11 Aug
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Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Review | No-brainer Buds

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 and its case are on the floor.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 in the test: No-Brainer-Buds

RRP $ 150.00

"Good luck beating the Galaxy Buds 2 for the price."

advantages

  • Compact

  • Comfortable

  • Effective ANC

  • good sound

  • Solid battery

disadvantage

  • Annoying touch controls

  • Many functions only for Android

It gets really difficult to say anything clever in a wireless earbud review above. There are just so many of these things now. Five years ago? No problem. True wireless earbuds were still in their infancy, and we were all very excited that cables could be gone forever. Today? Well, let me put it this way: I have around 14 pairs of true wireless earbuds on my desk right now and this is exactly what has been popping up in the past few weeks.

My point is that wireless earbuds are now a commodity. We know this because you can pick up a pair at the local pharmacy for around $ 25. In this case, the Galaxy Buds 2 just have to … well, not shit, to be admittedly blatant.

At $ 150, the Galaxy Buds 2 are not only non-absorbent, but will make a lot of people very happy too. Whether or not the Galaxy Buds 2 should be an easy purchase or not can be debated, but there's no denying that these wireless buds are about to fly off the shelves.

Here's why.

Out of the box

Close up on open Galaxy Buds 2 case with earbuds inside.Caleb Denison / Digital Trends

The Galaxy Buds 2 are delivered in a compact box – almost all of the packaging is recyclable. In the box I found a small, white, square wireless charging case (some have called it a Squircle) with the Galaxy Buds 2 embedded in it, along with large and small silicone earbuds (the middle earbuds are already attached to the earbuds) and a USB-A to USC-C charging cable. Maybe there was some product literature buried there too, but I quickly threw the box away and moved on.

The Galaxy Buds 2 I received came in the color graphite, with the inside of the wireless charging case matching that color. The buds (and pod insides) are also available in white, olive and lavender.

Battery life, fit, features

Samsung claims the following battery performance for its headphones and case with a mix of ANC off and on and talk time.

  • ANC on: Up to 5 hours of game time and up to 3.5 hours of talk time
  • ANC on: Up to 20 hours of playtime with charging case and up to 13 hours of talk time with charging case
  • ANC off: Up to 7.5 hours of game time and up to 3.5 hours of talk time
  • ANC off: Up to 29 hours of playtime with charging case and up to 14 hours with charging case

Samsung also claims that the Buds 2 will offer around an hour of playtime on a 5-minute charge and around 2.5 hours on a 10-minute charge. I can confirm both of these claims as conservative because I had a little more time than the claimed time during both of the tests I performed.

In the four days in which I had to test the Galaxy Buds 2 so far, I never got less than 5 hours of game time with ANC, probably because I never exhausted the available game volume. The two charge cycles I went through gave me 5.3 and 5.5 hours, exceeding Samsung's claims.

I haven't been able to discharge the battery in the charging case, but I managed to fully charge it twice, and according to the case's battery indicator, I should get another one without any problems, which fully supports Samsung's claims to battery performance.

The Galaxy Buds 2 are some of the most comfortable wireless earbuds I've ever worn.

Given the size of the Buds 2 and their charging case, I think this battery performance is perfectly fine and is the same as the AirPods Pro, although it's worth noting that the AirPods Pro's performance doesn't really change with ANC on or off.

Fit

Close up of Caleb Denison with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.Caleb Denison / Digital Trends

In terms of fit, the Galaxy Buds 2 are some of the most comfortable wireless earbuds I've ever worn. Much better than the bulkier Galaxy Buds + and infinitely better than the cumbersome, bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live.

Their compact shape might not fit all ears, but they did fit my medium-sized ears well. And when I say the Buds 2 are comfortable, I mean that too. You never bothered me; no fatigue after long listening sessions, no ear sweating … nothing to complain about.

I even wore the Buds 2 to bed and enjoyed every second of the ambient rain noises until I passed out. When I woke up, the buds were still in my ears. I think this story bodes well for safety, but I don't go as far as to say that full workouts don't find a way to remove them. Active / sports earbuds aren't, although they come with an IPX-7 rating to protect them from light moisture. But for everyday use, I don't see them fall out of most people's ears. They even passed my eating test. Ordinarily, chewing a semi-raw side of the beef causes enough mandibular movement to remove even the most secured buds, but somehow the Galaxy Buds 2 didn't budge. Imagine that.

features

How well the Buds 2 fit has a lot to do with how they sound, which I'll get into in a moment. However, this is a good time to discuss some of the features Buds 2 owners can use when paired with an Android smartphone. I'll be speaking to you iPhone owners in a moment looking for AirPods alternatives.

The external control of the Galaxy Buds 2 takes place via the Galaxy Wearable app, which is currently only available for Android. You can change the Buds 2's EQ, toggle (but not customize) various touch controls, do an earbud fit test, toggle noise cancellation on and off, and adjust the intensity of the Buds' ambient noise among other things, as below pictured.

Honestly, I could survive without the EQ knob or the variable intensity knob in ambient mode. But one feature that I, as a non-Android user, couldn't do without is control over the Buds' touch controls, since, as I'll discuss in a moment, I'd rather not have touch controls than touch controls that do I can't … control.

Samsung has set the sound for the Galaxy Buds 2 correctly.

So, the few of you out there who own iPhones and think the Galaxy Buds 2 look like a good AirPods Pro alternative? You could be. Just understand that what you get out of the box is what you get and nothing you can do about it. For the most part, that's fine. But if you're worried about accidentally triggering the touch controls – say you're a chronic earbud adjuster or just play with your ears a lot – keep your hands off it.

Sound quality and ANC

Caleb Denison / Digital Trends

Given my previous experience with the Samsung wireless headphones, I didn't go into this review with high expectations. I've found previous iterations of Samsung's wireless earbuds to sound a bit flat and unimaginative. Fortunately, Samsung set the sound for the Galaxy Buds 2 correctly. The self-proclaimed audiophile in me shudders at that statement, but the realist in me knows that most of the people who try the Galaxy Buds 2 are going to love you.

An audio reviewer will tell you that the Galaxy Buds 2 have a little too much bass; that the bass disturbs some details in the upper mid and lower treble range and hides crucial transients such as the plucking of guitar strings or the clink of a drumstick hitting a ride cymbal. This is all true and it doesn't matter.

Samsung is aiming for a mass market with the Galaxy Buds 2 and has designed their sound to appeal to the masses. Sure, the bass is a little fat at times, and that can affect perceived clarity from time to time, but I think most people will stick the Galaxy Buds 2 in their ears and be perfectly pleased with how full, punchy, and lively they can be sound. There's a bit of pressure in the upper treble which gives them a lot of sheen, and the mids, although set back a bit, still give the vocals plenty of presence.

In other words, the Galaxy Buds 2 sound more than passable. They actually sound damn good, even if they are a bit clumsy with the bass every now and then. They definitely sound good enough to justify their price.

ANC, ambient mode, call quality

Close up of Caleb Denison with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.Caleb Denison / Digital Trends

As far as active noise cancellation (ANC) is concerned, the Galaxy Buds 2 are a bit cautious about noise cancellation on the AirPods Pro level. If I took a long flight and relied on earphones to suppress the roar of an AirBus motor, I'd turn to the AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000Xm4, or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. But to shut the world out, to give the buds a chance to fight, to put your music, podcast or audiobook in the spotlight, the Galaxy Buds 2 are very competent. Of course, these are the best noise-canceling buds I've heard from Samsung so far, although admittedly I slept on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.

The ambient mode works perfectly. It's not that I'm not wearing the earbuds, but I can hear just enough of what's going on around me that I don't feel the need to pull the earbuds out. Sure, I feel like a little tool when ordering a mocha from Starbucks with the Galaxy Buds 2 in my ears in ambient mode, but I hear the barista ask if I'm sure I don't have whipped cream on top I want my name to be quite good from my oat milk and later butcher. And isn't that the ambient mode?

Call quality leaves a little to be desired, but that's the case with most of the wireless earbuds I try, no matter how many microphones and AI. Processing is stuffed into the mix. I hear everything in stunning quality, but those on the other end of phone or video calls commented that I sounded a bit thin and digitized. Perhaps one day our headphones will capture and reproduce the sound so well, but that day won't herald with the arrival of the Galaxy Buds 2.

Pet annoys

I have a beef with the Galaxy Buds 2 and that's their touch controls. I'm not a fan of surface-based touch controls as they are too easy to trigger. You can't even touch the buds to adjust or secure them in your ears without accidentally changing ANC mode or pausing a track. It's totally annoying. Fortunately, Android users can turn off touch controls if they want. Anyone who doesn't have access to the Galaxy Wearable app – including those on iOS – will be out of luck.

My recording

I think Samsung finally did it with the Galaxy Buds 2. They're comfortable, have solid battery life, high quality sound, a decent ANC, and are about the right price. Sure, you can get competing earbuds for less money, but not with Samsung's name on them and probably not right next to the phone you plan to buy from your carrier’s store. For Android users, they're a breeze. Probably less for Apple users. Especially with the AirPods 3 on the go.

Is there a better alternative?

Not really! There are plenty of other true wireless earbuds out there that match or undercut the $ 150 price of the Galaxy Buds 2, but few of them have the same combo convenience, tiny form factor, solid sound, and high quality ANC, and most of them are of brands that you have probably never heard of.

How long will they last?

Assuming the Buds aren't lost outside of their case (and beyond the realm of the Finder function), I think the Galaxy Buds 2 will last as long as their batteries, which is a good three or four years for most people. An IPX 7 rating will protect them from rain or sweat, but don't plan on going to the water park with them expecting them to survive.

Should you buy it?

If you are an Android user, yes. If you're an Apple user, probably not. The ability to control the buds with the Galaxy Wearable app is key to convenience and that isn't available in the Apple App Store, at least not at the time this review was written.

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