As I’m writing this, I have my Galaxy Buds2 Pro tucked into my ears. The ANC is on, I’m blasting some Chopin, and I’m ready to tell all about my experience with Samsung’s latest flagship buds.
I clear my throat.
Picking up on this, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro quietens my music, the change breaking through my concentration.
I’m half-tempted to sigh, but resist, as I know it will trigger the Voice Detect feature once more, delaying the return of my music at its normal volume. Belatedly, I think to myself, I should probably turn this feature off.
It’s not bad, it’s just that there’s a time and place for it, and it’s hard to control. But more on this later. Aside from this, I’ve actually been enjoying these buds a lot.
Coming in a charming pillbox design that resembles its predecessor, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro’s matte case is wonderfully smooth to the touch. The buds come in Graphite, White, and Bora Purple.
The purple colourway looks particularly eye-catching, but the white one we received was simple and elegant too.
One thing I noticed immediately was the lack of a setup button. This was new to me, as I’ve never used Samsung Galaxy earbuds before. I figured it out eventually (with Google, what’s new) that you can basically reset and pair the buds by holding down the buds while they’re in the case.
Although this was a little finicky to use, it was not a huge hurdle in the bigger picture.
New and improved sound quality
Boasting a 24bit Hi-Fi sound (only on Samsung devices), the Galaxy Buds2 Pro comes with impressive sound quality. Its active noise cancellation is achieved with 3 high SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) microphones that supposedly eliminate more exterior noise.
To non-audiophiles, this might all be gibberish. But basically, the ANC is really good, and I can attest to that. Every time I take off the buds, I get shocked by how much noise there actually was around me.
According to Samsung, these buds feature Intelligent 360 Audio with Direct Multi-channel (virtual 5.1- and 7.1-channel arrangements). I have to admit, though, it didn’t feel that much more immersive compared your typical earbuds.
As teased in my introduction, the buds’ voice detection capabilities are also really strong, perhaps overly so.
Even a cat’s meow occasionally disrupts my music. I found the 10 seconds gap between a voice being detected and the volume going back to normal was a bit too long, so the 5-second option is more ideal.
Customisability galore
Opening up the Galaxy Wearable app, I was met with a delightful plethora of customisation options to explore. There’s the basic stuff such as the equaliser and touch controls, but there are also a few interesting features that you can toggle on, such as neck stretch reminders.
But one of the coolest things I found about the earbuds was the Head Tracking feature. At first, I thought this was just some fancy way to market the buds’ complete surround sound capabilities.
Actually though, Head Tracking is another feature found on the buds. Toggled on, this feature tracks where the wearer is facing so that the audio always sounds like it’s coming from the direction of the phone.
To elaborate, this means if your phone is directly in front of you and your turn to your right, the sound grows louder in your left earbud.
However, this is actually not anything new. This was present on the Buds Pro as well.
Even Apple has been doing it for a while now, tracking wearers’ head movements using accelerometers and gyroscopes to place the sound relative to the screen’s position.
In any case, some people might think this feature is useless. I have to admit, I objectively agree. It doesn’t seem to have many use cases, after all.
But, I have to say, music (such as the Chopin ballade I’ve been listening to) sounds so immersive with this feature on. I’m also an avid viewer of ASMR videos, in which binaural sounds are a key feature. This helps create an immersive soundscape.
I found having Head Tracking on further amplifies the “tingly” sensation ASMR is known for, which is kind of cool, but perhaps not for everyone.
Accidentally, maybe
Speaking of ASMR, this brings me to the next point. Due to the comfortable and snug fit of the earbuds, I decided to take them into the bedroom to enjoy some ASMR videos.
However, upon lying down, I accidentally nudged the pillow with the side of my head. The buds ended up making contact with the pillow, which paused the video.
This wasn’t a fluke, unfortunately. Whenever I turned my head in one direction, the buds would register a sustained touch, thus changing the ANC mode.
Now, this doesn’t always seem to happen, but out of 10 times of me leaning into the pillow, around 6 times, my video ended up getting paused.
I noticed that this would happen even when I wasn’t lying down, too. As I tend to touch my hair quite often, I would accidentally brush against the buds, causing unintentional interruptions to my music.
I’ve never had this problem with other buds I’ve used before, so I think it’s not really a “me” problem—the sensitivity for the Buds2 Pro might actually just be a little too high.
Sounds great for Samsung users
With up to five hours of listening time with ANC, the Buds2 Pro have the same play time as its predecessor.
Just like its predecessor, these buds are considered fully waterproof with its IPX7 rating. That means the earbuds can survive immersion in water up to one metre for 30 minutes.
At RM899, these buds are comparable (price-wise) to other new releases in the market such as Huawei Freebuds Pro 2, which connected to my iPhone more seamlessly, if you were wondering.
Understandably so, the ones who will benefit the most from these buds will be those already in the Samsung ecosystem. This is as many of the features (including better sound quality) are only accessible through Samsung devices with the Galaxy Wearable app.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Improved ANC with 3 high sound-to-noise ratio microphones | Very sensitive and quite prone to accidental touches |
| 360 sound with direct multi-channel and head-tracking capabilities | 24bit Hi-Fi sound (along with other features) only available on Samsung devices |
| Customisable voice detection features | Same battery life compared to predecessor |
| Wholesome neck stretch reminders |
VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.
