Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Excellent sound quality, ANC performance, and a modern design underline the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s profile. They are great for outdoor or commute usage, while support for advanced 24-bit audio means you can finally listen to some truly audiophile-grade tracks. They also go smashingly well with Samsung smartphones and watches.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2
A big step up from their predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 are the best midrange earbuds at the moment. They have all the goodies you’d want — ANC, sweat proofing, excellent call quality, and balanced sound, and are just so comfy in the ear. Don’t ask for much bass, though.
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds series rank among some of thebest wireless earbudsin the industry, with last year’sGalaxy Buds 2 Probeing impressively comfy and feature-packed as a follow-up to 2021’sGalaxy Buds 2. Both have excellent specs, features, and performance, so naturally, choosing between them gets confusing. Should you get the best of them money can buy, or should you sacrifice some feature(s) or performance? We know it’s not an easy question, so let us help you.
The Buds 2 and Buds 2 Pro are both consumer-centric products not intended to soothe an audiophile out of the box or offer outlandish features likeplaying music underwater. Instead, Samsung has tried to make them as much for general use as possible. They are built to cater to everyday scenarios without adding too expensive hardware. You can expect to keep them with you throughout the day while in the gym or pounding the pavement, rumbling through the commute, taking some calls, enjoying some work jazz in the office, and enjoying a movie in the evening.
Price, availability, and specs
Regarding the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Buds 2, it really boils down to a battle of price versus performance. Are you set on getting the best buds money can buy, or would you rather compromise? Samsung sells the Buds 2 Pro for around $230, but with various offers, sales, andridiculously easy trade-ins, you may be able to shave off $50–70 frequently.
On the other hand, the Buds 2 earbuds are readily available for $100 or slightly more and get huge discounts on Black Friday andAmazon Prime Daysales. Both are available on all significant online outlets (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and more), and you can often pick them up at your local phone and accessories shop.
Design and fit
Samsung constantly experimented with earbud designs before striking the right chord with the Galaxy Buds 2. They are pretty small and sleek and comparable to small pebbles. Interestingly, Samsung has chosen to stick with this design formula on the Buds 2 Pros, though they are a bit smaller and lighter. Both earbud sets come in rounded-square clamshell cases, but their finish is quite different — the older one is shiny, while the premium one is satiny. (That Buds 2 sleekness might make your life somewhat difficult.)
Inside both boxes, you’ll find the buds, the case, a couple of extra different-sized ear tips, and a type-C charging cable. Color-wise, not too many colorways are available in either case. The Buds 2 Pros come in Graphite, White, and a cute Bora purple that we’ve fallen in love with, while the Buds 2’s come in Graphite, Lavender, Olive, and White. Note that the case color of the Buds 2 will always be white, regardless of the earbud color you choose.
In terms of protection, the Pro earbuds are excellent with IPX7-grade water- and dust-proofing; they can even handle mountain climbing and heavy rain. The Buds 2 are drastically weak here, with only an IPX2 rating, so you may’t take them out in the rain, and they will resist only a little gym sweat.
The Buds 2s are an excellent fit for most ears; however, some people do complain. The silicone ear tips are soft yet grippy, providing a secure fit and solid passive noise isolation. The Pros are similar but more secure with the lighter weight. Or, at least, they should feel more secure. However, some users report an uneasy feeling after wearing them for longer periods of time.
Sound and call quality
The Samsung-AKG team is a winner; progressively, they are doing a fine job utilizing the excellent audio hardware of Samsung earbuds. Both earbuds use dual coaxial drivers — meaning each bud has two speakers, one aligned on top of the other, each producing different frequencies. This setup results in accurate and rich digital audio production for your ears.
AKG tunes the hardware to be compatible with generic ears that are good for everyday usage, so you’ll probably like them. The Samsung companion app provides extra support with various equalizer presets, though we find that the Dynamic preset works as a set-it-and-forget-it for most common tracks.
That said, the two buds are quite well apart in handling audio reproduction. While the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Pros are both great at creating superb waves in mid and high ranges, the former, you will discover, really lack in the sub-bass frequencies (below 70-80 Hz). However, they are exceptional at producing frequencies along and above 11 kHz. If you may hear them, the overall sound feels a bit light and airy, great for vocal- and instrument-heavy tracks like rock, rap, jazz, and blues.
The Buds 2 Pro earbuds aren’t suffering from this issue. They produce full and bouncy bass, though a bit ‘soft’ in the ear. Not the kind of rock-hard punchiness you’d expect from super high-end products, but that’s to be expected. Combined with the rest of the frequencies, the sound is full and fun. So go ahead and try some EDM (electronic dance music) on these babies! They will sound out of this world if you aren’t a stickler for purity.
About the24-bit audioprocessing that only the Buds 2 Pros have — believe us, on such tiny drivers, it’s definitely not worth as much hype as it seems. You will need bigger (at least 40mm) drivers to truly produce that difference between 24-bit and 16-bit. Either way, if you don’t have a good Samsung phone, the SBC codec support (Samsung’s proprietary) won’t do you a world of good. If you aren’t an audiophile who insists on testing super-high-grade audio on consumer hardware, you’re well off ignoring this feature.
Noise cancellation
Here is where the premium choice stands out fair and clear, as the Buds 2 Pros are built to be used in a hubbub. They will nicely cancel subdued office conversations and AC noise in the background and kill many vehicle noises. Not the honking, though — that’s a fundamental issue of howANC works. They are near the top with up to 25dB noise cancellation.
Still, the Buds 2’s aren’t a total write-off in this matter. While their 9dB cancellation isn’t anything to boast about, it will drown out low-volume background noise effectively. In fact, some people say since ANC works by producing lots of negative noise, low-gain ANC would actually be healthier for your ears. You believe what you want to believe.
Call quality
Both earbuds sport six internal and external mics and use machine learning to filter out background noise from incoming audio. While they cannot drown unpredictable or sudden noises, both send incoming audio to the phone, which is scores better than the phone’s own processing.
That being said, this processing has subtle differences that entirely set these two apart. We’ve tested both earbuds with recorded audio and calls to friends, and in both cases, they perform excellently. Though the Buds 2 Pros may sound more processed compared to the Buds 2’s sharper sound. It is hard to say which one is more likable. Going out on a limb, we can say that the Buds 2 Pros may sound a bit gentle — but artificial — to the listener, while the Bud 2s may sound slightly harsh but natural. Either way, this is an entirely personal preference.
The Buds 2 Pros come with a feature called 360-audio, which is a stab at creating surround sound. While the idea is novel, the execution falls flat on its face due to the fact that the drivers are tiny and the soundstage is so close to your head. Again, a job for bigger cans. Better use the Buds 2s for their wider soundstage unless you like weird instrument positioning.
Withfirmware update version R177XXU0AVC8, the 360-audio feature is available in the Buds 2s.
Still, the directional audio feature for the Buds 2 Pros is nothing to laugh at. It tries to locate your connected device in real space and mimics the sound originating from that location. The Buds 2s don’t have any such feature, so if you’re into that sort of thing, pick the premium one. This feature is limited to Samsung phones only, though.
Neither buds have built-in always-listening Assistant support. However, the Buds 2 Pros have a feature that detects your voice, lowers the volume, and enables transparency mode. This is a great way to have quick conversations in the middle of listening. The Buds 2s don’t have this feature; they just have a manual transparency mode switch.
Both earbuds feature touch controls on the buds, but they are a bit finicky and extra sensitive on the Pros. Mishaps happen. The Buds 2s are solid in this capacity, with oily smooth controls. With both buds, you can change the touch responses through the companion app anytime.
Battery life
Both the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Pro earbuds suffer from the same weakness here. So to keep the size small, Samsung has compromised the battery size. Both have 61 mAh in-bud batteries, but the premium version’s charging case is marginally stronger at 500 mAh. Both last five hours with ANC on, but with ANC off, the Pros last slightly longer (8 hours) than the other. All in all, neither is anything to write home about.
Picking a champion is not easy
Look, there’s no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 and Buds 2 Pro are both great in their own niche. If you have a good Samsung phone and want a ton of features, absolutely go for the Pros. Being lightweight and highly protected, they are great for an active, outdoorsy lifestyle and playing energetic, bass-heavy tracks like a champ.
Excellent for Samsung phones
If you’d rather save and pick up something decent that will be a sweet companion sans a lot of confusing features, go for the Buds 2. Best for in-office use or during a quiet evening, they are suitable for people who want a more natural-sounding device. These buds are more than enough to enjoy vocal-heavy music, classics, and drama-centered videos. And you can hike the bass using the companion app, just in case.
Awesome midrange performer
