Samsung’s real answer to AirPods Pro

It’s been less than six months since Samsung released its latest pair of wireless headphones. But now there is the Galaxy Buds Pro. By switching to a more traditional design, keeping the built-in ANC, and charging a price tag of $ 200, Samsung has finally created a worthy and more affordable competitor for Apple’s AirPods Pro at $ 250.

In many ways, the Galaxy Buds Pro are what you’d get if the Galaxy Buds + and Galaxy Buds Live had cheesy little audio babies. Similar to the Galaxy Buds +, the Galaxy Buds Pro have soft silicone ear tips to help provide passive noise cancellation and a snug, comfortable fit. And since the Galaxy Buds Pro are relatively light, their tight fit was more than enough to ensure they didn’t fall randomly, even if you jump while exercising.

Meanwhile, Samsung borrowed the built-in vents (to prevent air pressure from building up and becoming uncomfortable), additional mics, and active noise cancellation used in the Galaxy Buds Live and placed them in the Pros. The difference here is that since the Galaxy Buds Pros have a closed design, the ANC is much more efficient at muffling ambient noise, which certainly helped reduce the annoying rumble of nearby construction that I had to deal with. when writing this review. Now if we’re picky, compared to Sony’s excellent but super bulky WF-1000XM3 Wireless Headphones, Samsung’s ANC is not as powerful. But that’s pretty close, and since the Galaxy Buds Pro cost a lot less and are a lot smaller, swapping out a tiny bit of ANC performance to create a more compact and wearable pair of wireless headphones is. a compromise that I am ready to make. make.

And like all recent headphones from Samsung, the Galaxy Buds Pro still include convenient 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 off. disable ANC and audio pass-through. However, and this is a gripe that I have had with Samsung headphones for quite some time now, you can only adjust the touch controls to adjust the volume. or toggle ANC, but not both, forcing you to make a difficult choice to access app settings, which is pretty annoying.

The Galaxy Buds Pro are more than just a remix of Samsung’s previous wireless headphones. Instead of having a single speaker in each bud like on the Galaxy Buds Live, the Galaxy Buds Pro have an 11mm woofer and a 6.5mm tweeter crammed into either side. And when its new drivers are combined with better ANC and passive noise reduction, the Galaxy Buds Pro delivers even richer, more detailed sound. It’s just enough to make you appreciate the sparkle of a top hat or cymbal more than usual, and while the woofer means the bass sounds are more pronounced, I do appreciate the Galaxy Buds. Pro still sounds relatively neutral and not too heavy on the bass. However, if you want that extra thud, you can always choose from one of Samsung’s other preset equalizers (Bass Boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear, and Treble Boost). Don’t go looking for a custom EQ setting, because it doesn’t exist.

Meanwhile, thanks to the inclusion of three different built-in mics, the voice quality is also quite good. Now don’t get me wrong, no one is going to mistake the Galaxy Buds Pro for a high-end washable mic, but even for some home movies, the Galaxy Buds Pro can be a quick and easy replacement for more expensive audio gear.

The other big news for the Galaxy Buds Pro is the addition of voice detection, which allows the earbuds to automatically activate its ambient noise feature (which amplifies nearby sound and leads it into the ear cups) when hear your voice. Granted, that doesn’t sound like much, but it quickly became one of my favorite features as it made it easier for me to hold a conversation without having to take my headphones off.

Now at this point some baby boomers might say that not taking off your helmet while talking to someone is a little rude, and they might be right, if we were still living in 1965. But in 2021, I’m going to say which most people will understand if you don’t take off your headphones to order coffee, provided you can interact easily and politely with store staff. And with voice detection that can automatically activate Ambient Sound, that’s exactly what Galaxy Buds Pro let you do.

However, the functionality is not perfect. Currently, you can tell headphones to automatically turn on ambient noise in 5, 10, or 15 second increments, with the latter two usually being long enough to have a quick conversation. However, if the person you are talking to is a bit talkative or has a long story to tell you, it is very possible that the Ambient Sound feature turns off in the middle of their sentence. Samsung says the reason for this is that it’s a lot easier for the buds to tell when you’re talking, rather than trying to guess which of the hundreds or thousands of sounds nearby is the one you want to pay attention to. But that still means that if you don’t go up to keep the ambient noise on, you might miss a beat.

Additionally, for those who frequently find themselves juggling audio from multiple devices, Samsung has also added a new auto-switching feature that lets you quickly connect the Buds Pro to a Samsung phone or tablet or Windows PC. 10 if needed. It’s automatic, and in my testing it worked pretty seamlessly, although it refused to change once out of the five times I’ve tried it.

All in all, the only real downside to the Galaxy Buds Pro is the somewhat lackluster battery life. Samsung says the Galaxy Buds Pro offer five hours of music playback with ANC on, or around eight hours with ANC off. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either, and while sometimes I’ve noticed the Galaxy Buds Pro last up to five hours and 20 minutes with the ANC on, it’s still not. not really enough to last a full day of work or school without strategic recharging during breaks. Fortunately, the buds can soak up enough juice for an extra 30 minutes of reading time with just a five-minute nap in their charging case. And on the other hand, it’s important to remember that Apple’s AirPods Pro are only rated for 4.5 hours of music playback with ANC enabled.

Compared to competitors like the Sony WF-1000XM3 and Apple AirPods Pro, this is when the Galaxy Buds Pro really start to show their value. They have excellent audio quality, a light, comfortable fit, and slightly better battery life than Apple’s popular alternatives. And while their ANC might be a little less proficient than Sony’s or Apple’s, I’m willing to bet most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference if they took the Pepsi Challenge. And as a new feature to make its headphones more user-friendly, the Galaxy Buds Pro’s voice detection feature has been a really welcome addition.

Especially for owners of Samsung phones, where the Galaxy Wearable app is preinstalled, the initial pairing couldn’t be easier. For other Android phone owners, it’s not like having to download a few free apps before pairing gets really that hard. Most importantly, it all comes from a pair of true wireless earbuds that cost $ 30- $ 50 less than their bigger competitors. So while I would love a little more battery life and more control over its touch controls, the Galaxy Buds Pro are a great little pair of wireless headphones.

READ ME

• The Galaxy Buds Pro last around five hours with a charge with ANC on (or around 8 with ANC off), which isn’t great, but it’s actually slightly better than the 4.5 hours you get from it. AirPods Pro.
• Thanks to their lightweight design and the three sizes of tips included, Galaxy Buds Pro are quite comfortable and easy to wear for long periods of time.
• Samsung’s charging case stores an additional 13 hours of juice and can be recharged wired or wireless.
• Galaxy Buds Pro’s new automatic ambient sound activates when it hears your voice, making it easier for you to have conversations without having to remove the earbuds themselves.
• Samsung has created a new 360-degree spatial sound mode, but currently it’s only available on newer Galaxy S21 phones, while Samsung is working on porting 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 more experimental features like low latency gaming mode.