Believe it or not, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 is my very first True Wireless Stereo from Samsung and I do put a pretty high expectation as it’s not a budget TWS to begin with.
This is an update to the original Samsung Galaxy Buds which was released somewhere in 2019 and offers a vast improvement including active noise cancelling, ambient sound and sound quality.
Does it worth the RM 499 price tag for its set of features and sound quality? Would I recommend it? Let’s check my review and thought.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – What’s Inside?
What you get inside the box; Galaxy Buds2, USB C cable, 2 additional different sizes ear tips and documents.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Design
The Galaxy Buds2 offers four colour options; Graphite, Lavender, Olive, and White. The colour difference does not apply to the case instead the inner with distinctive color but the outside will be standard glossy white for all.
The pebble rounded case is the exact size with the most recently released Galaxy Buds Live and Buds Pro. It’s very compact and small that slides easily into a pocket. USB C charging port at the back and supports Qi-wireless charging at the bottom. An LED on the front shows the charging and battery level status.
Once open the case, you will see the Buds2 that magnetized hold to keep the buds in the correct position for charging. Take it out and putting it back is pretty seamless
Coming to the earbuds, it’s an in-ear design and they are very lightweight for their size. There are two microphones on the outside and one inner pickup unit that is used to cancel noise, pick up voice (ambient mode), and improve call quality. There’s also a proximity sensor on each earbud that works as wear detection.
The touch sensor is around the Buds2 which is fairly intuitive and can be customized via Samsung Wearable apps. With the latest firmware update, it added the ability to turn the volume up or down by double-tapping the edge of the earbuds near our tragus.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Fitting
The silicone tips that come with it offer a good seal and fit securely on my ears. You can even use the Galaxy Earbuds Fit Test for you to pick the right size of ear tips. It does the job as I attempted to use a size that doesn’t fit me and it prompted me with an error.
I find the Buds2 is pretty comfortable to wear for long hours with no discomfort or ear fatigue like other TWS. Credit to the ergonomic design and lightweight (5 grams on each earbud). Worth noting, the Buds2 is only IPX2 sweat-resistant, that’s means it should be fine for light workouts and avoid using them in the rain.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Sound Quality
The Galaxy Buds2 features a dual driver setup, a tweeter, and a woofer. Sizes and type of driver details were not given by Samsung, the treble and bass are well covered. It has a pretty wide soundstage with just enough punch. Personally, I love the warm and dynamic sound it is able to produce.
Anyhow there are a few EQ presets on the companion app for you to choose from to fit your preferences and songs.
Coming to voice calls, I have used the earbuds for
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Active Noise-cancelling
According to Samsung, the Galaxy Buds2 is capable of cutting out external background noise by 98%; not sure how’s opt for the data but it does the job slightly better than any budget ANC TWS that I own. This was aided by a great seal from the long-trunked bud.
Coming to Ambient Sound mode, it comes with three intensity levels, low, medium, and high – it amplifies voice from far which is pretty cool and creepy at the same time.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Companion App
The Samsung Wearable app is probably the most powerful companion app for a TWS earphone. It does more than show battery status, EQ settings, and switching between ANC, normal, or ambient modes, it allows me to customize the Buds2 in more ways than I have ever seen.
Under the special Labs, I can enable the double-tap of the earbuds edge to adjust the volume, and also Gaming Mode that reduces latency for the name is suggested.
If you pair it with a Galaxy smartphone, you can set up a widget to quickly access the Buds2 and see battery life at a glance. An auto-switch feature offers easy swapping between Galaxy devices that are signed in to the same Samsung account. For example, I was watching a movie on my Galaxy Fold and received an incoming call on my Z Flip3, the earbuds would automatically switch to Z Flip3 while pausing my movie on the Galaxy Fold.
The Galaxy Buds2 can be paired with iOS devices but you won’t get the same user experience as there is no app support. In addition to that, firmware updates would require the Buds2 to be paired with an Android device to execute.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Battery Life
I’m getting around 4 hours of battery life before the low battery warning sign comes off and I do keep the ANC on most of the time. I can get at least another three charges for a total of 16 hours or longer if I use it with ANC turned off.
Mainly I’m using it to listen to music, stream movies, and even do video editing on my PC (Windows 11).
The Galaxy Buds2 is supporting Qi wireless charging and the regular modern USB C. Normally I would just toss it on the charging pad when the case is in low battery.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 – Where to buy
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Review
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Design
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Built
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Features
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Sound Quality
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Battery
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Value
Verdict
Samsung may position the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 as their entry-level TWS earphone but offers a lot more features and performance compared to other high-end TWS earphones at this price range. Receive extra perks if you are using Galaxy devices like the seamless switch and Samsung Scalable Codec. If you are buying it to pair your Apple products, I would advise you to look elsewhere.
It checked almost all the boxes that I wanted for a TWS earphone.
Pros
- Small & lightweight
- Great sound quality
- Powerful companion app
- Good ANC
Cons
- Could have a longer battery life
- Only IPX2
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