Samsung has a lot of expertise in developing true wireless earbuds at the moment. Samsung's new Galaxy Buds2 Pro have been designed with the audiophile in mind, boasting not only improved sound quality but also a more compact and aerodynamic build. Here are our first impressions of Samsung's newly released in-ear earbuds, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, which made their debut in August 2022.
The introduction of true ANC with the Galaxy Buds Pro at the beginning of last year marked the company's first foray into the market, but as technology advances, there is still room for improvement in terms of noise cancellation and overall sound quality. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro are an updated version of the company's earlier flagship earbuds, the Galaxy Buds Pro. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro are not only an improvement over their predecessor in terms of size and comfort, but they also demonstrate Samsung's remarkable growth over the past year and a half.
Design
Samsung has made significant improvements to the design of the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, making them smaller and lighter than their rivals resulted a set of earbuds that are secure, comfortable, and fashionable enough to make you forget you're even wearing them. As a result of Samsung's addition of air vents inside each earbud, pressure is reduced, allowing the earbuds to have a smaller stature, which means they fit more securely in your ear and barely protrude from your ears.
The Galaxy Buds2 Pro look and feel very much like last year's Buds Pro, but with a few key upgrades. To begin with, the new model is 15% smaller than the one from 2021, so it fits better in the ear and is more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. It felt like the earbuds were securely in my ears even after I shook my head. The earbuds performed flawlessly during testing, remaining securely in place regardless of how vigorously we were moving (walking, jogging, and cycling).
Samsung have had their Galaxy Buds2 Pro's aerodynamics refined to reduce wind noise. This is helped along by the reconfigured microphone's grille and form factor. And lastly, the included charging case is the same colour as the new Galaxy Buds2 Pro and resembles the previous generation's Galaxy Buds Pro case.
The Galaxy Buds2 Pro and charging case look and feel premium thanks to a matte finish that brings out the design details. USB-C and wireless charging are still supported by the case. While the casing is not waterproof, the earbuds themselves are IPX7 certified, meaning they can withstand being submerged in water up to one metre deep for up to thirty minutes.
You can control playback, pause, track skipping, and mode switching directly from the touchpad on each earbud, eliminating the need for the Wearable app. You have the option to disable touch controls entirely within the Wearable app, but I find them helpful, and I think you will too after giving them a try.
The music can be paused and played with a tap, and the ANC and ambient modes can be toggled with a long press. That's how it's preconfigured, but you can change it to something else if you like by using the Wearable app. By tapping twice or three times quickly, you can skip back and forth between songs. A long press can be set to do anything from opening Bixby to adjusting the volume or starting Spotify.
Features
All the Galaxy Buds2 Pro's features and customization options can be accessed in the same way as they were with previous Samsung earbuds—through the Galaxy Wearable app on Android devices. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro will still work with Apple device, but you won't have access to some of the best features.
In the app, the case and earbuds’ remaining battery life are displayed together at the very top. You can see which noise mode is currently active (ANC, Off, or Ambient) and make any necessary adjustments directly from the main screen. Below that, you'll see toggles for things like voice activation, surround sound, touchscreen navigation, and the ability to locate misplaced earbuds.
Samsung's new Voice Detect feature automatically activates ambient sounds and lowers the volume when you're talking, making it ideal for quick conversations. After 10 seconds of silence, the instrument will reset to its default state, but you can change this to 5 or 15 seconds if desired.
In addition to the aforementioned features, the Galaxy Wearables app provides a plethora of additional options, such as equaliser presets, buds fit check, read receipts, hands-free Bixby, ambient audio during calls, seamless pairing with select Samsung devices, neck stretch reminders, and much more. The app comes packed with a lot of features.
The left/right channel balance can be changed in the "Accessibility" menu. Here, you can customise the volume and ambient tone to your liking, and you can choose to keep ANC on even when you remove one earbud (Buds2 Pro turns it off by default). Enhancing ambient sound is nothing new for earbuds, but it's nice that Samsung gives you some control over the process.
When it comes to wireless earbuds, Samsung's first to support Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi is the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. Samsung's latest wireless audio codec allows for 24-bit audio to be transmitted, but it's currently only compatible with Galaxy smartphones and tablets. But worry not as soon after the end of the year, the South Korean company will release a software update for the Galaxy Buds2 Pro that adds support for the Bluetooth LE Audio codec.
So, what exactly is LE Audio? The new Low Complexity Communication Codec (LC3) was created by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the organisation responsible for developing and keeping the Bluetooth technology standard and is part of the Bluetooth LE Audio specification.
This codec is the long-awaited replacement for the SBC codec, which is used by every Bluetooth speaker and headset on the market.
Unlike other wireless audio codecs (such as SSC, AAC, aptX, and LDAC), Bluetooth LE Audio is developed by the Bluetooth SIG, meaning that a large number of future products will be able to support it. As the default audio codec supported by all Bluetooth audio products, SBC isn't as stable or high-quality as this alternative. With Android 13, Google implemented support for Bluetooth LE Audio. This means that the Galaxy Buds2 Pro will work with any phone or tablet that has Android 13 installed (and newer).
Sound Quality
The 24-bit audio quality is the most notable improvement to the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. It has been asserted that the acoustic quality of this new model is vastly superior to its predecessor thanks to the increased sound resolution. Compared to 16-bit audio, 24-bit audio provides 256 times the amount of detail. The playback device and the sound source both need to support 24-bit audio for this to work.
The same can be said for the 360-degree audio, another major feature. The sound source follows your head around like Apple's Spatial Audio. You can hear something coming from the front right into your left ear if you turn your head to the right by ninety degrees. This is however applicable for Samsung devices only. Thirdly, the ANC has been upgraded, and Samsung claims it offers 40% better protection from outside noise.
When we got our hands on the new model, we compared it to the it’s predecessor, and found that the rather noisy environment had been effectively muffled. Simply tapping the earphones toggles ANC on and off. In addition, there is a smart smooth mode that disables ANC the moment you begin talking.
Both earbuds and charging case have a battery capacity of 61 mAh. So, the charging case can replenish the earbuds about four times. According to Samsung, you'll get 18 hours of total autonomy with ANC turned on, and 29 hours without it.
The Buds2 Pro deliver an impressively powerful bass response and a spacious, clear sound. The low end is rich and nuanced, not just heavy rumbles. Numerous earbuds provide well-rounded sound with strong bass. The small, difficult-to-replicate details are often what set apart the great from the good.
This is accomplished by Samsung's use of a 10mm bass woofer and a 5.3mm tweeter, which allows for crisp highs. This configuration excels at rendering music of all genres with crystal clear depth and width, resulting in multi-dimensional, thrilling performances rather than compressed, monotonous ones.
Summary
Samsung has once again outdone themselves with the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. They are compact, but still capable of advanced features like ANC, Voice Detect, and more. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro can be bought in three distinct hues: Graphite, White, and Bora Purple. You can always put a new skin or case on it if you don't like the way it looks. All three hues provide varying atmospheres that appeal to a wide range of people.
Samsung's Galaxy Buds2 Pro are a major improvement over the original model. They combine the best qualities of the Buds2 and the Buds Pro into a single, superior product, making both the ANC and the sound quality better while also being more comfortable to wear. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro are, in our opinion, Samsung's best-sounding earbuds to date, and their extensive feature set should please any owner of a Galaxy phone.
