So these are the Galaxy buds 2 pro… now there aren’t any major upgrades on these earbuds like what we say with the AirPods Pro 2 or Bose QC Earbuds 2, but nonetheless, there are some very marginal upgrades on these earbuds from the Original Galaxy Buds Pro. Now if you already have the Original Galaxy Buds Pro, there’s really no need to upgrade, but if you’re a Galaxy user or Android user in general, these are still a decent pair of earbuds to consider.
Regarding pricing, Samsung has always tried to undercut the competition in all of the earbuds segment. I would consider the Galaxy buds 2 Pro to be a pair of premium ANC earbuds, and these things retail for $230. Where as for comparison the AirPods Pro 2 and Sennheiser Momentum 3’s retail for $250, The Sony WF-1000XM4 retail for $280, the Bose QC Earbuds 2 retail for $300 and there are plenty of other premium ANC earbuds who’s price continues to go up. But coming down to earth, the Pixel Buds Pro, Linkbuds S, and Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s retail for $200, the CX Plus retail for $180, and finally there are the Galaxy Buds 2 which retail for $150. What im trying to say here, there is a lot of stiff competition here when it comes to ANC earbuds… And if you’re an android user, you have any options to choose from. Nonetheless, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a decent pick up, but if you want to pick any of these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below, or you can press on the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about this case. Now the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are using the same case as the original Galaxy Buds Pro, and both the Buds 2 and buds live are using this same case. This case has a mat finish to it, so its very easy to grip this case… and this case is fairly small and it isn’t too noticeable when its in your pocket, making them a good option for every day carry earbuds. Now this case is certainly a lot more convenient to have in you pocket than lets say the Bose QC Earbuds 2, Beats Studio Buds, Sennheiser Momentum 3’s, Sennheiser CX Plus, Jabra Elite 85T’s, or Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s… However this case isn’t as convenient as lets say the Linkbuds S, WF-1000XM4’s, Pixel Buds Pro, or any of apple’s earbuds specifically cause this case is a little thicker than all of these other cases. But nonetheless, these earbuds still have a very decent case. Its decently small, the lid is easy to open and close, and there are some strong magnets in here which really help to put these earbuds away.
And just like before, this case charges via a USB C port, coming soon to an iPhone near you… and this case has wireless charging. Something that you would except from your premium ANC earbuds… and I actually made a big deal about this recently cause the Bose QC Earbuds 2 don’t have wireless charging, even though they have a considerably larger case.
But when it comes to battery life, this is the first minor upgrade that we see on these earbuds from the original. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro now have an advertised combined battery life of 30 hours… the earbuds themselves can go for 8 straight hours… and the case can supply 2 additional charges and some change.
Where as with the original Galaxy Buds Pro… they have an advertised combined battery life of 28 hours. Not bad. However, the advertised combined battery life of 30 hours on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is with its active noise cancelation turned off. With the active noise cancellation turned on, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have an advertised combined battery life of 20 hours. The earbuds themselves can go for 5 hours.
Now overall, battery life on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is decent, but it is a little below average for Premium ANC Earbuds in late 2022 and early 2023. Cause premium ANC earbuds are now trying to hit a combined battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on. This is epically true for the AirPods Pro 2. So in general, I would say that the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a more mid tier battery cause usually mid teir earbuds are good for 20 hours with their ANC turned on.
But now lets talk about fit. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a pair of in ear earbuds, but they don’t fit like a pair of standard fitting in ear earbuds like lets say the Galaxy buds 2, Jabra Elite 7 Pro, linkbuds S or Sennehsier CX Plus… The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a pair of shallow fitting in ear earbuds like lets say the AirPods Pro 2, Pixel Buds Pro or Jabra Elite 85T’s. So thanks to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s fit, these earbuds don’t feel as intrusive as standard fitting in ear earbuds… And I have found that they do a battery job of staying in place than the AirPods Pro 2’s which do like to wiggle out quite a bit. However, the Buds 2 pro’s fit is a little different than the Original Galaxy Buds Pro’s fit. With the original Galaxy buds pro… these tips would go in a little deeper into your ear canals than the Buds 2 Pro. So I have found that the Original Galaxy Buds do a better job of stying in place than the new ones. Now the Buds 2 Pro do have larger ear fins on them which are supposed to help with lock down… but overall, I do prefer the fit and sculpt of the original Galaxy Buds Pro over the new ones. But overall, I would mainly only recommend the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for casual use, cause if you try to workout with these they could wiggle out cause of their shallower fit…
Now when it comes to connectivity, each ear establishes a connection with your phone. So if you just want to use one earbud at a time, you can use either one, it doesn’t matter. And this is the connection set up that we expect to see from our earbuds nowadays… and unfortunately, we still have to specify this, cause there are still premium ANC earbuds nowadays that are still using a hero and sidekick set up, like the Bose QC earbuds 2.
But regardless, if you’re a power user with devices from different eco systems, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a good option cause if you try to establish a connection with them through your other device’s bluetooth moon, they are very fast to jump… and if you’re a Galaxy Power user, then you can hot swap between your devices which is even more convenient.
But when it comes to overall performance, these earbuds have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether your using an iPhone or an android device, but when it come to audio codecs, these earbuds have support for SBC and AAC. However, if you have a galaxy device, then you are going to have support for 24 bit audio, which in theory means better sound… and you’re also going to have support for Enhanced 360 audio, which is similar to Apple’s spatial audio where basically your earbuds will track head and give you a surround sound experience.
But now lets talk about sound. Just like the original Galaxy Buds Pro, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a dedicated woofer and a dedicated tweeter. Pretty cool if you ask me. But this time around, both of these drivers are a little smaller. The Original Galaxy Buds Pro has an 11 millimeter woofer and a 6.5 millimeter tweeter… where as the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro now have a 10 millimeter woofer and a 5.3 millimeter tweeter. Now even though the new earbuds have different drivers than the originals… they don’t sound all that different from the originals. And that’s not a bad thing at all cause I have always loved how the Galaxy Buds Pro sounded… for a long time, they were my second favorite sounding earbuds, second to only the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s and now Sennehsier CX plus and momentum 3’s. But nonetheless, the main critique that I have about both of these Galaxy Buds Pro’s is that their treble is just a little to high. But thankfully, these earbuds do have an adjustable EQ, and personally, I think these earbuds sound best with their Soft EQ. With their soft EQ, their treble gets lowered a little bit and their bass gets raised a little bit. Now these earbuds will still lean towards a slightly brighter EQ… but nonetheless, I really enjoy how these earbuds sound. Now instrument separation wise, there really isn’t a noticeable difference between the originals and the new ones… but I will say that the 2’s are a little more generous with the kick in their bass… but besides that the bass on both of these earbuds is also very similar. And I feel that the additional kick that you’ll find in the 2’s is so marginal, I don’t think that you’ll even notice. But overall, I would say that the main reason that you’ll want to pick up the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is cause you want amazing sound quality. These things have great instrument separation and dynamic bass that both kicks and resonates a good amount. My only critique is that these things still lean towards a brighter sound signature, just like the originals… but you can combat that by either using these earbuds with their soft of bass boost EQ. And when compared to other earbuds out there, I have to say that these are now my number three favorite sounding earbuds. Second to the AirPods Pro 2 which I feel do a better job of giving the instrumentals more detail… and for me, the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s and CX Plus are my favorite sounding earbuds, cause they have slightly better interment separation, but their bass also kicks and resonates harder. And also, these other two earbuds don’t put as much of an emphasis on the treble as the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
However, if you are thinking about picking these earbuds up… these are better suited for an android user. Cause if you want to go in and change the EQ on these earbuds… you can only do so if you’re an android user. Cause if you try to connect to these earbuds with an iPhone… the iOS wear app doesn’t support these earbuds. But overall, even though I do like how these earbuds sound while they are in their Soft EQ… I still wish these earbuds had a fully customizable EQ so that I could lower the treble a little more. But besides the EQ on these earbuds, another reason why you want to be an android user and have access to this app is so that you can go into the labs tab and so that you can activate the tap the edge feature on these earbuds. So that way, along side being able to skip through your music and cycle between your ANC settings, you’ll also be able to adjust the volume of these earbuds, directly from the earbuds themselves. Now overall, the touch pads on these earbuds are easy enough to use… but they can be a little overly sensitive. So usually any time that you try to readjust these earbuds… you’re most likely going to get an accidental input… But the good thing is… you can turn off these touchpads which is something to consider if you’re still thinking about working out these these earbuds.
But now, let's talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds. Now the ANC on the original Galaxy Buds Pro wasn’t the best… but it did block out more noise than your mid teir ANC headphones like lets say the Beats Studio Buds, Galaxy Buds 2, and sennheiser CX Plus. Now the ANC on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro block out a little more noise than the original Galaxy Buds Pro… But ranking wise, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro aren’t all that high when compared to more Premium ANC headphones.
Cause right now, the AirPods Pro 2 are my number one ANC earbuds… albeit, they can make me feel a little nausea or make me lose my balance sometimes. Now right below them are the Bose QC Earbuds 2 which also block out a ton of noise without the side affects. Right below them are the Sennehsier momentum 3’s. Right below them are the Sony WF-1000XM4’s and their itchy foam eart tips. Right below them are the Linkbuds S. Right below them are the Jabra Elite 85T’s, right below them are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s… right below them are the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, right below them are the Pixel Buds Pro, and below them are the original Galaxy buds Pro.
So overall, yes the ANC on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is going to be better than the ANC found on mid teir ANC earbuds… But the Galaxy Buds 2 pro do struggle to keep up with other premium ANC earbuds. So if active noise cancellation is very important to you, then you’ll might want to go with something else.
Now when it comes to the ambient mode on these, it has been improved from the originals. The Ambient mode on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro sounds a little more natural than the Ambient Mode on the originals… specifically, there’s a lot less self amplification and there’s less hissing in the background. Now you can still hear some hissing in the background while in a quite room… but you won’t hear it while walking outdoors.
Now the microphone array on these earbuds also does a great job of booking out wind noise when walking out doors… but unfortunately for now, these earbuds have a standard ambient mode as in they’ll let in everything. They won’t actively block out sudden loud sounds like the ambient modes found on either the AirPods Pro 2, Bose QC Earbuds 2 or Sony WF-1000XM4.
And just like the Sony WF-1000XM4’s, these earbuds have voice detect. When you start talking, these earbuds will automatically pump in all of the ambient sound around you and lower the volume of your media, so that you can talk to someone without having to touch the earbuds themselves. But personally, I don’t like using this feature cause its very easy to accidentally active it and for me, its more of a nascence rather than helpful.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now the microphone on the Galaxy Buds 2 pro is a little weird. While in a quite room, it sounds good enough… but I can’t help but feel that this microphone sounds worse than the originals.
Cause with the originals, I feel that these are doing a better job of picking up my voice.
And with the entry level Galaxy Buds 2, I feel that these are doing an even better job of picking up my voice while in a quite room.
However, I do feel that the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro do a slightly better job of dealing with noise pollution cause these are able to reduce this road noise with less interfenrce in my voice.
Cause with the Galaxy Buds 2, I feel that these have the same amount of interference… but they are letting in more road noise.
But then there are the original Galaxy Buds Pro which are blocking out noise, but these are interfering with my voice a lot more.
Now the Galaxy buds Pro do a much better job of dealing with chatter than they do with road noise.
Where as with the Galaxy Buds 2, even though these are blocking out chatter, they are pushing my voice down.
But finally there are the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro which are doing a good job of blocking out this chatter… but they aren’t pushing my voice down. So overall, the microphone on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is decent… but I do find it odd that these earbuds don’t have the best clarity while in a quite room… but they do a decent job of dealing with noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro do have some marginal upgrades and small changes from the originals. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have slightly better preforming active noise cancelation and they have a slightly better sounding ambient mode. Now the Galaxy buds 2 pro will block out more noise than your mid teir ANC earbuds… but they won’t blockout as much noise as your more premium ANC earbuds. And even thought the Ambient Mode on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro sounds good enough to get the job done… they won’t actively block out sudden loud sounds like either the AirPods Pro 2 or Bose QC Earbuds 2. But maybe Samsung can add this feature through a software update. And even though the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have decent battery life… their battery life is trailing behind a little bit when compared to more premium ANC earbuds. But nonetheless, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are a decent and well rounded pair of earbuds to consider… but the main reason why I would consider or recommend these earbuds is cause you want great sound quality in a very sleek package.