Less than six months have passed since Samsung launched its last pair of wireless headsets. But now there is the Galaxy Buds Pro. By switching to a more traditional design, keeping ANC integrated and charging a $ 200 price tag, Samsung has finally created a worthy and more affordable competitor for Apple’s $ 250 AirPods Pro.
In many ways, Galaxy Buds Pro is what you would get if the Galaxy Buds + and Galaxy Buds Live had little nerdy audio babies. Similar to Galaxy Buds +, Galaxy Buds Pro has soft silicone ear tips to help provide passive noise cancellation and a comfortable, comfortable fit. And since Galaxy Buds Pro are relatively light, their tight fit was more than enough to make sure they didn’t fall randomly, even if you’re jumping during exercise.
Meanwhile, Samsung borrowed the built-in fans (to keep the air pressure from rising and becoming uncomfortable), extra microphones and active noise cancellation used on Galaxy Buds Live and put them on the Pros. The difference here is that, since Galaxy Buds Pros has a closed design, ANC is much more effective at drowning out ambient noise, which definitely helped to reduce the annoying noise from nearby buildings I had to deal with while writing this review. Now, if we are being demanding, compared to the excellent, but super bulky Wireless headphones WF-1000XM3, Samsung’s ANC is not that powerful. But it’s very close, and considering that Galaxy Buds Pro costs significantly less and is much less, changing a little bit of the ANC’s performance to create a more compact and easy-to-use pair of wireless headphones is a compromise that I’m willing to make. I do.
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And like all recent Samsung headphones, Galaxy Buds Pro even includes practical touch controls built into both headphones, so you can easily pause, play or skip tracks, or more easily control the volume or turn on or turn off ANC and pass-through audio. However, and this is a problem that I have had with Samsung headphones for a while, you can only set the touch controls to adjust the volume or switch ANC, but not both, forcing you to make a difficult choice to go to the application settings, which is somewhat annoying.
Galaxy Buds Pro is more than just a remix of Samsung’s previous wireless headphones. Instead of having a single driver on each button, as in Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds Pro features an 11 mm woofer and a 6.5 mm tweeter on each side. And when its new drivers are combined with better ANC and passive noise cancellation, Galaxy Buds Pro produces even more rich and detailed sound. It’s just enough to make you appreciate the brilliance of a top hat or plate more than normal, and while the woofer means the low tones are more pronounced, I appreciate that the Galaxy Buds Pro still sounds relatively neutral and not overly heavy. However, if you want an extra beat, you can always select one of Samsung’s other preset equalizers (bass boost, soft, dynamic, clear and treble boost). Just don’t look for a custom EQ setting, because it doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, thanks to the inclusion of three different integrated microphones, the voice quality is also very good. Now don’t get me wrong, no one is going to mistake the Galaxy Buds Pro for a state-of-the-art lav microphone, but even for some amateur movies, the Galaxy Buds Pro can be a quick and easy replacement for more expensive audio equipment.
The other big news in Galaxy Buds Pro is the addition of voice detection, which allows buds to automatically activate their Ambient Noise feature (which amplifies the sound nearby and channels it into the headphones) when they hear your voice. This does not seem like much, but it quickly became one of my favorite features as it allows me to have a conversation more easily without having to take off my headphones.
Now, at this point, some boomers out there may be saying that not removing their headphones while talking to someone is a little rude, and they may be right, if we were still living in 1965. But in 2021, I will say that most of people will understand if you don’t remove your headphones to order coffee, as long as you can interact in an easy and polite way with the store’s staff And with voice detection that can automatically turn on the Ambient Noise function, that’s exactly what Galaxy Buds Pro allows.
That said, the feature is not perfect. Currently, you can tell buds to automatically activate Ambient Noise in increments of 5, 10, or 15 seconds, with the last two being generally long enough to hold a quick conversation. However, if the person you are talking to is a little talkative or has a long history to tell you, it is very possible that the Ambient Noise feature will be disabled in the middle of the sentence. Samsung says the reason for this is that it is much easier for friends to notice when you are talking, rather than trying to guess which of the hundreds or thousands of nearby sounds you want to pay attention to. But that still means that if you don’t keep Ambient Noise on, you might miss a beat.
In addition, for those who frequently handle audio from multiple devices, Samsung has also added a new Auto Switch feature that allows you to quickly connect Buds Pro to a Samsung phone or tablet or to a Windows 10 PC when needed. It is automatic and, in my tests, it worked perfectly, although I refused to change one of the five times I tried.
In short, the only real shortcoming of the Galaxy Buds Pro is the somewhat lackluster battery life. Samsung claims that Galaxy Buds Pro offers five hours of music playback with ANC enabled or about eight hours with ANC disabled. That’s not terrible, but it’s also not great, and although I sometimes noticed Galaxy Buds Pro lasting up to five hours and 20 minutes with ANC enabled, it still isn’t enough to last a full day of work or school without any recharging. strategic break. Fortunately, the buttons can absorb enough juice for an extra 30 minutes of playback with just a five-minute nap in its charging case. On the other hand, it is important to remember that Apple AirPods Pro are rated for only 4.5 hours of music playback with ANC enabled.
When compared to rivals like the Sony WF-1000XM3 and the Apple AirPods Pro, that’s when the Galaxy Buds Pro really starts to show its value. They have great audio quality, a light and comfortable fit and slightly better battery life than Apple’s highly praised alternatives. And even though your ANC may be a little less proficient than Sony or Apple’s, I’m willing to bet that most people would have a hard time telling the difference if they accepted the Pepsi Challenge. And as a new feature to make your headphones easier to use, the Galaxy Buds Pro’s voice detection feature was a very welcome addition.
Especially for Samsung phone owners – where the Galaxy Wearable app is pre-installed – initial pairing couldn’t be simpler. For other Android phone owners, it’s not like you have to download a few free apps before pairing. But most importantly, it all comes from a pair of real wireless headphones that cost $ 30 to $ 50 less than their biggest competitors. So while I want a little more battery life overall and more control over your touch commands, Galaxy Buds Pro is a great pair of wireless headphones.
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- Galaxy Buds Pro lasts about five hours on a charge with ANC turned on (or about 8 with ANC turned off), which is not great, but actually is a little better than the 4.5 hours you get AirPods Pro.
- Thanks to its lightweight design and three included ear tip sizes, Galaxy Buds Pro is quite comfortable and easy to use for long periods of time.
- Samsung’s charging case stores 13 extra hours of juice and can be recharged wired or wirelessly.
- Galaxy Buds Pro’s new automatic surround sound is activated when you hear your voice, allowing you to chat more easily without having to remove the buttons.
- Samsung has created a new 360-degree spatial sound mode, but currently, it is only available on the new Galaxy S21 phones, while Samsung works to port the feature to older devices.
- Samsung’s free Galaxy Wearable app is available on iOS and Android, although you need a Samsung phone if you want to take advantage of some more experimental features like low-latency game mode.