The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ is the company’s latest pair of TWS earbuds to hit the market and it has an interesting price tag. For the price of RM599, the Galaxy Buds+ is packed with features and we took it for a spin, literally. The last pair of earbuds I got to experience from Samsung was the 2016 edition of the Samsung Gear IconX. It was from there, I could clearly see how much of an improvement the Galaxy Buds+ has made over the years.
Specifications – Samsung Galaxy Buds+
| Brand | Samsung |
| Model | Galaxy Buds+ |
| Bluetooth | V5.0 |
| Transmission Distance | 10m |
| Codec | Scalable (Samsung Proprietary), ACC, SBC |
| Playtime | Single Use: 11 hour With Charging Case: 22 hour |
| Control Method | Touch Controls |
| Battery Capacity | Single Earphone: 85mAh Charging Case: 270mAh |
| Weight | Earbuds – 6.3g Charging Case – 39.6g |
| Charging Time | 3 mins for 1 hour playtime Qi Wireless Charging |
| Misc. | Ambient Sound Mode |
| In The Box | Earbuds Wingtips Eartips Charging Case Charging Cable (USB Type-C) QSG |
Design
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are hidden in this pill-shaped charging case. It has a glossy surface that feels really good in the hands. It’s big enough that you won’t miss it, and not too small that you’d easily misplace it.
Lifting the lid of the charging case, it feels very firm. It isn’t flimsy at all, and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to break any time soon. The Galaxy Buds+ are nicely cradled in the case, charging before I turn them on for the first time. That being said, as soon as I picked them out of the case, it automatically turned on and had a nice humming tone to notify me that it has been turned on.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ themselves are light and nice to the touch. The edges are glossy plastic, but the wingtip in the middle section is made of rubber which gives it the grip you need. In terms of size, they are a bit larger than usual, as a noticeable bulge does appear out of my ears.
That being said, it’s actually a plus because it gives the earbuds more surface area for the touch sensors to work. That means more accurate touch gestures, so you won’t accidentally play/pause your music, when you actually want to skip to the next song.
Comfort
Putting the earbuds in, I was surprised I didn’t need to make any further adjustments. Once it’s in, it is already in the optimal position. I appreciate a pair of earbuds that stay firmly in its place, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ does just that. It can practically never be shaken off, no matter how hard you bang your head to hardstyle.
I even brought it for a quick run on the treadmill, and not once did I need to readjust it back into position. The earbuds stayed in place from the first meter to the final 5th kilometer mark, regardless of what speed or inclination I was in, which is impressive.
When I’m working, I used the earbuds and noticed very little audio fatigue. For the first 2 hours, the earbuds feel comfortable with no signs of soreness on the ears. However, once I reached the 3-hour mark, I could feel a slight sore on my ears. This isn’t a deal-breaker, as you do need to take a break from time to time anyways.
User Experience
When I took the Galaxy Buds+ out for the first time, my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G immediately detected it was turned on. A pop-up window appeared to request permission to pair, which I approved. It even showed me the battery levels of each earbud together with the charging case. Just like that, they were already paired.
I love how the charging case even has wireless charging. It is Qi-compatible so it works flawlessly with the Wireless Powershare feature on the S20 Ultra. When it comes to notifications, the charging case has these LEDs on the inside and out to show you its status – battery level and charging status.
The touch sensors on the Galaxy Buds+ works remarkably well. There’s a large surface area for the touch sensors to work. A single tap plays/pauses music, double tap skips next, triple tap jumps back to the previous song, and a long press brings up the phone’s assistant. Not only that, even tapping on the edges of the earbuds could adjust the volume.
When it comes to the app, there’s a lot of customisation to be done for the Buds+. You can even control what you want to hear with the ambient noise feature. Someone’s talking to you? Just turn on the ambient noise feature (done in Settings) by long pressing either side of the earbuds, and you can hear them clearly without having to take out the earbuds. This is thanks to the 3-mic system that picks up audio from the outside, as well as your own voice to accurately balance out the surrounding sounds.
The app does come with a set of preset equaliser profiles, but it’s unfortunate that you can’t create custom equaliser profiles to tune the audio to your liking. Apart from that, there is also the find my earbuds feature too if you misplaced it. Happens to all of us, doesn’t it?
Audio
The audio on the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ is tuned by AKG, but I have to say it didn’t perform as well as I expected it to. I’ve allowed the Galaxy Buds+ to be burned in for a good 5 days before I actually review it.
I’m a bass head, so I look for that dirty lows and unfortunately, the Galaxy Buds+ just lacked bass. When it comes to treble, there’s too much of it. It’s so sharp that I have to switch to bass mode by default so it wouldn’t be so sharp.
However, it isn’t all bad. Because of the high treble, the Galaxy Buds+ handles mids and highs really well. Soundstage is great, and it feels like the artist is performing right in front of me. Even when I’m listening to my favourite songs, I could hear small details that I could not with my usual pair of earbuds. Now this, I’m very impressed with.
I am also happy to report that the Galaxy Buds+ does not have any audio lag whatsoever when it comes to both music and videos. The Bluetooth connection is smooth and instantaneous, as if you were using a normal wired earphone.
In terms of call quality, audio is clear on both receiving ends. The microphones pick up voice very well and is able to isolate surrounding noise well. I can even double tap on the Buds+ to answer/hang up on calls.
Most of the time, I’m at the 70-80% volume level listening to EDM, House, and Trance music. I’ve also tried the Buds+ on other genres, and I have to say that it’s more suited for instrumentals, jazz, hip-hop, and RnB. You know that video of the girl on YouTube who’s always studying? Yeah, chill hop would sound really good on the Galaxy Buds+.
Battery Life
The battery life on the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ is actually quite incredible. After 45 minutes of non-stop music on 60% volume, the earbuds are only at 95%. 9 hours later, the earbuds are at 26%. The maximum I got on a single charge was 12 hours. And that is just on a single charge of the earbuds, not including the charges from the charging case.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ is now available for purchase throughout Malaysia for RM599. At that price, it offers a multitude of features that would really compliment your lifestyle. Wireless charging, long battery life, no audio lag, ambient mode, and a really comfortable fit. The Galaxy Buds+ is definitely one of the top on my list.
