The Samsung Galaxy Buds bluetooth in-ears have come in many versions in recent years. Now it’s time for the second generation of the headset: the Samsung Galaxy Buds2. Samsung seems to have understood the lessons learned well. You can read more about it in this Samsung Galaxy Buds2 review.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2
Recommended retail price € 149,-
Colour Black, White, Purple Green
Link Bluetooth 5.2
Battery 65 mAh (earpiece), 472 mAh (charging case)
Weight 5 grams (earpiece), 41 grams (charging case)
Features microphone, noise reduction, ambient sound mode, IPX2
To upload USB-C, wireless
Website www.samsung.com/nl
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- wearing comfort
- Battery life
- Price quality
- Negatives
- Playback modes are a bit disappointing
The Samsung Galaxy Buds have come in several versions in recent years: the regular version, the Galaxy Buds+, Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Pro. All performances, except for the Live version, were fine earphones. In addition, you could easily score them for free when purchasing Samsung products and the price dropped quickly, so that you had a good deal under 100 euros. Personally, I also bought the earphones (the Buds+), mainly because of the extremely long battery life of about ten hours and the design. Samsung was one of the few manufacturers that didn’t copy Apple’s electronic toothbrush head design and came up with an earplug.
Caps stay
With this second generation, the earplug design has remained. In addition, Samsung has made the Galaxy Buds2 a lot more comfortable. The caps have been made smaller and lighter, so that you hardly notice that you are wearing them. In fact, the Galaxy Buds2 are among the most comfortable earphones I’ve tested so far. In addition, they stay in place better and close well. The exchangeable rubber tips help of course. Unfortunately, the design is less water resistant than its predecessor(s) and, however, it radiates a lot less luxurious than the Galaxy Buds and Buds +. The shiny plastic looks a bit cheap. That disadvantage is mitigated by the very small size of the ears. They are so small that they are barely noticeable.
Improvements over the original Galaxy Buds (and Buds+) is that Samsung has also added features such as noise reduction and sound transmission. The noise reduction is not very much, when you switch the function on and off you will notice little difference. Conversations and high sounds are filtered out reasonably well. Noise that you hear in a moving train hardly. Fortunately, because the earphones close well, quite a bit of noise is naturally filtered out.
The sound transmission works especially well with speech sounds in your environment. When someone starts talking, you get a better sense of it – although a conversation is of course not traceable with the mode on. There is no noticeable difference with other sounds in this mode either.
Sound quality
The sound quality has improved quite a bit. You do notice that Samsung has been pushing the buttons for the sound adjustment and has therefore found the right balance. High, middle and low tones do not drown out each other and the sound detail is sufficiently present. This is a nice step up from previous generations of Galaxy Buds and it brings the sound quality to what you can expect for earphones in this price range.
However, don’t expect to be blown off your seat by a full and powerful sound. The adjustment ensures that all instruments, sounds and voices can be heard. If desired, you can use the equalizer in the app to adjust the sound to your own preference. The built-in microphones ensure excellent call quality.
You can get to this equalizer via the Galaxy Wearable app on both Android and iOS. If you have an Android smartphone that is not from Samsung, you must also download a plug-in in addition to the app before you can get started. The app is one of the plus points of the Galaxy Buds2 earphones. Not only is it accessible, you can also use the app for useful things such as finding the earphones via loud beeps, updating the firmware, setting the tap control, and so on.
Battery life
The Galaxy Buds and Buds+ have a great battery life, with a full battery the earphones last about ten hours. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Buds2 are nowhere near that. The smaller size of the earphones also leaves less space for the battery, giving it 65 mAh of capacity. The Buds+ had 85 mAh. Also, functions of the Galaxy Buds2, such as noise cancellation and ambient noise, require extra energy. As a result, the earphones last about seven hours on a full battery charge. With one of the sound modes on, that’s about five hours.
The charging box has a capacity of 472 mAh, with which you can fully charge both earphones almost four times. The charging box has the option of charging wirelessly or via the USB-C connection.
Alternatives to the Galaxy Buds2
The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 have a suggested retail price of about 150 euros. This makes them cheaper than Apple’s AirPods Pro. Although the Samsung earphones do not win in terms of sound quality, the battery life and wearing comfort are much better. But whoever uses an Android (Samsung) smartphone, it is better to ignore the AirPods anyway. Earphones like the Jabra Elite 85+ are also slightly better in terms of sound quality, but also a bit more expensive. If noise suppression is an important part, then you also have to dig deeper into your pocket. For the aforementioned AirPods Pro, the Sony WF-1000XM4 or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.
In short, the Galaxy Buds2 offer great value for money compared to other bluetooth in-ears compared to the competition. But don’t run straight to the store to get them. Samsung likes to use its earphones for sales and the prices of these types of products often fall quickly. The Galaxy Buds + were already discounted to 100 euros in a short time. Are you in the market for earphones with a good price-quality ratio? Compare the prices regularly on, for example, a price comparator such as Kieskeurig.nl.
Conclusion: Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds2?
If you like to wear your bluetooth earphones for a long time, it is best to buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds+. The wearing comfort is sublime and the battery life is above average. In terms of sound quality and ease of use, you are also baked for this price range. Only the noise reduction and ambient sound mode are not convincing. .