Get Them Here
So the new Galaxy buds 2 are a great upgrade from the Galaxy Buds Plus. They now have active noise cancelation, their ambient mode sounds better, their microphone sounds better, and they sound better as well. However, there are some key changes to look out for on the Galaxy Buds 2 from the Galaxy Buds Plus. But nonetheless the Galaxy Buds 2 are a very solid pair of everyday carry earbuds that you really can’t go wrong with.
Regarding pricing, the Galaxy Buds 2 retail for $150. The same as the Galaxy Buds plus when they first came out. Now at a $150 the Galaxy Buds 2 are reasonable and their feature stack is very similar to that of a pair of Premium ANC earbuds. They have active noise cancellation, an ambient mode, and they even have wireless charging. So like I said, if you’re an android user you really can’t go wrong with these earbuds. So if you want to pick them up they’ll be linked down below.
Now when it comes to battery life, the Galaxy Buds 2 are basically identical to both the Pro’s and Live. As in the Earbuds themselves each have a 61 milliamp hour button cell battery and the case has a 472 milliamp hour battery. Now with their active noise cancelation turned off these earbuds have a combined advertised battery life of 29 hours. The earbuds themselves can go for up to seven and a half hours and the case can supply about 3 charges. And with their active noise cancelation turned on these earbuds have an advertised combined battery life 20 hours. The earbuds can go for up to 5 hours plus 3 charges from the case.
Overall, battery life on the Galaxy Buds 2 is good… but it is different from the Galaxy Buds plus. The Galaxy Buds Plus have an 85 milliamp hour battery in them allowing them for them togo as long as 11 hours straight with their ambient mode turned off. So the plus do have more stamina than the Galaxy Buds 2. Now I think 7 and half hours on the Galaxy Buds 2 is fine… but I did want to point out the reduced stamina for those fringe cases. I know retail and warehouse workers like to see stamina from their earbuds.
Now when it comes to actually charging this case just as you’d expect you’ve got USB C charging… but you’ve also got wireless charging. Now personally I don’t really care for wireless charging on my earbuds, but I do want to point it out either for the people that have a phone that supports power sharing, and since I expect most viewers are going to have a galaxy device this means you… or if you’ve already invested in a few wireless chargers.
But now lets talk about the earbuds themselves. Regarding fit there are some major changes. Now first off the Galaxy Buds 2 still fit like a standard pair of in ear eabuds just like the Galaxy Buds Plus, as in they go into your ear canal a decent amount. They aren’t shallow fitting like the Pro’s. Now if you’re used to in ear earbuds you can easily wear the Galaxy Buds 2 for hours on end because their silicon eartips don’t get itchy after awhile like the foam ear tip that you’ll find on lets say the Sony WF-1000XM4’s. However, the Galaxy Buds 2 are better used as casual earbuds… as in I really wouldn’t recommend these for working out especially if you’re a runner. Now don’t get me wrong, these earbuds have good lock down… but they don’t have as much lock down as the Plus because they no longer have ear fins. And you know, the ear fins on the Plus could have been a major selling point for some people. So overall, I think the Galaxy Buds 2 should fit most people just fine… but you can no longer customize your fit like you can with the Plus.
Now regarding connectivity, each earbud establishes a connection with your phone. So if you just want to use one earbud at a time you can use either one. It doesn’t matter. And this is the connection set up that we expect to see from our earbuds nowadays.
Now if you’re a Samsung power user you’re going to be able to hot swap between all of your devices thanks to the seamless earbud connection. But even if you’re not galaxy user, lets say you’ve got a pixel device and an iPhone like me, switching devices is also very easy. All you gotta do is go into your devices bluetooth menu and establish a connection. So connectivity wise, these earbuds are good for power users with multiple devices.
Now when it comes to performance these earbuds have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you're using an iPhone or and device… and when it comes to audio codecs these earbuds have support for SBC and AAC.
But now lets talk about sound… definitely the Galaxy Buds 2 sound better than the out going Galaxy Buds Plus. Specifically they don’t sound as bright and nasally, and they have a little more bass to them. However, these earbuds don’t sound anywhere near as good as the Galaxy Bud Pro. The Galaxy Buds 2 don’t sound as open, instrument separation isn’t as good and the bass doesn’t resonate or hit as hard. And you know, this is to be expected. Now for a pair of entry-level everyday carry earbuds the Galaxy Buds 2 deliver… But I do gotta say that I think these earbuds sound best when they're set to their dynamic EQ. Right out of the box these earbuds can sound a little bright, and thats to be expected. They are AKG at the end of the day. But just like with the Galaxy Buds Plus… I would mainly recommend these to someone who like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ. If you’re looking for bass then you’ll might want to go with the Beats Studio Buds… and if you’re looking for the best sound at a price that won’t break the bank then you’ll might want to check out the Sennheiser CX’s.
But now I want to address the App on the Galaxy Buds 2. Just like with the Galaxy buds pro… the Galaxy Buds 2’s only connect to Samsung’s wear app if you’re using an Android device. If you try to connect these earbuds to the wear app using an iPhone… these earbuds just won’t connect. So definitely because of the app support thats one of the main reasons why I would only recommend the Galaxy Buds 2 and Pro’s to android users. Without this app you’re not going to be able to choose between your different EQ settings, adjust your ambient mode, or adjust the lay out of your media controls.
Now speaking of media controls, the Galaxy Buds 2 are using touchpads. Now this time around these touch pads are very accurate and they're easy enough to use. You can easily skip through your music, and you can cycle between your active noise cancelation settings. And through the labs tab on these earbud’s app you can turn on the tap the edge feature. So you can also adjust the volume of your earbuds without having to use your phone. Now personally I love having all of this control directly from the earbuds themselves… but the one critique that I do have to point out here is that these earbuds don’t do the best job of rejecting inputs when im just adjusting these earbud. So thats another reason why I wouldn’t recommend these earbuds for working out.
Now regarding voice commends… these earbuds have support for everybody’s favorite, bixby. Which only applies if you’re using a galaxy device. Now since im a pixel user I don’t have any experience with bixby… but unfortunately the Galaxy Buds 2 don’t have Hey Google Support. So you’ll might want to take that into consideration if always listening voice assistants is important to you. But you can always active your voice assistant by pressing and holding.
But now I just want to address a pet peeve that I have about these earbuds. Now these earbuds have proximity sensors… but they don’t pause your music when you take one earbud out… you gotta take out both of them out. And there isn’t a setting in their app to fix this. Personally I think this is very dumb… so Samsung lets fix this.
But now lets talk about the Active noise cancelation on these earbuds. Now Samsung’s Active noise cancelation doesn’t block out all that much noise… even on their Galaxy Buds Pro. Cause when it comes to ranking there’s the Sony WF-1000XM4’s which block out the most amount of noise, under them are the Jabra Elite 85T’s which also block out a ton of noise all while being more comfortable. Under them are the AirPods Pro and Sennheiser Momentum 2’s which I feel are neck and neck. And under them are the Galaxy Buds Pro.
So like I said, in general Samsung’s ANC is ehh. Now below the Galaxy Buds Pro are the Beats Studio Buds, below them are the Galaxy Buds 2, and in last place here is going to be the Galaxy Buds Live. But obviously the Galaxy Buds Live are going to block out the least amount noise here because of how they fit. But thats a story for a different video.
Overall the Galaxy Buds 2 block out some noise… but don’t expect them to block out as much noise as the big boys, and the Galaxy Buds 2 really only block out constant low frequency sounds.
However like I’ve mentioned in the past, I only use the ANC on my earbuds when I have to. And what’s really important to me is the quality of their ambient mode. Now the Galaxy Buds 2 have a much better, more natural sounding ambient mode than the Galaxy Buds plus… but my critique here is that it can sound a little shallow. And the microphone array does pick up a decent amount of wind noise when walking out doors.
And unfotuantly, the Ambient mode on the Galaxy Buds 2 brings in everything. It not the active kind like the ambient mode sound on the Sony WF-1000XM4’s which will automatically turn off their ambient mode if there’s a sudden loud noise saving you from just getting your ears blasted.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Like I mentioned at the top of this video the Galaxy Buds 2 have a better sounding microphone than the Galaxy Buds Plus. Because in a quite room these do sound a little shallow.
Where as with the Galaxy Buds 2… these do have more amplification to them. Bring your voice out much more.
Now when it comes to blocking out road noise, these earbuds do a really good of blocking out noise pollution but they also do a great job of focusing on just my voice. Because for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you can clearly hear all of this road noise. But if we were to switch back over to the Galaxy Buds 2 it is reduced and my voice is the main focus here.
Where as with the Galaxy Buds Plus, not only can you hear a decent amount of noise pollution… my voice does sound very shallow.
However, the galaxy Buds plus do a good job of blocking out chatter. Because right now you can’t hear too much noise pollution and my voice isn’t as shallow as before.
And it about the same thing with the Galaxy Buds 2. You can still hear a little chatter in the back ground… but my voice is much more amplified this time around. It sounds robotic… but you can under stand me.
So with all that being said, the Galaxy buds 2 are still a great pair of entry level everyday carry truly wireless earbuds that any android user should consider. You’ve got active noise cancellation, an ambient mode, they have a decent sounding microphone, and they sound pretty good. However don’t expect these earbuds to block out a ton of noise… and I wouldn’t pick these earbuds up if you’re planning on working out with them. They no longer have as much lock down as the Plus. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung eventually releases something like the Galaxy Buds Active. And also keep in mind that in order to get the most out of the Galaxy Buds 2, you wanna use them with an android device.