lilac and Sage Green* (*available Spring ’23) and costs $299 / £249 / €299.

More information: bowerswilkins.com