Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus Review: better sound, more endurance – The Verge

The original Samsung Galaxy Buds were real decent wireless headphones: they offered impressive battery life, wireless charging and a lightweight, comfortable fit. But the sound quality was just fine, and their built-in microphones were awful when it came to voice calls. If you got the $ 129 Galaxy Buds as a phone pre-order bonus or on sale at a reduced price, there were reasons to be happy. But paying the high price for them was not as easy to justify.

For 2020, Samsung is back with the Galaxy Buds Plus. They mostly look identical to the originals, but they contain several key improvements. The battery life has been extended to 11 peak hours; the sound quality has been increased, thanks to a new dual pilot design; and they are finally a good option for making calls. Samsung increased the price from $ 20 to $ 149, but the new Galaxy Buds Plus are more balanced than their predecessors in almost every way.

Little has changed on the outside. The case is brighter than before with raised indicators for the left and right earphone holders, and Samsung has added a second external microphone to the earphones. These are really the only subtles that say you’re dealing with the new Galaxy Buds. The Galaxy Buds Plus are available in black, white and blue, and as with the previous model, the white buttons give off a beautiful pearly effect.

Like other companies, Samsung contains three sizes of ear tips and also offers you a choice of silicone ear hooks to help the Galaxy Buds Plus lock securely in your ear. Comfort has never been an issue for older Galaxy Buds, and these keep the same great fit – as long as the included tips work for you. They’re light enough to be unnoticeable, and the subtle design doesn’t draw attention to your ears. If you don’t like the feel of the in-ear headphones and the seal they create, they won’t change anything. They don’t have the ventilation system of Apple’s AirPods Pro which can help relieve hearing pressure. But at $ 149, it makes more sense to compare the Galaxy Buds Plus to regular AirPods and other competitors like the Amazon Echo Buds and Jabra’s Elite 75t headphones.

I mention this because the main thing that you sacrifice compared to the more expensive options is active noise cancellation. The Galaxy Buds Plus can achieve satisfactory passive sound isolation – certainly better than open design AirPods – but it can’t cut your environment at the level of Sony 1000XM3 headphones or AirPods Pro. Even Amazon’s Echo Buds incorporate Bose noise reduction technology, which helps silence the outside world. Still, I found myself able to carry the Galaxy Buds Plus for hours at the cafe or office without being distracted or bothered by outside noise.

Samsung’s approach to controlling headphones has not changed. You will continue to touch the touchscreen exterior of the Galaxy Buds Plus to play and pause music, skip tracks, or answer calls. The long press action is customizable, allowing you to choose between voice assistants (Bixby, Google Assistant, Siri), ambient sound mode or volume controls. I always prefer to have direct volume controls without having to take out my phone, so that’s what I tend to choose.

If you have an Android phone, there is another long press option: Spotify. When this option is selected, Spotify will open and immediately start playing Something he thinks you will like it. It can be a playlist like a Daily Mix or a Release Radar, or just a song that the Spotify algorithm serves you. I wish there was a way to fix this to do one thing in particular every time, but as far as I know there is always a chance factor.

The Galaxy Wearable app (or the Galaxy Buds Plus app if you’re on iOS) has another neat experimental feature. If you go to the labs section, you can activate another way to control the volume which allows you to double tap on the outside of the headphones – do not the touchpad, but the top of the buds themselves – to increase or decrease the volume. It seems to use the accelerometer built into the headphones, and it worked surprisingly well in my tests. It also frees up touch and hold for one of the other features described above.

The app allows you to configure the ambient sound mode and decide how much you want to amplify external noise when activated. Samsung has done a better job with ambient mode this time around, and the effect seems less robotic and unpleasantly digital than before. You can also adjust the equalization settings in the headphone companion app, and while I’ve seen some people praising the “dynamic” option, I still greatly prefer the default sound profile, ready to employment.

And that brings us to sound quality. Samsung has redesigned the Galaxy Buds Plus with a dual driver design (with a dedicated tweeter and woofer in each headset), and this upgrade makes a huge difference from the previous model. In short, they sound much better – for $ 150 headphones, of course. The instruments and voices have a separate separation, and Samsung seems to be aiming for a neutral listening experience. Nothing is pushed too much, and the treble and mids have a nice balance. For codecs, Samsung supports SBC, AAC and its own scalable codec, which can transmit at higher data rates if you also use a Samsung phone.

The Galaxy Buds Plus bass doesn’t have the same level of punch that you get with the latest Jabras, but it’s still enough to create a nice low end. My main criticism is the soundstage: everything can sound a bit together, and you don’t get the same expansive spread and immersion as you would find in something like the 1000XM3. But again, you have to consider the price.

The best thing about the Galaxy Buds Plus is how long you can listen to them without interruption. Samsung has managed to extract 11 hours of continuous battery life from the headphones, which now places them at the top of the mountain. It’s even better than the Powerbeats Pro, which, until now, had been the champion of longevity. Eleven hours will cover your entire working day or a long-haul flight with ease.

And in my experience, Samsung’s estimate is accurate. This raises the bar for real wireless headphones, which is especially important because your Galaxy Buds Plus will hold less than one charge in a year or two. Even then, they should still last a long time. The charging case gives you 11 additional hours for a total of 22 hours before everything needs to be recharged. If you find yourself in a pinch of exhausted headphones, Samsung says you can plug them into USB-C for three minutes to get an hour of listening time. As before, the case supports wireless charging and can be enlarged when resting on recent Samsung phones.

The microphones in the Galaxy Buds Plus are also a big improvement. These headphones are now much better suited for voice calls, while the older ones were a disaster that produced a fuzzy and unintelligible sound. Adding the secondary external microphone solved these issues, and I’m now confident when making calls or joining professional video chats with the Galaxy Buds Plus – instead of the embarrassment that preceded it.

So far, I have praised these headphones, but there are drawbacks. The Galaxy Buds Plus cannot connect to two devices simultaneously. Samsung says they’ll be automatically connected to devices using your Samsung ID – the company is trying to duplicate the convenience of the AirPods out there – but you lose to seamlessly switching between, say, your laptop and your phone . Resistance to water and sweat is also a weakness. Samsung has stayed with an IPX2 rating when other companies offer IPX4 or better. If you are a thick sweater or run in the rain often, this compromise could come back to bite you along the line.

And while Samsung has been trying to lure iPhone owners with its new app, I would only recommend them to the Android crowd. I noticed more disconnections and audio loss than usual on my iPhone 11 Pro Max, and these problems did not appear when using a Pixel 4 XL or Galaxy S10.

If you’re on Android, it’s a tough choice between these and the Jabra Elite 75t headphones. The Jabras definitely have an advantage over Samsung in terms of audio, with a livelier and heavier sound output and better water resistance. But I find it much easier to recommend the Galaxy Buds Plus than ever Samsung’s first true wireless headphones. Their endurance alone will be the main selling factor for some people, I’m sure.

Samsung has upgraded these original Galaxy Buds to an impressive degree, and the name “Plus” here is well deserved. The redesigned interiors improve sound quality, they now have the longest battery life, and voice call issues are a thing of the past. Yes, the $ 200 headphones still outperform them – as they should – and Samsung’s exclusion of noise cancellation may disappoint some. But if the company adds that to the mix for a possible third-generation version, the next Galaxy Buds will be hard to beat.

Photograph by Chris Welch / The Verge

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

The original Samsung Galaxy Buds were real decent wireless headphones: they offered impressive battery life, wireless charging and a lightweight, comfortable fit. But the sound quality was just fine, and their built-in microphones were awful when it came to voice calls. If you got the $ 129 Galaxy Buds as a phone pre-order bonus or on sale at a reduced price, there were reasons to be happy. But paying the high price for them was not as easy to justify.

For 2020, Samsung is back with the Galaxy Buds Plus. They mostly look identical to the originals, but they contain several key improvements. The battery life has been extended to 11 peak hours; the sound quality has been increased, thanks to a new dual pilot design; and they are finally a good option for making calls. Samsung increased the price from $ 20 to $ 149, but the new Galaxy Buds Plus are more balanced than their predecessors in almost every way.

Little has changed on the outside. The case is brighter than before with raised indicators for the left and right earphone holders, and Samsung has added a second external microphone to the earphones. These are really the only subtles that say you’re dealing with the new Galaxy Buds. The Galaxy Buds Plus are available in black, white and blue, and as with the previous model, the white buttons give off a beautiful pearly effect.

Like other companies, Samsung contains three sizes of ear tips and also offers you a choice of silicone ear hooks to help the Galaxy Buds Plus lock securely in your ear. Comfort has never been an issue for older Galaxy Buds, and these keep the same great fit – as long as the included tips work for you. They’re light enough to be unnoticeable, and the subtle design doesn’t draw attention to your ears. If you don’t like the feel of the in-ear headphones and the seal they create, they won’t change anything. They don’t have the ventilation system of Apple’s AirPods Pro which can help relieve hearing pressure. But at $ 149, it makes more sense to compare the Galaxy Buds Plus to regular AirPods and other competitors like the Amazon Echo Buds and Jabra’s Elite 75t headphones.

I mention this because the main thing that you sacrifice compared to the more expensive options is active noise cancellation. The Galaxy Buds Plus can achieve satisfactory passive sound isolation – certainly better than open design AirPods – but it can’t cut your environment at the level of Sony 1000XM3 headphones or AirPods Pro. Even Amazon’s Echo Buds incorporate Bose noise reduction technology, which helps silence the outside world. Still, I found myself able to carry the Galaxy Buds Plus for hours at the cafe or office without being distracted or bothered by outside noise.

Samsung’s approach to controlling headphones has not changed. You will continue to touch the touchscreen exterior of the Galaxy Buds Plus to play and pause music, skip tracks, or answer calls. The long press action is customizable, allowing you to choose between voice assistants (Bixby, Google Assistant, Siri), ambient sound mode or volume controls. I always prefer to have direct volume controls without having to take out my phone, so that’s what I tend to choose.

If you have an Android phone, there is another long press option: Spotify. When this option is selected, Spotify will open and immediately start playing Something he thinks you will like it. It can be a playlist like a Daily Mix or a Release Radar, or just a song that the Spotify algorithm serves you. I wish there was a way to fix this to do one thing in particular every time, but as far as I know there is always a chance factor.

The Galaxy Wearable app (or the Galaxy Buds Plus app if you’re on iOS) has another neat experimental feature. If you go to the labs section, you can activate another way to control the volume which allows you to double tap on the outside of the headphones – do not the touchpad, but the top of the buds themselves – to increase or decrease the volume. It seems to use the accelerometer built into the headphones, and it worked surprisingly well in my tests. It also frees up touch and hold for one of the other features described above.

The app allows you to configure the ambient sound mode and decide how much you want to amplify external noise when activated. Samsung has done a better job with ambient mode this time around, and the effect seems less robotic and unpleasantly digital than before. You can also adjust the equalization settings in the headphone companion app, and while I’ve seen some people praising the “dynamic” option, I still greatly prefer the default sound profile, ready to employment.

And that brings us to sound quality. Samsung has redesigned the Galaxy Buds Plus with a dual driver design (with a dedicated tweeter and woofer in each headset), and this upgrade makes a huge difference from the previous model. In short, they sound much better – for $ 150 headphones, of course. The instruments and voices have a separate separation, and Samsung seems to be aiming for a neutral listening experience. Nothing is pushed too much, and the treble and mids have a nice balance. For codecs, Samsung supports SBC, AAC and its own scalable codec, which can transmit at higher data rates if you also use a Samsung phone.

The Galaxy Buds Plus bass doesn’t have the same level of punch that you get with the latest Jabras, but it’s still enough to create a nice low end. My main criticism is the soundstage: everything can sound a bit together, and you don’t get the same expansive spread and immersion as you would find in something like the 1000XM3. But again, you have to consider the price.

The best thing about the Galaxy Buds Plus is how long you can listen to them without interruption. Samsung has managed to extract 11 hours of continuous battery life from the headphones, which now places them at the top of the mountain. It’s even better than the Powerbeats Pro, which, until now, had been the champion of longevity. Eleven hours will cover your entire working day or a long-haul flight with ease.

And in my experience, Samsung’s estimate is accurate. This raises the bar for real wireless headphones, which is especially important because your Galaxy Buds Plus will hold less than one charge in a year or two. Even then, they should still last a long time. The charging case gives you 11 additional hours for a total of 22 hours before everything needs to be recharged. If you find yourself in a pinch of exhausted headphones, Samsung says you can plug them into USB-C for three minutes to get an hour of listening time. As before, the case supports wireless charging and can be enlarged when resting on recent Samsung phones.

The microphones in the Galaxy Buds Plus are also a big improvement. These headphones are now much better suited for voice calls, while the older ones were a disaster that produced a fuzzy and unintelligible sound. Adding the secondary external microphone solved these issues, and I’m now confident when making calls or joining professional video chats with the Galaxy Buds Plus – instead of the embarrassment that preceded it.

So far, I have praised these headphones, but there are drawbacks. The Galaxy Buds Plus cannot connect to two devices simultaneously. Samsung says they’ll be automatically connected to devices using your Samsung ID – the company is trying to duplicate the convenience of the AirPods out there – but you lose to seamlessly switching between, say, your laptop and your phone . Resistance to water and sweat is also a weakness. Samsung has stayed with an IPX2 rating when other companies offer IPX4 or better. If you are a thick sweater or run in the rain often, this compromise could come back to bite you along the line.

And while Samsung has been trying to lure iPhone owners with its new app, I would only recommend them to the Android crowd. I noticed more disconnections and audio loss than usual on my iPhone 11 Pro Max, and these problems did not appear when using a Pixel 4 XL or Galaxy S10.

If you’re on Android, it’s a tough choice between these and the Jabra Elite 75t headphones. The Jabras definitely have an advantage over Samsung in terms of audio, with a livelier and heavier sound output and better water resistance. But I find it much easier to recommend the Galaxy Buds Plus than ever Samsung’s first true wireless headphones. Their endurance alone will be the main selling factor for some people, I’m sure.

Samsung has upgraded these original Galaxy Buds to an impressive degree, and the name “Plus” here is well deserved. The redesigned interiors improve sound quality, they now have the longest battery life, and voice call issues are a thing of the past. Yes, the $ 200 headphones still outperform them – as they should – and Samsung’s exclusion of noise cancellation may disappoint some. But if the company adds that to the mix for a possible third-generation version, the next Galaxy Buds will be hard to beat.

Photograph by Chris Welch / The Verge

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.