Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 test: like a light version of Pro Buds

But what do you think? Do you have relevant experiences with Galaxy Buds? What is your favorite model?

Buds pro vs buds 2

Loading case: 41.2 g

Loading case: 44.9 g

Loading case: 42.2 g

• 360 degree and 24 bits audio
• Compact design
• Efficient ancient

• Very successful design
• Compact and discreet form Factor
• His faithful in the bass
• Ancient
• Qi wireless load
• Complete companion application

• A pleasant and balanced sound
• Elderly effective with a good mode of transparency
• Set of characteristics
• Good call quality
• IPX7

• Original and Ergoonomic design
• Solid autonomy
• The quality of the microphones for calls
• Complete Company Application

• Too many features exclusive to Samsung smartphones
• Incompatible with iPhone

• Any bass profile
• Too limited egalizer
• IPX2 certified only
• Average autonomy

• Many features exclusively for Samsung
• Keeps optimal, especially when we talk
• Too complicated use

• An ancdotal anc
• The disappointing and imprecise audio rendering
• No best choice at 200 €

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro made a good impression on this point in our grip. For this, the headphones are IPX7 certified, like the first Galaxy Buds. Both for Live Galaxy Buds and for Buds 2, you will have to be satisfied with an IPX2 certification. Loading cases have practically not changed over the generations of devices.

Characteristics and sound

Galaxy Buds models are common to be equipped with an active noise reduction system. To be fair, we must point out that the anc of Live Buds was still not very successful. For audio quality, Samsung is betting on AKG speakers with a diameter of 12 mm. The result is however at most average, the sound missing each time of precision.

The situation is a little different for the Galaxy Buds 2, the price of which is similar: the ANC (with its transparency mode) is completely convincing! Buds 2 also mark points with their pronounced bass, and the Companion application offers an equalizer at least rudimentary.

• Also read our complete guide to Bluetooth codecs

The Galaxy Buds Pro are even higher in terms of sound. The ANC and the transparency mode are both adjustable on three levels and completely convinced Ben during his test. The same goes for the sound himself! The two -way system with an 11 mm woofer for the bass and a 6.5 mm driver for the treble provides a very natural sound which is not too busy in bass.

Curiously, Samsung also gives up codec coverage like the Aptx! The same goes for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, which only support the Samsung Seamless owner codec in addition to the SBC and the AAC. The new in-ear headphones, however, want to score points with the improved ANC and, for the first time, 24-bit audio.

But do not forget that the pleasure of high fidelity is reserved for owners of recent Samsung smartphones. As a general rule, Samsung readily excludes non-samsung devices of compatibility with its features. If you use an iPhone, application support is even nonexistent! Be careful before you buy and read our full tests carefully. But anyway: sound fetishists among you should rather opt for pro models.

Autonomy

As would be expected, the four models have in common the fact that the loading case significantly extends the autonomy. During the Galaxy Buds Live test, Antoine obtained a very solid autonomy of 7 hours. If we add to this the three recharges via the case, we obtain a total autonomy of 28 hours!

The 28 -hour autonomy is also realistic for the Galaxy Buds Pro. Remember that it decreases significantly for all models if you use the ANC a lot. The 7-8 h will therefore drop at around 5 h with the activated ANC, which is also valid for the Galaxy Buds 2.

The 515 mAh of the battery of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro should allow to hold until 29 hours without old. If you use noise reduction, Samsung promises an autonomy of 6 p.m. We will tell you in our full test if the headphones actually hold so long.

Regarding charging time, Live Galaxy Buds need approximately 20 min to recharge at 50 % and 90 min for a full load. The Galaxy Buds Pro and Buds 2 are still responsible a little more quickly: they are full in 60 min. For all models, 10 min load should be enough to get 2 hours of listening. This also applies to the new Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, even if, as we said, they have not yet been tested. The four models can also be wirelessly loaded thanks to the support for the Qi standard.

Price and availability

Live Galaxy Buds were presented in August 2020. This means that the recommended sale price of 199 euros has had time to decrease well, so much so that you can currently buy live buds at around 80 euros.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

• See the offer 79, 50 € (Amazon)
• Find on ebay (ebay)

The Galaxy Buds Pro, which Samsung presented us as part of its Galaxy Unpacked in early 2021 at the same time as the Galaxy S21, are not much more recent. Again, the recommended sale price of 229 euros has almost halved.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

• See the offer 122, € 89 (Amazon)
• Find on ebay (ebay)

The Galaxy Buds 2, launched in August 2021, are now a year old and there too, there is much left of the recommended sale price of 150 euros, which is a good thing for those who wish to buy them. You can have them on Amazon for 100 euros!

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

• See offer 100, € 54 (Amazon)
• Find on ebay (ebay)

The brand new high -end model will be marketed from August 26. But you can already pre -order the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for 229 euros. They are therefore undoubtedly more expensive than the rest of the intra-ear headphones mentioned in this article. In return, you will receive the Dual Wireless charger as a pre -order as well as a free Qutre month subscription to Tidal.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

• See the offer 229, 00 € (Amazon)
• Find on ebay (ebay)

Conclusion

If we must recommend the best model in terms of sound, the choice will certainly be on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, even without having tested them completely. An exceptional ancient, 24-bit sound and all the features of which the Galaxy Buds Pro have already been endowed speak of themselves. Galaxy Buds Pro are naturally cheaper, without concessions to be done in terms of IP quality or certification.

Galaxy Buds 2 and Live Buds are a little lower on the quality scale. If the pro models are the top of the range of Samsung, these two pairs of in-ear headphones are mid-range. Avoid Live Galaxy Buds, especially if the ANC is important for you. But if the ANC and one sound as precise as possible are not that important for you, you will find in these two models, a very advantageous alternative to the Galaxy Buds Pro more expensive.

Finally, I regret the fact that Samsung excludes iPhone users and that you have to have a recent Galaxy smartphone to benefit from all features. A greater opening and more codecs supported would be a great improvement from Samsung. You may read our selection of the best True Wireless headphones with ANC in 2022 to find better alternatives.

But what do you think? Do you have relevant experiences with Galaxy Buds? What is your favorite model?

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 test: like a light version of Pro Buds

The Galaxy Buds 2 are technically the third generation of True-Wireless headphones from Samsung. Presented alongside new folding smartphones Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 and some Galaxy Watch 4 During the August Samsung Unpacked event, Buds 2 stand out above all Galaxy Buds original and Galaxy Buds+, which shared a similar aesthetic, by their more advanced features.

The Galaxy Buds 2 are closer to Galaxy Buds Pro which have a curved design and the same compact case as this new model. Buds 2 are 15 % smaller and 20 % lighter than buds+, they arise alternatively to professional buds, slightly more efficient.

The Galaxy Buds 2 are available in pre -order at 149 euros and are available from August 27 in four colors (graphite, white, olive and lavender) with a white loading case.

Design: comfortable and discreet

Like pro buds, buds 2 are equipped with an active noise reduction function (RBA). Although they are more similar to a light version of pro buds, we have found the buds 2 closer to live buds, in the sense that they barely exceed ears and are very discreet. This compact design is also less sensitive to wind.

Their format should also suit a larger number of morphologies. We tried them with the largest of the three pairs of tips and their adjustment was perfect and comfortable.

We worn them for more than 4 hours in a row on a plane trip without any discomfort. No problem either to run with buds 2. However, they are not as suitable for sport as pro buds, which are completely waterproof with an IPX7 index. Buds 2, like Buds+, are limited to IPX2 certification. This means that they should be suitable for low -intense training, but there are better options for athletes.

Audio: powerful bass

The Galaxy Buds 2 have an audio profile similar to that of Buds+ with an accentuation of the bass which gives a warm sound. If the treble is a little more limited, there are enough details and the sound scene is reasonably open, although a little less spacious than that of the Buds. Samsung did not provide a lot of details on the speakers, just mentioning that they were “bidirectional” with a separate tweeter and woofer, as on the pro buds.

We found them pleasant to listen to, with a good audio signature, in particular for the music emphasizing the bass. They are suitable for all genres, but are a little more suitable for hip-hop and pop/electro music. That said, they do not offer such rich, detailed and refined sound as some high -end headphones such as WF-1000XM4 of Sony, the Momentum True Wireless II to Sennheiser or even the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. However, most users should be satisfied.

Excellent quality audio calls

Buds 2 are very effective for hand-free calls. They are equipped with three microphones and a new “Solution based on automatic learning” which, according to Samsung, filters unwanted backgrounds.

We were able to test it by making calls at a crowded and noisy airport and our interlocutors told us that they heard very little background noise. They also found that our voice was clear and barely veiled.

The autonomy of Buds 2 is evaluated at 5 hours with the activated RBA and 7.5 hours without the RBA. The case provides three additional charges, it is USB-C and wireless compatible. There is a fast charge function which restores an hour of autonomy in 5 minutes. Our test corroborates these figures.

A correct noise reduction, nothing more

The active noise reduction is good but not extraordinary. Thanks to a good adjustment, we were able to obtain very effective passive sound insulation. During our trip by plane, the RBA has mitigated the ambient noise but the pro buds are better in this area while the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds box in another category.

In addition to the active noise reduction, we find the now classic ambient mode that allows you to hear the outside world. In this area, AirPods Pro undoubtedly offer the most natural sound of all market models. Samsung has improved its ambient mode but the Buds 2 remain far from those of Apple.

Still functions reserved for Samsung devices

As with the Galaxy Buds Pro and Live Buds, touch controls work well and are reactive. But when you handle a earpiece so that it is better placed in your ear, you risk putting your music on a break. Note that we can deactivate or customize touch controls via the application.

The Buds 2 also have a local sensor in order to break the music when the two headphones are removed (most models are automatically paused as soon as a single earpiece is removed).

As on the Galaxy Buds, there is also a low latency game mode, but only for owners of Samsung smartphones, and the headphones automatically change between Galaxy devices. However, there is no real multipoint Bluetooth coupling.

Buds 2 are compatible with the Samsung -owned Audio Audio Streaming Format for Galaxy devices and the AAC Codec. You can use the right or left earpiece independently. We have not deplored problems with the Bluetooth connection which turned out to be very stable.

No application for iOS

Android users can refine the audio settings via the Samsung Wearable application using the proposed preregches. You should know that the Galaxy Buds 2 operate with iOS terminals and all Bluetooth audio devices, but as pro buds, they are not compatible with the Galaxy Buds for iOS application. It also means that the firmware cannot be updated unless you have an Android terminal on hand.

The point on competition

With a launch price under 150 €, Buds 2 adopt a correct positioning. Neither too expensive nor good-market, they are in the average price of their technical sheet. Among their main competitors, we will especially remember the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro and the Beats Studio Buds.

The former offer at least equivalent sound services for a lower price, more effective controls but less good comfort. Beats are also interesting, offering beautiful sound, effective physical controls, slightly higher water protection and good active noise reduction for the same price. On the other hand, they are a little more basic in terms of functionalities.

Conclusion

The main asset of the Galaxy Buds 2 is really their design. Not only are these headphones smaller and lighter than Buds+ and Pro Buds, but they are very comfortable and are relatively discreet. In some respects, they recall the Beats Studio Buds, which also cost 150 euros and are compact and light. The beats are a little more oriented towards iOS and have siri in hands (Buds 2 have Bixby in hands for users of galaxy smartphones), but they still have an Android application.

However, Buds 2 may be a little better to make calls and adapt better to the ears of some people. In reality, pro buds are the biggest rivals of these buds 2 because they are better, at least with regard to sound and performance, and are sometimes sold at the same price, or even less during the periods of promotions. So, if you can have professional buds at a more attractive rate than Buds 2, go for it. Otherwise, the latter also remain very good.

Image: Drew Evans/Cnet

Read the full test

• Writing note