Every smartphone brand tries to do what Apple did years ago and proudly continues to do: create a mobile ecosystem in the most convenient way that compels the user not to leave it. An ecosystem includes the phone and everything it can power to give you the ultimate gadget experience. I’m talking about wearable devices and true wireless headphones are a crucial part of that. Apple AirPods do not work on any phone other than an iPhone (or other Apple products). Samsung, which uses Android’s open ecosystem, has been trying to do this for years. With the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, he seems to have finally achieved his dream. Also Read – 5 Best Premium Wireless Headphones You Can Consider
The new, non-shiny Galaxy Buds 2 Pro borrows heavily from its prequel, but these headphones don’t work the same on every phone. Samsung has locked some Galaxy Buds 2 Pro features to its phones. So unless you’re using the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with a Samsung phone, you can’t enjoy features like 24-bit lossless music or spatial audio. Essentially, these are incentives a brand gives you to stay in its ecosystem. Apple does this on a stricter level, while Google has also built a robust ecosystem for its Pixel-branded products. Choosing Samsung isn’t fair, but, priced at Rs 17,999, do the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro make sense to you? It depends. I’ve been using the new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for a while, and I can say they’re some of the best wireless earbuds money can buy. Here is my opinion. Also Read – Samsung Launches Galaxy Watch 5 Series and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro design
The new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro look a little twee, which is a good thing since other headphones look more or less the same. Samsung has continued with the in-ear design which doesn’t have a stem, so it may not be for everyone. For me, it doesn’t matter as long as the fit is comfortable – something I experience with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Not only are the earbuds lightweight, but they also fit snugly inside the ears and won’t fall out unless triggered by your facial movements. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is smaller than the original Galaxy Buds Pro and comes with a soft, fabric-like matte finish, which makes it less prone to scratches and dirt, and gives it a better grip . The overall design of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro allows for a comfortable fit. I never felt any discomfort while wearing the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the headphones stayed intact unless I was laughing. And yes, there is a USB-C port on the side. Also Read – Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Leaked Price Hints On Its Apple AirPods Pro Rival
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in Bora Purple color (Image: Shubham Verma)
Sound Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Previous Galaxy Buds Pro models offered an excellent audio listening experience, so my expectations of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro were based accordingly. I was not deceived. Within the first few minutes of my use, I realized that the Buds 2 Pro could easily take on the AirPods and Sony WF-1000XM4. The sound is not only clear, but there is also a wide soundstage which enhances the whole listening experience. This helps when you have music from multiple instruments. And that’s why I played Indian cinema music to test if the bass, treble and vocals were there.
Oo Anatava from the movie Pushpa played well, leaving plenty of room for every instrument to be heard perfectly. Sure, the song is bass-heavy and likable in this form. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro takes care of that, providing an enjoyable experience. Shringar by Aastha Gill and Akasa is a fusion of Indian classical music and hip-hop, which the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro did justice to. The heat of the tabla and dholak was there, while the hip-hop rhythms inspired by electronic music made me dance. I’m also a fan of retro music, which lacks bass and modern musical composition. So when I played Ye Shaam MastaniI entered a zone of tranquility.
Adele’s Oh my God had a good funk while ensuring that the vocals did not get mixed up with the sound of the instruments. Midnights by Taylor Swift was another album I loved listening to on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, mainly because it can pick up soft tones and deliver them beautifully.
Part of the credit for this enjoyable listening experience goes to the noise isolation, but if you have noise cancellation turned on you can recognize instruments and their contribution to the melody you’re listening to. Not that it’s exceptional, but it’s nice to see Samsung paying attention to detail when it comes to headphones.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s standless headphones (Image: Shubham Verma)
Sure, the music on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is good, but what about that 24-bit hi-fi sound? Samsung claims the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can play hi-fi music when paired with a Samsung phone running One UI 4.0 or later. That’s a lot of phones, so even if you have a cheaper Galaxy A or Galaxy F phone, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will work as expected. Samsung says its new Seamless codec allows the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to stream 24-bit, 48kHz audio, but it doesn’t list the bitrate. According to The Verge quoting a Samsung spokesperson, the hi-fi audio quality offers a bitrate of 2304kbps. I honestly couldn’t verify it, but I agree that listening to music in lossless quality on Apple Music on a Samsung phone using the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro was slightly better than what I’ve heard otherwise.
If you’re using a Samsung phone, you can also enjoy Spatial Audio on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. It’s basically the movement of the audio based on the movement of your head. I don’t think it’s a game-changing thing for music technology, but it’s nice to have it on devices outside of the Apple ecosystem.
However, hi-fi audio quality and spatial audio are exclusive to Samsung phones. If you are using a phone from other brands, these features are not suitable for you. But that doesn’t mean everything else is equally irrelevant. You get incredible sound quality, as well as noise cancellation, even if you have a Pixel, OnePlus or Xiaomi phone. And you shouldn’t blame Samsung. Each brand tries to create an ecosystem, as I said earlier, and moreover, it is easier and more convenient for a brand to offer its technologies through its own products.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are comfortable to wear (Image: Shubham Verma)
Calls are clearly audible in the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, and with environmental noise cancellation, my callers didn’t experience the issue of distracting background noise. Samsung also lets you enable the natural sound feature which would allow you to listen to your voice during a call so you don’t end up speaking loudly and startling people around you.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Noise Canceling
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer the best kind of noise cancellation to offer. Active noise cancellation has improved dramatically over the years, and Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will let you experience it. I won’t give you numbers – although Samsung has provided them, but talk about how effective ANC is in different scenarios. I was able to isolate myself from chatter in the cafe by using the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, and these headphones became my good companion when I hit the gym.
The soft feel of the fabric makes the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro look good (Image: Shubham Verma)
Sitting and typing at my workstation just got a little more enjoyable with the ANC-enabled headphones on and music playing on them. But when the music isn’t playing, some sounds can leak into your ears. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro also has a voice detection feature that temporarily activates transparency mode and drastically reduces the volume of the media the moment it detects that you are speaking. It’s a good feature, copied from Sony headphones. I don’t care who did it first as long as the implementation is good. I can say that Samsung has done a good job here. But people who like to mumble would want to avoid enabling this feature. For me, this feature turned out to be a mixed bag. For small chats with co-workers this feature has come in handy, but I like to karaoke to songs I listen to. My voice activates the voice detection function, minimizing the music volume.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro gestures and battery
Gestures on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are pretty standard. A single click accepts calls, disconnects an ongoing call, and plays/pauses music. Double tap to play the next track, while a long press changes the noise cancellation mode. I didn’t have a hard time getting used to it, but the ear cups are extremely sensitive. Light pressure can trigger assigned programs. I often put on an earphone when riding a bike and I was annoyed that my helmet stops and plays music. I nitpick.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro run for about six hours with ANC on and eight hours without on a single charge. Adding case charging brings the total runtime to 18-19 hours with ANC and 28 hours without. It’s not a drastic improvement over the last generation headphones, but not bad either. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro supports wireless charging. So when you need a little battery charge, you can enable Power Sharing on your compatible Galaxy phone and charge the headphones.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro easily last around 4-5 hours on a single charge (Image: Shubham Verma)
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro verdict
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are Samsung’s best headphones. They offer the best of the three basic features: sound quality, design and noise cancellation. My minor gripes aside, such as the lack of multipoint connections and the exclusivity of Samsung phones, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are nothing quite as big of a deal-breaker. Sure, they work to their full potential with Samsung phones, but they’re still great when you use them with other phones. At Rs 17,999, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the best bet for Samsung phone users, but if you have a phone from a different brand and are a fan of features like spatial audio, you have to give in. and enter an ecosystem.
