Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Review: Improvement In Almost All Areas!

I was pretty pleased with the Galaxy Buds Pro when they came out last year; they were good, but I did have some issues with them. Now, though, the Buds 2 Pro are out and they are definitely much better in a lot of areas.

We have the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with us today, and they’re definitely some of the best earbuds you can get on the market if you’re using a Samsung phone.

Design

So, let’s talk design first. On the outside, the case looks almost exactly like the case from the Buds Pro, and that’s prettysmart on Samsung’s part. First, people who are upgrading from the original Buds Pro can re-use their cases and covers, so that’s a plus point. Second, Samsung gets to save on having to create new moulds and such, so that’s a pretty smart business move. Personally, I think the case design is fine, and it’s quite recognisable at first glance that it’s part of the Buds Pro family, so I don’t mind not having a redesign here.

The “Sound by AKG” tagline is now moved to the inside of the case though, so the exterior is pretty clean. You get wireless charging here as well, along with a USB-C charging port on the rear and an LED indicator light on the front for charging status.

Flip open the lid and you get the earbuds, which are 15% smaller and also weigh slightly less. The earbuds are now also matte instead of glossy, which I personally like a lot. Because of the decrease in size, the earbuds are even more comfortable in the ear. They’re also quite flush with the ear, so you’ll most likely be able to lie on your side with these in, which is fantastic. There’s also a new vent on the inside that helps to equalise pressure for an even more comfortable wearing experience.

Touch Controls

The earbuds run on touch controls as usual, but because of how small the earbuds are, you’ll most definitely end up accidentally activating the touch controls when you readjust the position of the earbuds in your ears. It can get quite annoying, but there’s no way around this issue, unfortunately.

As for touch controls, it’s a single tap for play/pause, a double tap to skip tracks forward and a triple tap to skip tracks backwards. The touch and hold feature can be customised, either to activate noise cancelling, Bixby, Spotify or adjust the volume. Personally, I left it on ANC controls because in the Labs option in the Samsung Wearable app, you can actually use a double tap on the edge of the earbud to adjust the volume.

App & Features

You’ll want to download the Samsung Wearable app to get the most out of these earbuds, with features like Find My earbuds, 360 Audio, quick switch to nearby Samsung devices, software updates and more. Unfortunately, the app isn’t available on iOS, so this becomes a much less attractive option if you’re using an iPhone.

ANC

Coming to ANC, these are definitely a step up from the original Buds Pro. In cars and on commutes, background noise really was very effectively cancelled out, and all I could hear was my music. Of course, this is dependent also on the amount of passive isolation you get from the earbuds, so I recommend playing around with different ear tips if you don’t get a good seal with the medium-sized ones. There’s a little bit of environmental noise that slips in if no music is playing, because of the vents, but it’s really a non-issue once music is playing.

Connectivity

The earbuds are running on Bluetooth 5.3 with support for LE Audio coming in the future, and what’s really cool about these is that they actually support 24-bit high-res audio with the new Samsung Seamless Codec. Of course, there are a few requirements, predominantly that you have a streaming service that offers it, as well as a Samsung phone that’s running One UI 4.0 and higher. Thankfully, I do have an Apple Music subscription, so I was testing these earbuds with 24-bit/48kHz downloads and we’ll get into the sound quality in a bit, but suffice to say for now that it sounds good.

Battery Life & IP Rating

So really quickly on battery, there’s no change here. You get five hours in the earbuds when ANC is on, with another 18 hours in the case.

The earbuds are IPX7 water resistance rated, so perfectly fine for exercise and the like.

Microphone Quality

As for mic quality, they’re actually pretty good. There’s decent background and wind noise suppression and my voice did come across clearly in calls.

Sound Quality

But now, we come to sound quality, and this is actually where the biggest change is for me. The bass is even stronger on these earbuds, they’re thumpy, impactful, powerful, pick however you want to describe them, they’re good. It’s detailed and deep and just really good.

The mids are great as well, plenty of vocal forwardness and clarity and guitars and instruments are distinct and well-rendered. Treble is decent as well, although I did think the earbuds would have benefited from a bit more energy here.

There’s also 360 audio here, which is fantastic when paired with Dolby Atmos content, whether it’s songs or movies. I would recommend turning off head tracking if you’re using the earbuds mainly for music though. I personally don’t enjoy head tracking so I just kept it off the whole time.

The soundstage is great as well, it’s wide and open and plenty spacious.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Price

At S$328, these are pricey, no doubt about it. They are great performers, but they’re extra great if you’re using a Samsung phone.