Tag Archives: Buds

"With improved audio and a continuing commitment to convenience and ease of use, Samsung has done a lot more to improve the quality of its real wireless buds."

• 11 hours of battery life

• Comfortable, light design

• Additional accessories for an ideal fit

• Stellar customization app

• The charging case contains only one charge

Sequels don't always have to be worse than the original. The Terminator 2 was the blockbuster of its predecessor in every way, and Red Dead Redemption 2 was a masterpiece. Now it seems Samsung's new real wireless earbuds could be one of the success stories of the second edition.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds + were unveiled at the company's Galaxy Unpacked event on February 11 and were available for sale on the Samsung website for $ 150 three days later. Judging by the modest price increase of the original Galaxy Buds ($ 129) and the look and functionality of the new buds, it's clear that Samsung knew the wheel didn't need to be reinvented. The company just needed to make some improvements and keep prices low enough to be a serious competitor to Apple AirPods.

The verdict on the G-Buds + is: The latest products from Samsung are just right.

Let's go

As has become the standard for brands like Samsung and Apple, packaging, accessories and the actual Galaxy Buds + adhere to a less-is-more-aesthetic. Opening the compact white box reveals an even more compact, pill-shaped charging case with the buds embedded in it. Also included are a USB charging cable, two additional pairs of earplugs and sports fins, and a quick start guide to guide you through the setup.

The setup is pretty painless by the way. Most major brands have finally made this a simple science, and Samsung is no exception. However, those who are not yet familiar with Samsung wearables have to go through some digital frames.

Riley Young / Digital Trends

First, you want to download the Galaxy Wearable app and give the app access to your phone. Next, download the Galaxy Buds + plug-in, allow a few more permissions for the buds themselves, and the buds will automatically connect to your device when you open the charging case.

From there, the next step pulls the buds out of the case and fits them in your ear.

The buds were a bit small for me with their initial earplugs because the seal didn't feel safe in my ears. After swapping larger tips, I found them to be as comfortable as their predecessors, with an extremely lightweight construction that would almost make you forget that they were there, if not the sound emanating from their double drivers.

That's a lot of battery

One of the biggest improvements that Samsung touted for its new buds was the improved battery, which it claims has a playtime of 11 hours between charges. With the original Galaxy Buds, it's 6 hours and miles away from the company's first pair of buds, the Gear IconX.

In fact, we still have to try a pair with a longer battery life per charge. They offer more than twice the playing time of Apple's more expensive AirPods (including the second-generation pair and AirPods Pro for $ 250). Unlike the AirPods, the Galaxy Buds + only offers a single charge in the case. However, since it is 11 hours per recording, playback is almost a full day and just under Apple's 24 hours.

The lifespan of these buds is as excellent as stated, but there is an interesting quirk.

In terms of this battery life requirement, the life of these buds is as excellent as stated, but there is an interesting quirk. The app offers you charging status for each bud as well as the charging case itself. I noticed that my right bud ran out of juice faster than the left one. It was a little difference, usually no more than two or three percent at a time. It's a puzzling feature, though not entirely surprising – we've noticed the same thing with older Samsung earbuds, including the Galaxy IconX 2018.

Custom grade

The Galaxy Buds + have standard programmed gestures for the touchpads of each bud. Touch once to play or pause music, tap twice to go to the next track, answer / end calls, and tap three times to go backward.

We feel obliged to point out that all these gestures failed on this first pass with these buds. However, after disconnecting and reconnecting, each gesture worked smoothly and has continued since then. We should also mention that a colleague had another pair of Galaxy Buds + in the office and had no problems with the controls.

Some other touch controls are also available. You can use the app to determine which earbuds control functions such as voice commands, switch ambient sounds on and off, switch playlists in Spotify and increase or decrease the volume. In our tests, each of these controls worked perfectly.

Riley Young / Digital Trends

In terms of Spotify, the integration here is both compelling and just makes us ask for a little more. With a long press on the Galaxy Buds + touchpad, Spotify continues to play the most recently played playlist. Another long press and the buds will go to the next playlist in your collection, although there doesn't seem to be a way to determine what that will be. This could be a playlist you created, a “Daily Mix” playlist curated by Spotify based on your listening habits, or a recently listened to playlist. It definitely kept us musically busy, and frankly that's not a bad thing, but more direction when switching between playlists wouldn't be bad either.

Sound and call quality

With two dynamic drivers – a woofer and a tweeter – as well as a new speaker and microphone system from the Samsung subsidiary AKG, the company has described its new buds as being able to produce studio-quality sound.

We wouldn't go that far and we wouldn't expect that at $ 150 either. Frankly, studio quality is a buzzword that shouldn't be used for any kind of wireless earphones.

The Galaxy Buds + immediately sounded clearer to our ears than the AirPods.

However, what we would say for the money is that the Galaxy Buds + present a very appealing sound stage with decent bass and a clear upper register. The app offers several equalizer presets that allow you to customize the sound to your liking.

For most tracks, from Blues Traveler & # 39; s Hook to Maroon 5 & # 39; s Girls Like You, the "dynamic" equalizer setting produced the best overall sound, avoiding the sometimes flat-sounding "normal" setting and less Brightness was offered as a "height boost". For us, this dynamic environment was the sweet spot. A few choices sounded a bit unnatural (I can think of a few classic rock songs), but for the most part, this setting best combined vocal clarity and unmixed instrumental music.

The Galaxy Buds + immediately sounded clearer to our ears than the AirPods, although they weren't as detailed or defined as the beautiful AirPods Pro. The latter has active noise cancellation, a feature that Samsung's wireless offerings have missed. At the price, however, it makes sense that the Galaxy Buds + left out the technology. The only earphones under $ 200 that have noise protection features are the Amazon Echo Buds, and even these only offer active noise reduction instead of full cancellation.

Riley Young / Digital Trends

For what it's worth, the Samsung Galaxy Buds + make a commendable contribution to suppressing outside noise.

With regard to the call quality, we are happy to report after a few test runs that the calls are received clearly and without great distortion from the outside environment. Voices on the other end sounded somewhat distant in some places, but it was minimal.

warranty information

Samsung's 12-month warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship.

Our opinion

If the Galaxy Buds + kept the same as the original Galaxy Buds and simply doubled the battery life, it would still be an improvement that is worth the cost. With improved audio and a continuous commitment to comfort and ease of use, Samsung has done a lot more to improve the quality of its real wireless buds.

Is there a better alternative?

While the Galaxy Buds + certainly offers more than enough features to hold its own against more expensive competitors, the $ 200 1More Wireless ANC and the $ 200 Jabra Elite 75t would be solid alternatives without breaking the bank completely. The Air Pods from Apple and the Echo Buds from Amazon also fit in the same category as the Galaxy Buds +. Depending on the ecosystem you are already invested in, both may be preferable.

Still, it's hard to find earphones that can do everything the Samsung Galaxy Buds + can do at this price.

How long it will take?

Samsung's products are generally a long-lived breed, and these Galaxy Buds + shouldn't be an exception. With replaceable earplugs and fins, they seem to be well equipped for the long haul.

Should you buy it

Yes. Samsung's successor to the original Galaxy Bud introduces groundbreaking battery life into the landscape of real wireless earphones, optimizes already solid audio performance and maintains an attractive price. This is a formula for success in our book.

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