The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro is the company’s latest flagship wireless earbuds launched alongside the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4. The earbuds now support Hi-Fi 24-bit audio, which offers a high-dynamic range helping you feel connected to the content you’re listening to with crystal-clear resolution. I’ve been using the earbuds for a couple of weeks, and here’s the full review.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Specs
- IPX7 water-resistant
- Dimensions & Weight
- Earbud: 19.9 x 21.6 x 18.7mm, 5.5g
- Charging case: 50.1 x 50.2 x 27.7mm, 43.4g
- Custom Coaxial 2-way (Tweeter + Woofer) Speaker
- 24bit Hi-Fi
- 360 Audio with Direct Multi-Channel
- ANC + High SNR Microphone (2 outers + 1 inner)
- Ambient Sound
- Voice Detect
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Codec: Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi (Samsung Proprietary), AAC, SBC
- Sensor: Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Voice Pickup Unit (VPU)
- Battery
- Earbud: 61mAh
- Charging case: 515mAh
- Compatibility: Android 8.0 or higher with more than 1.5GB of RAM
- Colors: Graphite, White, Bora Purple
Design
The charging case of the Galaxy Buds2 Pro looks pretty similar to the Buds2 and Buds Pro, I guess Samsung has decided to stick with this design for all of the upcoming earbuds. The case finishing is quite different though, not in a good way as it’s unpolished, but it feels perfect to touch and I love it!
Opening up the case, it seems like the same as the Galaxy Buds2. There’s an LED indicator between the earbuds to show the buds’ battery level.
The earbuds look slightly different from the non-Pro model, but it has the same matte finish as the charging case. Each earbud has a new sub-mic at the tip of the egg shape. The earbuds also have a sensor for wear detection so that it will automatically play/pause when you wear them or take them off. When you take off one of the earbuds, the noise cancellation mode will turn off since there is no point to have noise cancellation with one earbud on. You can switch it on through the app though.
Compared to the Galaxy Buds2, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is slightly heavier, weighing 5.5g for each earbud (still lighter than its predecessor). It still feels like I’m not wearing the earbuds, you will appreciate it if you are that kind of person wearing earbuds all day. The earbuds also come with IPX7 water-resistant so that you can wear them for workouts.
User Experience
The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro comes with the Galaxy Wearable app for Android, which allows you to check the exact battery level of the buds and case, as well as customize the settings such as the audio mode and more. If you are a Windows laptop user, there’s also the Galaxy Buds app that you can download from Microsoft Store. Do note that the PC version doesn’t support 360 audio and the Labs section.
Each earbud still comes with a touchpad, which functions as below:
- Single tap: Play/Pause
- Double-tap: Next track/Accept or end calls
- Triple-tap: Previous track
- Tap and hold: User-set function
In the Labs section, there are two experimental features, one lets you double-tap the edge of the left earbud to turn the volume down, or the edge of the right earbud to turn the volume up. Another one is Gaming Mode, which lowers the latency for a better gaming experience.
It still has the seamless earbud connection feature so you can switch quickly to nearby devices without disconnecting the earbuds or turning on the pairing mode. This feature works with any nearby device that’s signed in to your Samsung account.
Since this is the Pro model, the earbuds come with the Voice Detect feature, which will detect your voice and automatically turn on Ambient sound and lower media volume so that you can have a conversation with someone without needing to take off the earbuds. The app allows you to choose between 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and 15 seconds to back to normal mode when your voice isn’t detected. I find that this feature is quite useful and it works perfectly most of the time.
Audio Quality
The Galaxy Buds2 Pro still comes with the ANC feature, but it seems that Samsung no longer allows you to set the noise canceling level to either High or Low like its predecessor. It works pretty well, better than most ANC earbuds I’ve reviewed so far. When switching to the Ambient Sound mode, I can clearly hear the surroundings while playing music.
Each earbud comes with 2-way speakers (sound by AKG), a tweeter for high frequency + a woofer for low frequency. The main selling point of the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is it supports Hi-Fi 24-bit audio thanks to Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi, though it only works with Samsung Galaxy devices running One UI 4.0 or higher. The overall audio quality is just a lot better and richer than before with good enough bass and excellent highs. The vocals are clear, which definitely suits me since I enjoy listening to pop songs.
It has the 360 Audio feature that works like Apple’s spatial audio or Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. With Dolby Head Tracking technology, the intelligent motion-tracking sensor pinpoints the direction of the sound as you move your head, enabling a powerful sense of realism in your listening experience.
Battery Life
In terms of battery life, I only charge the case with earbuds in it once a week. I was able to get around 8 hours of battery life with ANC off and 5 hours with ANC on, putting the earbuds back into the case will provide additional 10-20 hours of battery life.
Just like its predecessor, you can charge the earbud case using the USB-C cable or wirelessly. You can even use the Wireless PowerShare feature to charge it with your Samsung phone.
Final Words
Retailing at RM899, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro is available in three colors — Graphite, White, and Bora Purple. Let’s talk about the price, which is quite hefty but you can always find it somewhere selling at a lower price. Nevertheless, I must say this is the best pair of earbuds that Samsung has ever launched. If you happen to be using a Samsung phone, this is actually a good option, if you can afford to pay more over the Galaxy Buds2.
Buy Here
Yay
- Great ANC
- Hi-Fi 24-bit audio
- Impressive battery life
Nay
- The charging case looks unpolished
- Certain features only available on Samsung devices
- App lacks of custom EQ
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