Over the years Samsung has refined its earbuds design. They started with a pill-shaped charging case and earbuds with wing tips. In recent iterations, Samsung has switched to a chiclet-shaped charging case and omitted the wing tips. With each iteration, Samsung has slowly improved on their previous formula. This is my review of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro and my thoughts on whether it is a worthy travel companion.
Design
Starting out with the design, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro’s charming chiclet-shaped charging case feel great in hand. They have a soft rubber tactile feel and rounded curves. This tactile feel is not universal between the different colors. For some reason, Samsung chose to only make the black color have the rubber feel. The white and purple both have a more hard plastic matte texture. Unless you are particular with the color, I would recommend getting the black one.
The earbuds resemble pebbles and do not have the ability to add wing tips. The small size makes them highly comfortable in the ear even after a long-haul flight. The lack of wing trips may be a deal breaker for some, especially if you plan to wear them while being active. Personally, I have worn these while running and exercising without much of a problem.
Sound
Coming from the Samsung Galaxy Buds2, the sound quality of the pros has noticeably improved. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro now supports 24-bit high-fidelity audio and 360-degree audio. The latter, which requires a Samsung phone with One UI 4.0 or above, uses sensors on board to direct the audio based on your heads position. It is a neat trick but ultimately quite gimmicky.
The active noise canceling on the Buds2 Pro do a decent job removing the low hums of a plane’s engine. They aren’t able to compete with Bose or Sony though. I would only give them a solid B rating.
The sound quality is good with a decent degree of separation between the lows, mids, and highs. Pop and R&B songs sound lively and full. Overall they produce good sound quality given their price point.
Features
Pairing the earbuds is simple with a Galaxy phone. A pairing notification will pop up on the phone the minute you open the earbud case. Once you tap “connect” and install the wearable app, you are good to go.
Touch controls on the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro are extensive. You have the ability to tap (once, twice, three times), hold, and tap on the side for different functionality. A single tap of either earbud will play or pause. A double tap will allow you to skip forward and a triple tap will rewind. Touch and hold can be customized to your liking (I had it set to toggle ANC). If you go into the lab’s section of the wearable app you can even enable tapping on the edge of the earbud to control volume.
One of the more unique features on the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is a reminder to stretch your neck. Using the sensors inside of the Buds2 Pro, it will notify you if you are looking down for a long period of time. As someone who is constantly on their phone, this was a helpful feature to prevent my neck from cramping. I appreciated this quality of life feature.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro is IPX7 water resistant (which means they are tested for staying under 3 feet of water for 30 minutes). I still would not recommend swimming with them in a hotel pool or exposing them to salt water on a beach. It is good to know that rain or dropping them in the sink won’t force you to buy a new pair.
The battery on the Buds2 Pro lasts about 5 hours with ANC enabled and 8 hours with ANC disabled (Music Playback). The charging case should get you an additional 20/30 hours. This is competitive with other earbuds on the market but not industry-leading.
To charge the earbuds, you can either use wired or wireless charging. Wired charging is via a USB-C port on the charging case. The wireless charging coils are located on the bottom of the case so you can plot them on most wireless chargers.
The wearable app is easy to use with a ton of customization features. The biggest gripe I have with the Samsung wearable app is needing to enable permissions even if you don’t plan to use a particular feature.
Updates to the earbuds come via the Samsung wearable app through over-the-air updates. Samsung does a good job keep them up to date and fixing bugs.
On a Samsung phone, you’ll see the battery life of each bud from the setting menu. If you want to be fancy, you can even have Bixby routines change the earbud settings based on things like time, location, and physical activity.
Bixby voice assistant is available by default. You can use the earbuds with Google or Alexa voice assistants but they require some additional steps.
Overall Impression
ANC earbuds are pretty competitive at this price point. For a similar MSRP, you have the Sony WF-1000XM4s, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, Pixel Buds Pro, and Apple AirPods Pro. Active Noise Cancellation is definitely an area where the Galaxy Buds2 Pro falls short. But, the unique set of features and integration with Samsung phones do make up for it.
At $230, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro is a good set of ANC earbuds. They are especially suited for people heavily invested in the Samsung ecosystem. My recommendation would be to wait for a good sale. You can sometimes get them for close to $100 which is a complete steal.
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