Samsung GALAXY BUDS PRO

amazon Samsung GALAXY BUDS PRO reviews

Continuously launching new generation Galaxy Buds versions, Samsung has shown its determination to compete fairly with a series of formidable rivals in truly wireless headphones. At the latest representative of Galaxy Buds Pro, the Korean technology company is equipped with many advanced features such as ANC active noise cancellation, 360-degree 3D sound, and automatic voice detection to enable crosstalk or IPX7 waterproof with a sleek design, fancy purple version.

Within two years, Samsung has had four versions of Galaxy Buds. The first generation was born with the Galaxy S10, followed by the Buds Plus version alongside the Galaxy S20. Six months later, the Buds Live model suddenly appeared with the Galaxy Note 20, especially the Buds Pro with the Galaxy S21.

With the “suffix” Pro, it is not difficult to realize that Samsung wants to target the “rival” AirPod Pro, Apple’s already popular true wireless headset model.

The charging box inherited from Buds Live looks like a ring box.

The charging box of Galaxy Buds Pro is inherited intact from Galaxy Buds Live with a square and small design like a wedding ring box, easy to open and close with one hand. Samsung itself does not seem to hide its intention to turn Buds Pro or Buds Live into technological jewelry when using a sleek design for the housing part, creating a standout, easy to notice.

Inside, the earphones are held firm thanks to a magnet. Even if the box is upside down and strongly shaken, the headset still stays in place. Thanks to its compact size, the Buds Pro’s box is also easy to fit into a trouser pocket or crossbody bag without being too bulky or taking up a lot of space.

Like previous generations of Buds, the Buds Pro’s charging box continues to use a USB-C charging port in addition to a convenient built-in Qi wireless charger. Accessories are still kept simple with a USB-A to C cable, two ear cushions of different sizes. What’s new is that the outer box of the Buds Pro has turned black instead of white like in previous generations.

Eye-catching housing design, suitable for young people

With Buds Pro, Samsung is back with an in-ear design similar to the first two models, Galaxy Buds and Buds Plus. The distinctive bean-shaped design (earbuds) like the Buds Live feels comfortable to wear, but the noise is ineffective and picks up the user’s ears. The in-ear design has been proven to have a much better noise-canceling effect than the earbud. Suitable for the masses, so the decision of the Korean technology company can be understood.

Buds Pro also added a new purple-violet color, synchronized with the Galaxy S21. It creates a novelty, similar to the bronze color that appeared on Buds Live and the Galaxy Note 20 series, along with color options traditional like black or silver.

It can be seen that even though it still uses an in-ear design, the housing design of Buds Pro is completely different from Buds and Buds Plus. The housing of this headset is made more rounded, more rounded instead of a bit square like previous generations. The inside of the housing is smoothed with the appearance of many sensors.

Meanwhile, the exterior of the housing, as mentioned, is polished, similar to Buds Live. The gloss is so high that it can be seen in a mirror. Thanks to this gloss, Buds Pro will make the wearer look like they are using earrings, especially with the silver or purple version, suitable for young users. If you like a more serious, serious style, you should choose the black version. Of course, because there is no “tail” like Apple’s AirPods when viewed directly, the Buds Pro is still completely discreet.

Comfortable wearing feeling, strong grip, good water resistance, strong, comfortable movement

The feeling of wearing Buds Pro is very comfortable. The housing is compact, with many rounded lines, so it is easy to fit in the ear; without turning on the ANC, the noise resistance has proved to be significantly more effective than the Buds Live earbud design. I tried wearing Buds Pro continuously for about 4-5 hours without any discomfort. This headset also clings firmly to the ear, even though shaking the head vigorously, running and jumping, moving continuously, riding a motorbike (sitting behind) at a speed of 40-50km/h. You can completely use Buds Pro in intense sports training.

Buds Pro’s waterproof standard reaches IPX7 level, which is among the highest today, on par with dedicated sports headphones like Jabra Active 75t, Jaybird Vista and outperforming competitors like AirPod Pro and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 (IPX4), so don’t worry about sweating a lot when exercising. You can even use it in heavy rain or when taking a shower or occasionally cleaning by taking this headset to wash it directly under the tap without any problems. But remember to dry it thoroughly before putting it back in the charging case.

Diverse touch controls but low customizability

Similar to previous generations, Buds Pro still uses a touch control style. The operation on the left and right ears is the same. The control capabilities of Buds Pro are quite complete. You’ll tap once to pause or play music, double-tap to skip to the next song, or take or end calls. Tap three times to go back to the previous song. Touch and hold will switch between ANC and crosstalk (Ambient Sound) or reject the call. The touch control experience on Buds Pro is smooth thanks to the large, fast, and accurate touch surface.

Unfortunately, Samsung only allows customization of touch and hold operations. You can change it to the function of calling a virtual assistant, increasing/decreasing the volume, or quickly opening the Spotify music application. However, the disadvantage is that if you change it to increase / decrease/volume, it will not be possible to quickly switch between ANC or crosstalk on the ear and vice versa. At the same time, if you want to turn off ANC or crosstalk mode completely, you must go to the Galaxy Wearable application to do so. Samsung should soon release an update, allowing users to customize more flexibly.

Effective ANC noise cancellation, superior to Buds Live

Last year, Samsung used ANC active noise cancellation for the first time on their true wireless headphones with the Galaxy Buds Live model. However, because the earbud design does not fit snugly into the ear, the ANC noise-canceling performance of Buds Live is only average, not leaving much of an impression. The principle of ANC must still be based on the fact that the headphones themselves have good passive noise cancellation. So most ANC true wireless headphones are in-ear types, inserted deep into the ear. That is probably also why Samsung decided to return to this design with the Buds Pro.

Even without turning on ANC, Buds Pro gave superior noise cancellation compared to Buds Live. That is completely understandable because Buds Pro can almost completely seal your ears with the in-ear design, preventing most of the noise from the environment.

New in the ANC feature on Buds Pro compared to the “elder” can customize with high or low levels. The High Level will be suitable for noisy environments such as public transport, buses, airplanes, streets, etc. Meanwhile, the Low level will be suitable for quieter environments such as offices, coffee shops, supermarkets, etc., to not put too much pressure on the ears.

Most of the time, when I experience Buds Pro, I use it at High ANC. The efficiency of the ANC feature on this headset is quite impressive, eliminating up to 70-80% of ambient noise. With High ANC enabled, you only need to turn on the music at about 30-40% volume, almost “completely isolated” from the surrounding world. All noise from the car engine, the fan sound is completely softened and seems to be pushed away from the ear, significantly reducing the distraction when enjoying music.

Of course, like most ANC headphones today, Buds Pro still suffers from drafts when ANC is on. You will hear the wind hitting your ears, especially when riding a motorbike or jogging. At this point, you should turn off ANC. The inconvenience is that if you want to turn off ANC completely, you will have to go to the Galaxy Wearable app, but you can’t do it on the ear.

Interesting voice detection

Another cool feature of Buds Pro is the Conversation Mode. In this mode, Buds Pro will automatically detect your voice and switch to Transcendental mode and lower the music player volume so you can talk to people around you more easily without needing to worry headphones must be removed.

This feature works very sensitively; I just mumbled a few sentences, and Buds Pro immediately recognized it. It is much more convenient to wear headphones while chatting with colleagues when you no longer have to activate Transmutation manually. However, in some cases, the Buds Pro’s voice detection capabilities work a bit too “enthusiastic.”

Sometimes I’m just humming along to my favorite music, but this feature just popped up all of a sudden. Therefore, if you have a habit of singing along when listening to music or often talk to yourself, you should consider disabling this feature to avoid disrupting your music experience.

Clear voice calls, 360-degree 3D sound suitable for watching movies, playing games

In terms of voice calling capabilities, the Buds Pro has nothing to complain. This headset is equipped with three mics to filter wind and noise effectively; even when used on the street, the call sound is still clean and clear.

Buds Pro is also equipped with a 360-degree 3D sound feature similar to Spatial Audio on Apple’s AirPod models. Samsung claims the feature will emulate a surround sound system that can change the direction of sound output based on head orientation and head position thanks to Dolby Head Tracking technology and motion tracking sensors.

I tried with the S21 Ultra and found that the sound will have a deeper feel, clearer sound direction, suitable for watching movies or playing games. However, this feature is currently only compatible with Samsung S21 Series phones and requires the content to be played to support Dolby Atmos.

Connecting Buds Pro with Samsung phones is quite simple, just opening the box will immediately have a prominent hint message. While with other phones, you will need to go into Bluetooth settings and install the Galaxy Wearable software to take advantage of the full features. Buds Pro also supports automatic switching between Galaxy devices. You can connect with Samsung phones and tablets while listening to music on your smartphone; you can instantly switch to a tablet with just a press of the Play button.

where can you get a Samsung GALAXY BUDS PRO online

SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds Pro, Bluetooth Earbuds, True Wireless, Noise Cancelling, Charging Case, Quality Sound, Water Resistant, Phantom Black (US Version): Buy it now

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, True Wireless Earbuds w/Active Noise Cancelling (Wireless Charging Case Included), Phantom Black (International Version): Buy it now

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro True Wireless Earbud Headphones – Phantom Violet (Renewed): Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds Pro, Bluetooth Earbuds, True Wireless, Noise Cancelling, Charging Case, Quality Sound, Water Resistant, Phantom Black (US Version) (Renewed): Buy it now

Balanced sound, suitable for many genres of music

Galaxy Buds Pro is equipped with a 2-way driver, similar to the Galaxy Buds Plus, a fairly large 11 mm bass driver with a 6.5 mm tweeter driver. The unexpected point is that the sound quality of Buds Pro is in the direction of balance. The sound doesn’t press too hard on a single band. The bass is solid, deep down, but you can still listen to EDM, Hip Hop, R&B, Hip hop music with a moderate amount. But this headset is not for a bass head; you will not have tinnitus bass; on the contrary, the bass is just enough.

Thanks to the moderate amount of bass, the mid and treble ranges have more ground to play. These two bands are separate, not stuck together. The singer’s voice is sweet, clear, and the instrument is easy to listen. In general, Buds Pro is suitable for many genres of music today, playing well.

While listening to music, watching videos, and removing both ears, Buds Pro will pause music playback. However, when you put the headphones back on, you’ll need to tap the touch button for the music to resume playing again. In addition, if only one ear is removed, music and video will still play normally, not stop automatically; the ear will only switch to Transcendental mode.

Buds Pro uses Bluetooth 5.0 connection, newer than most wireless headphones today, so the connectivity is good; it is rare to lose connection of one ear when listening continuously. Watching movies, listening to music, or playing games is completely smooth, without delay. The maximum connection distance can be up to 20 meters when there is no obstacle. On Samsung phones, you will have more game modes, minimizing latency to make the “battle” in the virtual world smoother.

In the Galaxy Wearable software, Samsung provides quite a variety of customization modes. You can see the exact battery life of both headphones and the charging case, select EQ modes to enhance bass or treble or switch to a more V-Shape sound style. Other notable features include reading notifications of missed calls, messages, emails, or any notifications from any application in the device; Find headphones, balance the left and right ears or customize the volume of the Transparency feature, turning Buds Pro almost into a hearing aid.

Battery life is not impressive.

Samsung claims the Galaxy Buds Pro can play music for up to 5 hours in ANC mode (and 8 hours if it is turned off), roughly equivalent to Buds Live but still significantly less than the 11 consecutive hours on the Galaxy Buds. That is inevitable when the Buds Pro only contains a 61mAh battery, much smaller than the 85mAh battery on the Buds Plus. Either way, the Buds Pro’s carrying case will also add significant battery life to this headset, with a total battery life of up to 18 hours in ANC mode and 28 hours with passive noise cancellation alone.

During my experience, Buds Pro usually lasted about 4 to 4.5 hours of continuous music playback with ANC. That is not so impressive battery life. If you have a habit of wearing headphones all day to listen to music and receive calls, you will have to recharge the Buds Pro around noon. The time to fully charge when both the box and the ear are exhausted is about 2 hours.

Summary

After the smartphone front, the array of true wireless headphones is the latest battlefield for technology companies to compete to conquer users. With Galaxy Buds Pro, the product has demonstrated many outstanding elements in terms of design, ANC noise cancellation technology, 360-degree 3D sound, voice call quality. The feeling of wearing Buds Pro is also very comfortable; it certainly, comes with advanced water resistance or automatic voice detection to enable useful crosstalk. That is a headphone model that deserves to be included in the “best choice” list during the year-end shopping season.

The point that Samsung needs to continue to improve is the sound quality, the ability to customize touch operations, and battery life. Buds Pro itself for sound quality is not bad, but not enough to make an impression. Battery life when ANC is on is not as impressive as some competitors. At the same time, the ability to customize touch operations is limited, not creating high convenience during use.