Samsung recently sent us a unit of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to try out and my life will never be the same. I’m more of a ’as long as it works, I don’t care what brand, model or make it is’ when it comes to my earphones. I’ve used wired earphones from random stores, off brand wireless earphones from Shopee and an older versioned AirPods. This was the first time I tried out earbuds from Samsung and I was a little skeptical but one week in and I was converted.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro – Specifications
- Battery Life: 5 hours with ANC/8 hours without
- Charging Time : 5 minutes
- Noise Cancellation: Yes
- Mono Listening: Yes
- Bluetooth : 5.3
- Speaker : Custom Coaxial 2-way (Tweeter + Woofer)
- Microphone : 2-way mic
- Weight (earbuds): 5.5g
- Dimensions (earbuds): 19.9 x 21.6 x 18.7mm
- Charging: USB-C, wireless
What’s In The Box?
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
- Charging Case
- USB-C Cable
- Spare Eartips
- User Manual
Design
The charging case of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is small and compact, making it perfect to carry around. The earbuds itself look very sleek and cute. The matte finishing of the charging case gives it a more minimalistic and simple look and feel, and I love that the case is not a slippery one. You can have a pretty decent grip over the earbuds and charging case, unlike most metallic or plastic ones that can just slip out of your grasp.
Taking the earbuds out of the case is extremely easy, and putting it back is just as easy. Chances of the earbuds just falling out of the case also seem rather low, I tried to just flip the case around and see if anything happens, safe to say, everything stayed right where it ought to.
I love that there are two ways to charge this, one with the USB-C cable and the other via the wireless charging option. I personally mainly used the USB-C cable, as I always have that on hand. I did try the wireless charging once, not too bad, but definitely not my go-to method.
Touch Navigation
Without the app, you can still switch between different functions quiet easily. Best part, these work on either side of the earbuds. Unlike most earphones where the left is normally reserved for one action, like switching between modes and the right for other actions like volume control. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earbuds make it so that as long as I remember the actions, I wont have to worry about which earbud to use it on.
Action Music control Phone calls ANC/Ambient sound Touch once Play/Pause Touch twice Skip to track ahead Answer call/End call Touch three times Skip to previous track Touch and hold Right: increase volume
Left: decrease volumeReject call Only available if you remove volume control
Audio Quality
For the audio, I have to say that it really is a show stealer. Perfect for Hip Hop and EDMs. The sounds do not crack, it’s loud, clear and distortion-free. If you’re not a fan of strong and deep bass, this might be a tiny bit of an issue but you can always use an equaliser to tune up the song to your liking.
The ANC on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are pretty impressive, it really allows you to go into a whole different headspace and tune out all other voices around you. Perfect if you’re working out or rushing to send in an assignment and need to be in an undisturbed zone, not so perfect when you’re crossing roads or trying to order from your local Subway. You can still hear some sounds, but it is not very clearly audible, you’d still have to remove your earbuds to hear what someone is trying to say clearly.
For those situations, I’d recommend the Ambient mode. It is designed with the aim to allow you to better hear what’s going on in your surroundings. Sounds were low, but I was able to hear conversations, which was great for me.
Call quality with this set was pretty good for me. I used it in some online meetings, overall a pleasant experience. No complaints from me!
Battery Life
Since I personally did not rely on the ANC mode much, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro lasted me quite long in between charges. I went three days without needing to charge the earbuds. With the ANC mode on, it was slightly more frequent, close to 1.5-2 days between charges.
My usage of the earbuds were pretty average, I’d use it in the mornings while working out, pop it back in the case while I got ready for the day, after which I’d have it on for a sizeable chunk of the day (anywhere from 3-4 hours) , while working or having lunch. I would pop it back in the case all the way till after dinner where I’d use it for no more than 2-3 hours before retiring it in the case for the rest of the night.
Conclusion
All in all, I found these to be a rather good quality pair of earbuds. My qualms do come in with the app which seems to require quite a lot of app permissions, if you’re someone who’s not too fussy about it, that’s great, but there are quite a number of people who take matters concerning data and privacy very seriously, so this may be a slight problem for them. You can still use this without the app, maybe with some lesser features.
Priced at RM 899 for the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, it’s a rather steep investment but think of it more as something that will last your long term, and with all its advantages, this would definitely make for a nice little treat for yourself.
