Samsung’s Galaxy Buds series has been steadily improving over the years. Its many iterations seem to build on the strengths of the previous iterations while tweaking the weaknesses from the previous iteration. The Buds Pro is no different. It’s possibly Samsung’s best Buds to date building on lessons and features that the company introduced with the Buds Live.
The Galaxy Buds Pro brings new features that Samsung hopes will help enhance the aural experience of their ecosystem. While this may be the lofty goal of their latest true wireless earphones – the question remains: Is it really worth the price tag and should you be investing in the experience even if you’re not in the Samsung ecosystem?
Design
Samsung is definitely hearing the feedback it’s receiving from reviewers and customers. The Galaxy Buds Pro dropped the bean-like design of the Galaxy Buds Live like a hot potato – which is a shame but a very much needed step to help Samsung get on track with its Buds line up. That said, remnants of the Galaxy Buds Live still remain in some of the design queues we see in the Pros – particularly in its shiny finish.
The new Pros adopt a more conventional earbud design but manages keeps the comfort level of the Galaxy Buds Live. It has just enough heft for you to handle in your hands but when it comes to having them in your ears, they seem to disappear. Wearing the Buds Pro was truly a weightless experience – pretty similar to the Live. However, it has one major edge over the Buds Live – you literally have minimal ear fatigue. During the review, we were able to wear the buds for more than 4 hours on end without the feeling of fatigue you get from other earbuds on the market.
The Galaxy Buds Pro has one of the most pocketable designs on the market. The simple, square design makes it easy to slip into your jean pockets or purse. It’s also substantial enough that it doesn’t get lost in the chaos in your purse or pockets. That said, if you’re putting it in your pocket, you may find yourself forgetting to remove from your pocket as it’s so light that you might end up forgetting about it.
Features
The Galaxy Buds Pro doesn’t lack in the features department. The earbuds is definitely one of the more feature packed choices on the market coming with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), voice pass through and even 360 sound. However, being feature packed may be a little bit of a burden for the Pro as it seems to be stuffed a little too much to the brim sacrificing some of the finesse we see in the competition.
That said, Samsung’s ability to have so many features is one of the boons of the Buds Pro. In fact, they have iterated so well from the features of the Galaxy Buds Live that most of their “legacy” features are so polished you wouldn’t think they are second generation. Some features seem to be there just because and some are more well thought out than others.
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) & Voice Pass Through
When it comes to ANC, the Galaxy Buds is leaps better than its predecessor. The Buds Pro is able to give you a really effective seal. The form factor and it’s more conventional design is able to dampen sound from the outside a lot better. During our review period, the Buds Pro became one of our go-to earbuds to keep the world out and drown ourselves in our favourite music or podcast.
Unlike some of the other ANC capable earphones on the market, the Galaxy Buds Pro doesn’t give the feeling of pressure building up over long durations of use. Instead, it feels comfortable and simply feels like you have got a good pair of earplugs in.
Another feature which makes for a better overall experience with the Galaxy Buds Pro is voice pass through. It works pretty well on the Buds Pro however, there’s one caveat – it only works when you talk. It isn’t able to detect overhead announcements or when someone is talking to you. So, if someone is meaning to talk to you, they’ll still need to tap you on your shoulder. If you’re waiting for a flight, you’ll need to use ambient mode. That said, voice pass through could use a little fine tuning. There were times when we tried to use it that it simply couldn’t pick up the voice of the person speaking, and we had to remove one earbud to make an order.
Bluetooth Audio Source for Video
The Galaxy Buds Pro is also able to act as a Bluetooth audio source when you record in Pro mode on Samsung devices – and therein lies the biggest problem. The feature is exclusive to Samsung devices and only those who support Pro Video. It would be nice if Samsung found a way to build in the feature to the Buds itself or its Galaxy Wearables app to extend the feature to non-Samsung devices.
We tried this feature with the S21, S21 Ultra and the Note10+. To be honest, it’s just good enough. While we wouldn’t recommend using it as a main source of audio for recordings, in a pinch, the audio is definitely useable. That said, it still has some improvement to do to make it a viable replacement when you want to record videos. When we tested it, there were instances where the audio was choppy – possibly due to the wireless interference. Vocal pick up was not an issue but the clarity of the recording could use some improvement. We’re pretty sure that Samsung should be able to fix this with an OTA update.
Galaxy Wearables App & Voice Assistants
Samsung’s Galaxy Wearables app has improved over the time it has grown its ecosystem. The app has become easier to use with more and more features being put front and centre in the app. The app is also more intuitive that it was when it first was released. However, features like 360 Audio still remain hidden in the menu.
When it came to using Voice Assistants with the Buds Pro, it performed pretty well. The Buds made it easier to interact effectively with both Bixby and Google Assistant. However, the need to download a TTS file for the Buds to be able to read out your messages isn’t communicated anywhere until you try to use it. Then you have to find out where to download it – in this case it was via the Galaxy Store. We would think that Samsung would make this process more seamless particularly since we don’t expect users to actually do the hunting.
Performance
The Galaxy Buds has to be best performing in the Galaxy Buds to date. It has one of best sound reproductions – at least compared to the Galaxy Beans Buds Live. It had better sound reproduction across the sound range from lows to highs even the mids. Sound was a lot cleaner. The sound from the Galaxy Buds Pro was also a little warmer and fuller. While it still was a little bit heavy on the mids, the overall sound quality was definitely more well rounded compared to previous buds. You are able to hear the highs and lows in classical and orchestral pieces clearer in the Pro.
Aside from the tuning, Samsung’s Adapt Sound also helps when it comes to compensating for hearing/sound lost. Tuning the Buds Pro with Adapt Sound actually helped the sound feel even more full. That said, a word of warning, if you use Adapt Sound, don’t use presets on equalizer apps as the feature may result in the preset feeling off tune. We would strongly recommend you use custom profiles if you use Adapt Sound.
The Galaxy Buds Pro performed pretty well when it came to taking calls on them. In fact, callers weren’t able to tell that they were being spoken through wireless earbuds. Instead, they reported that it sounded like the call was being taken directly on the phone. Voice pick up was very good with little to no distortion. However, there were a few instances where the connection was a little choppy but it seems like Samsung has fixed this with a recent update.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Galaxy Buds Pro is decent with Samsung promising at least 5 hours of playback with a single charge on the buds and extra 13 hours with the case. That increases to 8 hours with ANC off with the charge in the case going up to 20 hours.
During our time with the Galaxy Buds Pro, we were able to get about 4.5 hours to slightly above 5 hours for a single charge. While it’s not the longest, it should be sufficient for most users. If you’re taking a long-haul flight, you may find yourself without your entertainment for a little bit as you charge your earbuds.
360 Audio
360 Audio on the Buds Pro is a mixed bag for us. While it seems to be developed with Dolby, when we used it, it felt as if it was using the smartphone as a guide to where the sound source should be. So, listening to podcasts was a little bit of a mixed bag with sound travelling everywhere when the phone was out and then 360 Audio magically turning off when the screen was off. We even tried it with 360 audio tracks on Tidal and were sorely disappointed by the performance.
Samsung’s 360 Audio goes up against Sony’s 360 Reality Audio which uses the user and earbuds as a reference for sound positioning. The experience with this was a little more enjoyable with the sound feeling more true to life and immersive. Samsung’s 360 Audio felt very flat and actually gave us a headache when using it cause of the constant shifting. While it’s just the first generation, it feels like Samsung shoehorned this feature into the Galaxy Buds Pro to keep up with the competition. We feel that it could have used a little more time in the pot before release. Perhaps an OTA update will be able to address the issues we faced. While there have been updates for the Buds Pro, none of them have addressed the issue yet.
Ambient Sound
Samsung’s implementation of ambient sound is one of the better implementations we’ve used to date. It’s good enough that we were comfortable walking on the street with the Buds Pro set to ambient mode. Ambient sound actually felt like it was giving us bionic hearing when we used it. It was able to pick up conversations and voices a good distance away from us – which we found a little creepy.
That said, Samsung also allows you control the sensitivity of the ambient sound pick up in its Galaxy Wearables app. You’ll be able to adjust it to a level where you are comfortable. You can even enhance ambient sound pick up further which makes it even louder.
Samsung’s Hitting the Right Notes but it has a ways to go to be on par with competition like Sony
The Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro is one of the most comfortable and responsive true wireless earphones we have used. The Buds are super reactive when you touch it, and they are comfortable to have in your ears over long periods of time. The fact that they are compact and come with wireless charging gives them a slight edge over their competition.
That said, while the Galaxy Buds Pro is overall one of the best true wireless experiences you can get on the market, the earbuds still have some work to do if they are looking to take on the experience of the likes of the Sony’s WF series. There’s no doubt that Samsung is on the right track with the Buds Pro, but the aural experience of the Buds Pro is missing that awe and umph of its competition.