Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: More affordable noise cancelling earbuds
Our Verdict
The $149 Samsung Galaxy Buds ii is a solid sequel that upholds almost of the series' hallmarks, just ignores its biggest flaws.
For
- Lively, customizable audio
- Satisfying ANC
- Cracking comfort and fit
- Extended functionality via Galaxy Wearable app
- Ii wireless charging methods
Confronting
- Middling battery life
- Missing advanced features
- Inferior call quality
- Blueprint feels less premium than predecessors
Tom'south Guide Verdict
The $149 Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 is a solid sequel that upholds nigh of the series' hallmarks, but ignores its biggest flaws.
Pros
- +
Lively, customizable sound
- +
Satisfying ANC
- +
Great comfort and fit
- +
Extended functionality via Galaxy Wear app
- +
Two wireless charging methods
Cons
- -
Middling bombardment life
- -
Missing avant-garde features
- -
Junior phone call quality
- -
Blueprint feels less premium than predecessors
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 specs
Price: $149
Colors:Graphite, Lavender, Olive, White
Battery life (rated): 5 hours with ANC on (20 hours with charging case), 7.five hours with ANC off (29 hours with charging instance)
Connectivity: Bluetooth v.two
Processor: Non stated
Size: 0.7 x 0.8 ten 0.8 (per bud), 1.nine 10 2.0 ten 1.1 inches (charging case)
Weight: 0.two ounces (per bud)
You lot've likely seen the rumors and leaks by now, but the Samsung Milky way Buds two is now official. Samsung made the announcement during its Unpacked August 2021 issue, forth with several other product reveals, including the highly predictable Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip three. The Milky way Buds ii adopts many of the same traits as its loftier-stop sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, and will launch at a much more accessible cost betoken: $149.
That means you lot tin can expect constructive ANC, hi-quality sound, intuitive controls and unique listening modes in a practical and inexpensive package. Information technology too means dealing with some of the serial' existing flaws, including a restrictive feature ready and subpar battery life, to name a few.
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Does its overall performance place information technology among the best dissonance-cancelling earbuds? Read our total Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review to find out — and you might also want to bank check out our Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 vs. AirPods Pro face off, to run across how it fares against one of its main competitors.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: Price and availability
- $149 MSRP — $50 less than Galaxy Buds Pro
- Choice of four color options
You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 for $149 from Samsung, ahead of the release engagement on August 27. The pre-order folio claims orders will ship "past Baronial 25."
You accept a choice of 4 colors: Graphite, Lavender, Olive, and White. You lot go a wireless charging case, USB-C charging cablevision, and iii different sizes of ear tips with the purchase.
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 — $ 149 at Samsung
The Milky way Buds 2 shares the same MSRP as another pair of popular entry-level wireless ANC earbuds, the Beats Studio Buds. It also comes in at a lower price point than the Galaxy Buds Pro, which originally hit store shelves at $199, but is currently on sale for $169 at Best Buy. Furthermore, you tin score these buds for much less than category leaders like the $249 AirPods Pro and $279 Sony WH-1000XM4.
For all of the latest wireless earbuds sales, bookmark our all-time headphones deals page.
Samsung Milky way Buds 2 review: Design and comfort
- Similar shape to Milky way Buds Pro...
- ...but with a lower-quality feel
The naming convention would have you believing this pair of buds share the same design as the original, simply it doesn't. Instead of the oval shape with reflective, triangular touch pads, the Galaxy Buds ii takes on the longer, low-profile appearance of the Galaxy Buds Pro, but with tinier mic holes, no small speaker grille, and less premium craftsmanship. The Milky way Buds Pro is composed of rubberized plastic and a shiny metal fabric, whereas the Milky way Buds 2 dons a evidently plastic exterior with matte stop.
These buds also come with an IPX2 rating, a vast downgrade from the Galaxy Buds Pro'due south IPX7 certification. In short, they can resist small drops of h2o, simply are non splash- or sweat-proof. We don't recommend taking these out on a run or into the jacuzzi.
Samsung decided to keep the clamshell-like charging case. This was a smart call; information technology's one of the most portable designs in the category, and it feels incredibly light in your hands and pockets. The magnetic lid is strong to keep the buds secured, and the plastic frame is durable, though it scuffs and scratches hands.
I found the Galaxy Buds 2 provided a more than secure fit than the original. The tips created a tight seal that kept the buds locked in when manoeuvring around the business firm. There's fifty-fifty an Earbud Fit Test in the Galaxy Article of clothing app to help you determine the best fit, though I questioned its validity. The plan analyzed my ears a whole lot faster than other ear tip fit tests, which immediately raised a ruby flag in terms of accuracy, and it gave me the aforementioned results when trying on all three different-sized ear tips: Good Fit.
Comfort is moderate. I wore the buds for several hours a solar day, usually two-3 hours straight before any soreness was felt around the concha.
Samsung Milky way Buds two review: Touch controls and digital assistant
- Tap gestures don't always piece of work
- Digital assistants are effective
The Galaxy Buds two'southward command scheme consists of tap/hold gestures, motion detection and digital assistance. Tap input works near seventy% of the fourth dimension, just you can utilise swipe gestures instead, which I found more serviceable for playback. For some odd reason, yous must plow on the multi-tap gestures in the app; other models make them accessible correct out of the box.
On-ear detection operates differently on the Galaxy Buds two. Instead of removing one bud from your ear to auto-intermission, y'all're required to remove both. That was but one problem I had with the feature. The other two were that it operates on a 2-second filibuster and doesn't auto-play when placing the buds back on your ears.
Siri, Google Banana, and Bixby are all uniform with the Milky way Buds 2 and tin can be activated through the touch-and-hold gesture, which tin can too be assigned to raise/lower book or enable Spotify. Wake-word activation is just bachelor for Bixby ("Hi Bixby"), and while it'southward fun to use, I still adopt Google Banana or Siri equally my native digital assistant due to its much larger commands list. Luckily, Samsung's mics are powerful and choice up vocals conspicuously and precisely, no thing which AI bot you use.
Samsung grants users the option to admission and control the Milky way Buds 2 directly on any Galaxy Lookout 4 smartwatch equally well.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: Sound quality
- Powerful and customizable audio
- Low-latency gaming mode
- No Samsung 360 Audio support
When it comes to audio, Samsung always hits a home run, and the Galaxy Buds 2 is no exception. AKG-tuned drivers ability the sonics on these tiny in-ears and pump out energetic, detailed sound that can exist customized through the Galaxy Wearable app via Equalizer. Six presets are selectable: Normal (the default), Bass Heave, Soft, Dynamic, Clear, and Treble Heave. Each of these serves well when paired with the appropriate music genre.
Clear was perfect for harmonic records like Silk Sonic's "Skate," emphasizing both Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars' vocals, while treating percussive elements with delicacy to maintain the product's upbeat tempo. Switching to Bass Boost, the distorted guitar riff on the beginning of Kendrick Lamar'due south "Apprehensive" was impactful, only it was the hard knocking 808 drum design that sumo-splashed my eardrums to stimulate rhythmic head-nodding. As awesome every bit this sounded, I preferred listening to the record in Normal since it offered better midrange; the rise synths were loud and striking.
In fact, you're jump to stick with Normal for its strong overall sound. Records like Queen's "Some other One Bites the Dust" showcased the buds prominent low end, producing excellent reverberation that had my hair standing with every strum from the iconic bass riff. Highs are also well represented, something you lot'll find most on jazz classics. I loved how crisp and detailed the hi-hats sounded on Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blueish," though information technology wasn't until I played low-fi gems such as Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang's "Black and Bluish Lesser" where the buds demonstrated their frequency range. Hearing the clean and vivid violin play over a static-heavy groundwork was remarkable.
The Galaxy Buds ii comes with a Gaming mode to subtract latency for synchronized gaming sound. It'south exclusive to Samsung smartphones, though I tested the mode on a few games and noticed very petty difference in quality compared to when it was switched off. The footsteps and shooting effects when playing Disquisitional Ops lagged, but the globe-trotting and power-up effects in Mario Kart Tour sounded spot-on.
What near 360 Sound? You'll have to invest in the pricier Galaxy Buds Pro to employ Samsung's equivalent of spatial sound, as it's not supported on the Galaxy Buds 2.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: Active noise cancellation
- Strong ANC consequence
- Ambient manner works well as well
Samsung claims that its ANC engineering "cuts external background noise by upwards to 98%." I'chiliad not sure how this was assessed, merely my ears and several years of feel testing noise-cancelling headphones say this percentage is lower: more similar 85%. This is shut to the AirPods Pro and lower than ANC giants like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and Sony WF-1000XM4.
Nonetheless, the Galaxy Buds 2 does a fairly skilful chore of reducing unwanted noises. I was able to work peacefully and block out common distractions like loud TVs and talkative relatives. The droning noises coming out of our centralized AC and laundry room went unnoticed as well. High-frequency sounds didn't fare so well, as my infant'southward babbles and hunger cries were audible from several feet away.
Using the buds exterior was much of the aforementioned. Rambling joggers on their AirPods and speeding cars never grabbed my attention. Certain landscape tools (east.g., lawnmowers, electrical hedge trimmers) went silent, though foliage-blowers were the exception. Sirens were another disturbance that bankrupt my concentration when sitting peacefully on a park bench.
Those with selective hearing might find the Accessibility setting in the companion app useful. Y'all tin assign ANC to one earbud to prevent discomfort. There'southward also a audio balance slider below it to emphasize audio on either bud or leave in the middle for equal results.
Ambient Sound is designed to give users greater awareness of their surroundings. There are 3 settings – Low, Medium, and Loftier – each 1 set to increment the corporeality of sound that comes into the mics. High should be your default because it'south the but setting where y'all can hear anything, granted you'll need to keep the book between 30% and 50%. Doing this let me communicate clearly with my married woman near babe duties during office hours, too as hear incoming packages via doorbell and traffic on nightly walks.
Samsung Milky way Buds 2 review: App and special features
- A few software tricks, but zip very avant-garde
- Smartphone widget is handy, though
The Galaxy Vesture app places several features at your fingertips. If you haven't downloaded it already, you'll be required to, along with the Galaxy Buds 2 plug-in. Opening the app presents yous with a battery level indicator for the buds, user transmission, toggle controls, the Observe My Earbuds setting, and all the extra features in the Settings page. These include the same Bixby voice wake-up function, Equalizer, Earbuds Fit Exam, Gaming Mode, and Accessibility.
This is a generous number of features here, but other competitor apps like JBL Headphones and Sony Headphones Connect offering much more. The Labs section seems to have been abandoned with Gaming Mode existence the only available characteristic. Luckily, the app supports firmware updates, and then I hope that Samsung rolls out more features in the coming months.
Outside of the app is where you'll find the Galaxy Buds two's most unique features. Samsung programmed a resizable widget that can be placed on your smartphone domicile screen to instantly enable the listening modes and touch controls. This is a faster solution for toggling either office, though I wish Samsung permit users customize the selections: Gaming Way seems more than ideal than touch controls.
Other notables include the aforementioned Galaxy Watch control access and wireless PowerShare to ability up the buds past placing the charging case on the back of a compatible Milky way smartphone.
Samsung Milky way Buds two review: Battery life and charging instance
- Short ANC uptime, both from buds and case
- Much better fast-charging speeds
Samsung rates battery life at 5 hours with ANC and 7.5 hours with ANC off. When comparing ANC playtimes, this is just a marginal advantage over the AirPods Pro (iv.5 hours) and much less than the WF-1000XM4 (viii hours). Fifty-fifty more than disappointing is the 20-60 minutes charging example, which falls short of the average manufacture fourth dimension set by the AirPods/AirPods Pro charging case: 24 hours. Not using ANC extends use to 29 hours, simply permit'due south be honest: you're probable purchasing these to utilize ANC as much as possible.
Those who are non thrilled well-nigh the playtimes tin take solace knowing the Galaxy Buds ii has some of the strongest quick charging bachelor, netting y'all 1 hour of use on a 5-infinitesimal accuse. Battery optimization has also been improved to squeeze as of juice out of the bombardment for optimal use.
On top of that, the charging case tin can be wirelessly charged in two ways: PowerShare, via supportive Galaxy smartphones, or any Qi-enabled wireless charging pad.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: Telephone call quality and connectivity
- Decent, but "machine learning" feature doesn't do much
- Susceptible to wind noise
As a calling headset, the Galaxy Buds 2 is a disappointing stride downwardly from the Galaxy Buds Pro. According to Samsung, the newer pair of buds uses a "machine learning-based solution" that filters out groundwork noises for clearer calls. I don't know if this requires breaking in the Galaxy Buds 2, but later four days of several vocalisation and video calls, nothing noticeably changed. The mics snag a lot of ambient sound, especially wind, which my wife said sounded harsh on her ears. The buds didn't perform any better in quieter outdoor settings; complaints of muffling were common.
Stepping inside, the missus found call quality to be steadier, but not a vast comeback. The Milky way Buds 2 performed much better on video chats with several friends mentioning how loud and clear I sounded.
Wireless functioning is still a authentication of the Galaxy Buds serial. Opening the case automatically enables Pairing style and shows the product on the available devices lists. Samsung too adult an Easy Pairing Mode for hassle-costless manually pairing.
Range is adequate with the buds achieving close to 40 feet of wireless listening. Connectedness forcefulness is also meliorate than older Samsung models, letting you jump from room to room without stuttering, if you stay inside range.
Multipoint technology is absent-minded, but the Milky way Buds 2 has impressively robust auto-connect capabilities. Yous can unpair from i device and the buds will immediately pair to your last recognized device if Bluetooth is enabled. This makes swapping betwixt devices seamless.
Samsung Milky way Buds 2 review: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Buds ii offers plenty of functionality at an attainable price. Audio is both versatile and vibrant, ranking only beneath the Galaxy Buds Pro, which is impressive. Despite falling short of its claims, Samsung'south ANC technology is all the same a viable choice for blocking out unwanted noises. The different audio settings allow for unique personalization when indulging in music and videos. You lot'll enjoy bang-up all-day comfort as well.
However, with a lower price comes compromises, and the Galaxy Buds 2 makes quite a few. Battery life, phone call quality, and pattern all take major steps back from the Galaxy Buds Pro, which also keeps 360 Audio to itself. Non-Galaxy smartphone owners likewise lose out on special features tied to the Galaxy ecosystem, such as Gaming Way and PowerShare.
If yous're on a budget and remain a loyal Galaxy smartphone user, then the Galaxy Buds 2 will provide a pleasant mobile listening experience without breaking the banking company. Nonetheless, yous may want to wait for the Milky way Buds Pro to go on auction; for potentially just a few dollars more than, you could secure yourself a significantly amend prepare of earbuds.
Those who don't own a Galaxy device should await at competitors in the same price range that offer slightly better performance; the Beats Studio Buds is a prime number example.
- More: The best headphones with a mic for voice and video calls
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-buds-2
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