Samsung was promoting wired headphones for a long time while Apple moved to wireless earbuds early. They include a 3.5mm headphone jack to their Galaxy smartphones while Apple removes it. Finally, Samsung understood the market trend and introduced their first Galaxy Buds in 2019. After four years, in 2023, Samsung introduced their new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. It is truly a pro earbud. There are so many features to talk about, from build quality to sound quality. In this article, we are going to review the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
Build and Design
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro has a more elegant design than the previous Galaxy Buds Pro. The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a matte finish that gives a premium vibe. The charging case has a very good build quality that supports this premium vibe. Earbuds are smaller than the previous version and they fit the ear well. The small lightweight design makes it more comfortable to wear the Buds for a long period.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro comes with three ear tips. You can run the Earbuds fit test on the Galaxy Wearable app and choose the best fit for you. The new Galaxy Buds Pro 2 come in three colours: graphite, white and Bora Purple. Bora Purple is the signature colour that is exclusively available for Galaxy Buds Pro 2.
When you open the charging case, you’ll notice that there is a wording of “Sound by AKG” inside the case. It is a sign that Samsung has collaborated with one of the industrial expert companies “AKG” to tune the sound and give you a better experience. The Charging case is smaller than the AirPods Pro and it is more pocketable. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro has IPX7 water resistance, making it ideal for use in bad weather conditions and the most intense workouts.
Sound and Features
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro has an impressive sound. It has many features to improve the sound quality and make these earbuds more unique. Let’s talk about these features.
Hi-Fi Sound Quality
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro supports end-to-end 24-bit high-resolution sound quality. This means the earbuds can stream 24-bit audio files from supported music streaming services like Tidal and Amazon Music. Samsung Seamless Codec (SSC) HiFi is the codec technology that is used in the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. The 24-bit playback only works with Galaxy devices running One UI 4.0 or higher. If you are using another Android device or an iOS device, the audio will get downsampled to 16-bit. By the way, This is a very good feature for music lovers because most of the in-ear headphones still do not have Hi-Fi support.
360 Audio
Another noticeable feature of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is enhanced 360 audio. It also features direct multi-channel support and dynamic head tracking. Finally, Samsung users can experience 360 audio experience while iPhone users can experience Spatial Audio from AirPods Pro. This enhanced 360 audio brings you an immersive listening experience from Atmos surround soundtracks. There are plenty of songs in TIdal that support 360 audio. You can listen to those songs or watch movies that have Dolby Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 surround sounds and get this immersive experience.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have an improved Active Noise Cancellation technology. Thanks to the three high SNR mics, Buds 2 Pro can filter out more background noises than the previous version. This helps to cancel more outside noises and gives you a better ANC experience. The new Conversation Mode can detect when you are speaking and automatically lower the volume of music.
Touch Controls
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s earbuds are touch-sensitive. You can control music, on or off ANC mode, active Bixby or you can answer or decline phone calls using touch commands. It is possible to turn off these touch commands or customise them using the Galaxy Wearable app. But the Buds 2 Pro does not pause the music when you take off an earbud like most of the earbuds. Some users may not be satisfied with this because auto pause is a very useful feature for users especially in busy situations.
Battery Life and Charging
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can last up to five hours on a single charge with ANC on and a total of 18 hours with the charging case. This is a smaller number compared to the competitors. Samsung users may expect a longer battery life than this because Samsung phones have a decent battery life than most other smartphones. Galaxy Buds 2 supports fast charging and wireless charging. A five-minute charge gives you one hour of listening time.
Conclusion
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro costs US $229. This is a cheaper price point compared to the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation. It is completely worth it for this price because there are so many unique features in Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Some of them are Hi-Fi audio playback and 360 audio. If you have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, this is the best choice for you. You can also pair Galaxy Buds seamlessly with Samsung TVs. By looking at all of these features, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is one of the best earbuds in the market.
