I have always been curious about wireless earbuds since they made headlines a few years ago. And finally, I got my hands on a pair of them hence my first Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review.
All these years, earpieces for the smartphone has been mediocre with nothing much to shout about. I remember several years ago when Samsung introduced the Icon X wireless earbuds a year after the AirPods.
This was the beginning of the wireless era, which led to the current Galaxy Buds 2, which was launched during the Galaxy Unpacked event in August 2021.
Galaxy Buds 2 Review
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| The Galaxy Buds2, which I currently use. |
Since then, many brands have come out with all kinds of wireless earbuds, and I even once purchased a pair from Jabra in late 2017.
However, I always faced several issues when trying to connect them with my Galaxy units, and usually, after a while, I would have figured it out. However, as time passed, more applications were introduced by Samsung and eventually, the pairing was not flexible as I thought it would be.
Then I stopped using any wireless buds until I was re-introduced to them again this August of 2021. After a lapse in using these ear devices, I got my pair and connected it with my Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.
Suddenly, everything made sense when the Galaxy Buds 2 connected easily with the Galaxy Wearable app, and it's pretty fast-pairing too.
As for the water resistance feature is only an IPX2 which means it's very basic and not meant for a rainy day, pool session, or running along the beach. These will be perfect for those who work out a lot.
Generally, an IPX2 rating means that water splashes onto the Galaxy Buds 2 are acceptable, but I won't recommend trying it on purpose.
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| The available attractive colours. |
Unlike the Z Flip3, which comes with an IPX8, it literally means that you can submerge the phone in up to 3 meters of water for 30 minutes. Again, only if it accidentally happens and not to be forced tried.
I use my Galaxy Buds 2 mainly for one purpose, which is my meditation. When I do my meditation, I usually play music, but I constantly get distracted by surrounding outside noise.
I managed to cut around 70% of the surrounding noise with the wireless buds, which alone made my meditation much more meaningful and more manageable.
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| What it looks like inside. |
The active noise-cancelling works great with my expectations but not those that cancel out 100% of the outside noise. That does not work for me because I still want to have ambient noise from the outside world.
With the Wearable app, you have the luxury to adjust and tweak the sound with some equalizer preset modes that suit what you want to do.
For now, I'm still playing around with the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) that is supposed to mute 98% of the surrounding world.
I learned that Samsung has also improved Ambient Sound, which comes in three levels, and now it comes with some AI that learns to adapt to the environment, which is pretty impressive.
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| The beautiful glossy and curved design. |
What do I like about the new Galaxy Buds 2?
- Works well with any Galaxy device.
- Does not stick out of your ears.
- They look beautiful with the new colours and the glossy curved designs.
- They are 15% smaller and 20% lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, making them easier to wear for long periods.
- Easy to carry the charging case around.
- A good noise-cancelling, but still a lot to improve.
- The stylish compact case with wireless charging.
- A whopping 29 hours for battery life, 5 hours non-stop usage.
- Also works with iOS.
- This has to be mentioned, and if you are a very large-sized person (over 6 feet) or have huge ears and hands, they can be a little challenging to handle and slip out your ears more easily.
- Not for heavy noise-cancellation fans, as the Galaxy Buds 2 is still a well-balanced type.
- No auto-pause if you remove them from your ears.
Conclusion
For now, these are working great with my everyday life as I am getting used to them. You can also get more information or buy the Galaxy Buds 2 from Samsung Malaysia.
The price is currently at RM499 while it comes in four incredible colours - Lavender, graphite, olive and white.
While this could be the answer to previous larger models, Samsung is probably only halfway to perfecting this, and we can expect a lot more in the next Galaxy Buds3.