Editor’s Rating- 4.25/5 In the last few years, the perspective of the audience towards audio products for phones has completely changed. The TWS market of India is emerging as an ever-growing giant that is yet to see a lot of changes. Some of the smartphones producing brands like Apple, Samsung, Realme, and others have also contributed to creating some of the best TWS earbuds available out there in the market. Connectivity & Controls Sound Battery
Passive noise cancelling is not that great
Out of all this, Samsung has always focused on producing premium-level TWS devices with high-quality audio and breathtaking design. Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are proof of the same. Recently, Samsung introduced its successor in India Galaxy Buds Pro 2. I have been testing them out for the past 10 days now. After using the earbuds, here’s my take on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro on the basis of audio quality, ANC, design, controls, and battery.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro pricing and availability
Price and availabilityUnboxingDesign and FitConnectivity, Controls & FeaturesSound and ANCBatteryShould you buy it?
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Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Unboxing
The retail box of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is pure black in colour and has the image of buds on it as per the color variant contained in the box. At the back side of the retail box, you can see the features of the earbuds, along with all other details mentioned below. The retail box of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro consists of
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 ProQuick start guideUSB Type-C charging cableEar tips of different sizes
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Design and Fit
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro has a design identical to that of its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. Nonetheless, there are a few noticeable tweaks made to the design, including a decrease in size by around 15%. This makes it more convenient to wear them as the weight has also been reduced. In addition, Samsung has also introduced a vent on the inside of each earbud to remove the pressure. The buds offer a soft touch matte coating topped with a glossy finish that provides them with a premium look. As for the charging case, the buds case has a rubberish matte finish which makes it look rugged and durable and retains its scratch-free look. They also carry IPX7 certification for water resistance. The earbuds have three different ear tips for better fitting according to your ear size. Moreover, you can also look out for the Samsung Galaxy Wearable application to run the Earbud Fit Test. The application will let you know the most appropriate fit as per your ear size.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Connectivity, Controls, and Feature
The buds have functional touch controls, like a single tap for the play/pause button, a double tap for skipping ahead, and a triple tap for going back. The buds also come with touch and hold gestures that can be customized according to the users’ preferences. I used the same for multiple purposes, such as switching noise cancellation modes, controlling music playback, activating Bixby voice assistant, and even taking calls. These customizations can be made via the companion application that you can download straight away on your smartphone. One new thing which I explored in the buds, and I am sure most of you would do, is the Labs option. It enables you to double-tap the front edge for the adjustment of volume levels. Trust me when I say that the controls were pretty easy to handle, and it is not as tricky as it sounds. One thing which can serve as an irritating factor, and which is common in most of the TWS buds out there, is that you are supposed to readjust the earbuds every once in a while. This readjustment triggers the touch controls sometimes, which can even annoy you more. Both earbuds feature a coaxial driver along with a 5.3mm tweeter and a 10mm woofer. They have end-to-end 24-bit high-resolution ‘hi-fi’ sound quality which could only test with 24-bit Apple Music in India. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro includes 360 audio, direct multi-channel support, and dynamic head tracking. As for the connectivity, the earbuds come with Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity feature. I can say that it gets connected to devices in a blink which can be compared to the speed of AirPods. As claimed by Samsung, the Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio will be rolled out in the Samsung UI 5.0 Update.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Sound and ANC
There were no doubts regarding the sound system of the device even before unboxing it. I started with listening to Bohemian Rhapsody, and the experience was pretty amazing, with crystal clear beats and to-the-point bass. However, as soon as I switched the genre, I was more pleased with its wide sound stage. Listening to Kishor Kumar’s melodies on Buds 2 Pro manages to deliver clean mids and highs. There’s enough bass that comes through without overpowering other frequencies. The Buds 2 Pro are tuned very well offering a fantastic balance of warm and effective bass and rumbling sub-bass. Instrument separation and low-level details are also on point. Down Hill by Drake is a good song to understand how almost perfectly the Buds 2 Pro handles different frequencies without overlapping others. The 360 audio feature of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro levels up the game for them. The Dolby Atmos tracks can give you an all-directional sound quality which is better than listening to the songs in the regular mode of the device. Talking about the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature, Samsung has made some improvements as compared to its predecessor. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro ANC algorithms have no trouble with low-frequency background noise, but they struggle with higher-pitched noise like loudspeaker sound or car honking manage to reach your eardrums. Comparatively speaking, Sony WF-1000XM4 are slightly better at muting those outside noises. While on voice calls, however, ANC cancels out most of the ambient noise almost perfectly. Overall, I am immensely happy with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro ANC as the sound of bikes and cars was not disturbing me anymore, and I was able to listen to songs peacefully on my terrace. The conversation mode or the voice detection feature of the buds worked quite efficiently at the time of practical usage. The best part is that these buds automatically sense when one is speaking and switch to ambient mode.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Battery
While the Samsung Buds 2 Pro have improved in most aspects as compared to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, the same can’t be said in terms of battery. At the time of testing, the earbuds lasted for around 5 hours individually, along with ANC switched on. Without Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) at work, the device can go on for around eight hours straight. With the case, the buds can offer additional 18 hours of battery which is not bad. In five minutes of charge, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can offer a battery life of one hour. They support both USB Type-C charging and wireless charging too.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Should you buy it or not?
Here comes the most important question, should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or not? The answer is quite straightforward, if you are using a Samsung Galaxy series device, then you have all the reasons to purchase the buds even without giving any second thoughts. Now, I’ll not say that I am completely convinced with the performance of the earbuds, and I am not going to suggest you put a whopping amount of around Rs 17,000 for these buds if you don’t carry a high-end Galaxy device. However, if you are planning to buy them for any other device, then keep in mind that you are going to miss out on 24-bit audio and decent audio quality too.
Balanced SoundsComfortable design360 audio Effective ANC
24-Bit support limited to Samsung devicesPassive noise cancelling is not that great
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