Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review – Awesome Bora Purple Buds of Power

Unveiled alongside the new Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 along with the Galaxy Watch5 series, the new Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro are their premier wireless earbuds for 2022 with a veritable wishlist of cutting edge features that would potentially make music lovers shed tears of joy. At RM899, it certainly costs a pretty penny but is it worth the money? Our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review delves deep to find out!

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review – Build and Design

Intended as the successor to the earlier Galaxy Buds Pro that were released last year, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro subtly refines the formula that made its predecessor a success, retaining what works while significantly enhancing its capabilities and performance.

@hitechcentury Samsung’s latest and most powerful Galaxy Buds2 Pro wireless earbuds are now on preorder in Malaysia! #techtok #malaysia #sembanggadget #hitechcentury #galaxybuds2pro #tech #fyp ♬ original sound – Hitech Century

Out of the box, our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample features the essentials with a similar setup of bundled kit as its predecessor. You get the earbuds nestled within the charging case, a USB-C to USB-A charging cable,a quick start guide as well as an additional pair of smaller and larger sized eartips, all of which come in matching colours to the case and earbuds. By default, the medium eartips are already preinstalled onto the earbuds.

For 2022, Samsung is issuing their latest wireless earbuds in a trio of colourways – a blackish shade of Graphite, a clean shade of White and, in the case of our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample, their signature shade of Bora Purple.

Aesthetically speaking, the charging case has the same dimensions as its predecessor with a squarish, rounded form factor akin to a tiny jewellery box hinged at one end for easy one-handed opening. The underside has a charging coil for wireless charging while the hinged portion has a USB-C port located just beneath it.

The earbuds feature a similar colour scheme as the charging case and the matte Bora Purple colourway not only looks eye-catching but also nicely repels fingerprints too. While the charging case mostly adheres to similar dimensions to the Galaxy Buds Pro, it’s slightly lighter by 1.4g. 

The earbuds retain a similar design as well with changeable silicone ear tips and a rounded housing that contains the microphones, battery and a coaxial tweeter and woofer done up in a matte finish. Each of the earbuds have also had their weight shaved down by 0.8g while also being 15% smaller which makes them much more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. 

Samsung has also ensured that the earbuds now have an IPX7 water resistance rating which means they can easily shrug off sweat, the odd deluge of rain and up to 1 metre of immersion in freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the Buds2 Pro still lacks dust resistance so some care needs to be taken in dusty environments or at the beach. 

The charging case itself is alas not water resistant. That quirk aside, overall build quality is excellent for both the charging case and earbuds with the matte finish on both ensuring that the earbuds are grippy enough to fish out of the case without undue effort.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review – Specifications

At RM899, it costs RM100 more than what the Galaxy Buds Pro cost at launch last year but Samsung has improved the design in significant, meaningful ways. On top of slimmer and lighter earbuds, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro has an array of hardware updates under the hood to offer better voice call quality, better noise cancellation, better sound quality and the inclusion of the Samsung Seamless Codec (SsC) that offers support for 24-bit high resolution audio and Intelligent 360 audio with dynamic head tracking. 

There is a caveat here though in that the 24-bit hi-res audio playback is only compatible with a Samsung phone running One UI 4.0 or higher. The majority of Galaxy phones of recent vintage like the Galaxy S22 will support this feature though you’ll also need a proper 24-bit audio source to ensure music is played back ‘exactly as the artist intended’. 

If this isn’t the case, be it using an off-brand phone or a lower quality audio source, the audio unfortunately gets downsampled to 16-bit which is sufficient for general listening. For 360 Audio, you also need to have the appropriate content with movies that have a Dolby Atmos 5.1Ch or 7.1Ch surround soundtrack.

Assuming you have all your ducks lined in a row and have access to the appropriate kit and high resolution audio content, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is capable of delivering a sensuously superior audio experience for music and movies.

Codecs notwithstanding, audio is kicked out to your ears via a two-way speaker that integrates a 10mm woofer for richer bass and a 5.3mm tweeter for treble while active noise cancellation is carried out by an enhanced array of three high Signal-to-Noise ratio microphones per earbud that are able to distinguish and squelch subtler external noises than ever before including wind noise. According to Samsung, this setup has a 40% improvement in noise cancellation performance than its predecessor.

Our Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample has the following hardware:

Price	RM899
Speaker	Coaxial 2-way 5.3mm tweeter+10mm woofer
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C (charging)
Battery	61mAh (earbuds) | 515mAh (charging case), 5/18 hours (with ANC earbuds/case) | 8/29 hours (ANC off earbuds/case) | Wired + Qi wireless charging
Size/Weight	19.9 x 21.6 x 18.7mm / 5.5g (earbuds) | 50.1 x 50.2 x 27.7mm / 43.4g [case]

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review – Setup and Performance

Getting our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample up and running is a doddle. Pairing it up with our Galaxy Z Flip4 review unit was as easy as it gets via Bluetooth 5.3 and the phone recognised it and paired up in a matter of seconds. 

Once paired, the phone automatically downloads the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app and then installs a few additional files in order to interact properly with the earbuds. All this takes a few minutes at most though you’ll likely have to spend a bit more time fiddling with the ear tips to ensure a proper fit.

Samsung has revamped the design of the earbuds, making them lighter and smaller which reduces ear strain. Out of the box, the medium sized eartips installed by default in our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample fit perfectly in my ears though you can optionally swap them out for the bundled smaller or larger eartips as needed.

As a failsafe to ensure that you have the right fit for comfort and to ensure good passive noise insulation from the silicone eartips, the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app is able to run a test to ensure that it fits perfectly within your ear canals. 

If it detects a poor fit, you’ll need to try another ear tip. Fortunately, the snug fit of the eartips makes it comfortable to wear for extended periods of time while being relatively secure for jogging and less extreme sports activities. I’ve managed to wear it for a good four or five hours for an extended binge session of Star Trek Discovery without undue discomfort and have managed to bounce around on a last minute sprint for the train several times without it falling off or pirouetting into oblivion.

Once all these formalities have been sorted out, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro can be controlled via a series of taps with settings accessible via the Galaxy Wearable app itself. A single tap lets you play or pause a track, a double tap lets you take or end a call or play the next track while a triple tap plays back the previous track.

You can optionally assign the touch and hold gesture to decline a phone call or control volume with the left earbud to reduce volume and the right to increase volume. It’s a proven control system that’s been in use for yonks and muscle memory makes it an intuitive affair.

The Samsung Wearable app lets you precisely tune the equaliser settings to your personal specifications or select from a predefined set and also customise the control setup to a modest degree. You can also swap between its robust Active Noise Cancellation mode and its Ambient mode. 

The former squelches external noises with extreme prejudice while the latter offers just enough external audio for situational awareness. The earbuds also have a Voice Detect mode that is smart enough to identify if you’re speaking, like say in a conversation with someone else and temporarily lowers the music volume and swaps to Ambient mode before switching back when you’re done. This helps to shave off a few seconds of time having to remove the earbuds or mute it.

The earbuds also feature auto switching which lets you intelligently swap from one Samsung ecosystem connected device to another  though you’ll need to sign up for a free Samsung account and sign in all your other connected gear like the Galaxy S22, Flip4, Fold4 and other kit to said Samsung account to make it work. It’s a nice perk to have, especially for those who have already invested significantly in the Samsung ecosystem. 

Acoustically speaking, our Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample paired with a Galaxy Z Flip4 was tested with a variety of tracks including streamed pop, rock as well as a smattering of movies including a selection of downloaded high resolution 24-bit audio tracks.

When playing 24-bit audio, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro offers superb richness and detail along with suitably deep bass on account of its separate tweeter and woofer. It also offers a wide soundstage though this is contingent on you having a Galaxy series phone and the appropriately high resolution track to enjoy. The directional audio feature was a bit temperamental at times and occasionally cut out but it’s not an insurmountable issue and can easily be solved with an update.

For more mainstream streamed content, the earbuds did not disappoint either with sound quality that can duke it out with the best of them in its price range but where it impresses is its active noise cancellation.

When tested on the train to work, the usual raucous cacophony was almost silent save for the typical banal announcements repeated every few minutes like a screeching banshee on the intercom. Call quality was excellent as well and was tested in downtown Bukit Bintang at rush hour and on the train itself with clear voice quality and minimal distortion on both sides.

The Voice Detect mode also works like a charm, intuitively muting ANC and kicking in Ambient mode and triggered appropriately when I ordered a coffee and engaged in a quick conversation with a colleague beside me.

Unfortunately, the biggest Achilles heel with our Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample is the fact that battery life is middling at best. With ANC on, you’re looking at about 5 hours of usage for the earbuds and a total of 18 hours including the charging case. If you’re particularly frugal and just keep ANC off, you’re able to eke out 8 hours of use with the earbuds and about 29 hours including the case. That means you’ll likely have to recharge thrice on a long-haul flight to the United States.

Fortunately, the earbuds charge fast and a 5 minute charge via the USB-C port can get you about an hour’s worth of music playback. You can also juice it wirelessly with a Samsung Galaxy series phone with reverse powershare.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro?

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro makes for a compact pair of wireless earbuds with improved active noise cancellation and audio performance though you’ll need a Samsung phone to make full use of its more interesting capabilities.

Bar the middling battery life, this makes for an excellent pair of wireless earbuds that offer a wealth of next-gen features combined with good comfort and excellent noise cancellation tech. If you own a Samsung Galaxy series phone, this is a mandatory acquisition.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro review sample in Bora Purple courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. To purchase and for more details, please visit https://www.samsung.com/my/audio-sound/galaxy-buds/galaxy-buds2-pro-bora-purple-sm-r510nlvaxme/