Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 review: more buds, less problems

Key Takeaways

we got eggs [Music] these are actually the galaxy buds too the 150 dollar wireless earbuds from samsung that are the successor to the buds plus that launched in february of 2020. now there are two stories to tell with these earbuds first it's important to compare them to their previous model the buds plus to show just how far samsung has come in a year and a half but second i think it is just as important to look at them in the wireless buds lineup samsung has created and explained how the buds too inadvertently made one whole product in that lineup not so worth their pro price let's talk eggs the buds too are tiny ovals that sit perfectly in my ears and in my co-worker chris welch's ears you almost couldn't see them at all when looking at him head-on they are 15 smaller and 20 percent lighter than the buds plus each bud weighs a mere 5 grams and with how comfortable they are i'm often wearing them long enough to drain the battery before i'm even ready to take them out something that doesn't happen on most earbuds each bud has a 61 milliamp hour battery that lasts for 5 hours with anc on 7.5 hours with anc off and 3.5 hours of continuous talk the case can recharge the buds three times over with anc on but i was barely getting through two days without having to charge the case up again which both shows just how much time i spend with earbuds in and the close eye you have to keep on their battery status the battery is the one place the buds two have not improved their predecessor the buds plus have a very long 11 hour battery life which i love for long travel days or when i simply forget to charge a case for a while and there's one other thing that i miss with the buds plus the silicone tip on the top oh my gosh it just makes for the most secure fit in your ear outside of that the buds too have improved in almost every other way the biggest improvement being the addition of active noise cancellation the anc on the buds 2 can be toggled on and off by long pressing on the left bud i took a bus trip up to upstate new york this past weekend with the buds 2 the buds pro and the airpod pros there is very little difference in the anc performance between the buds 2 and the buds pro both very easily canceled out the rumble of the bus and the talking of other passengers and i was very easily able to hear my music in peace though the airpod pros still blocked out slightly more noise especially in those higher frequencies either way i'd feel very comfortable taking the buds too on a short trip any trip longer than five hours though would require headphones with a bigger battery or brakes to take them out to charge there are three levels of ambient sound that can only be adjusted in the app just like the buds plus the highest setting amplifies sound around you and is a bit too loud for my liking though it may be helpful if you're trying to listen on someone else's conversation maybe overall the sound they let in is mostly clear though again the ambient sound mode is not as airy as the ambient sound mode on the airpods pro but it is worlds better than the super robotic ambient sound mode on the buds plus and although these buds do not pause your music when you pull an earbud out they do turn off anc to ease discomfort you all ready for a mic test let's start out with the original samsung buds when these came out i was quite disappointed in their mic quality because nobody could hear me when i talked to them on the phone next we're moving on to the galaxy buds plus these came out in february 2020 and with these samsung improved the battery life the mic quality and the sound quality all right next up is the galaxy buds pro these came out in january 2021 they are the most expensive buds in the samsung lineup they have 360 audio they have speech detection features and samsung claims when they came out that they had the best audio experience in a wireless bud in their lineup and the headphone of the hour the galaxy buds 2 wow when you put these in your ear especially coming from the buds pro they feel so small and so light and it wouldn't be a mic test without apple's airpod pros they uh they usually still sound pretty damn good even being released two years ago turn on the fans turn on the fans today we're going back to the fans test that we did on the galaxy buds pro we're also doing the fan test because it's a bit gloomy today and there's almost no light in my kitchen the galaxy buds pro have windshield technology that is supposed to eliminate the sound of wind on the buds when you're using the mic i found it to be pretty effective when we first test these buds in the original review but how do the buds too sound when there's wind going on them now samsung is not claiming any windshield technology here so i'm very eager to hear these and last but not least we have apple's airplane pros they're taking on loads of wind right now how do they sound i have a feeling it's a little bit better than those buds too all right buds you know the drill sound off down below who had the best mic quality i think i can say for sure that i won't be taking the eggs into a wind tunnel and having a conversation on the phone but how do they sound [Music] the buds too have two-way speakers a woofer and a tweeter and although samsung wouldn't give me the exact size of either of those speakers they make for a balanced sound i turned on bass boost in the wearable apps eq settings for a bit more oomph but overall found the sound very pleasing like many buds at this price point the buds too don't have standout audio quality instead they sound really good for most things and if you're looking for the absolute best audio quality then you might want to look at the bose quiet comforts or the sony wx1000 xm4 no sony w f 1000 xm4s yeah both of those are a lot more money but they have some of the best audio quality that we have found in wireless earbuds and if you want to know more about that the verge.com in swapping between the buds pro and the buds too the pros have just a tad more bass that really shows when listening to pop or hip hop however i think most people would be plenty happy with how the buzz 2 sound the touch controls on the buds 2 are responsive but leave a bit of room for improvements much like the buzz pro you have to be intentional about your touch and hit right in the center of the bud for the tap to be recognized i would say about 75 of the time my touches were recognized but the other 25 of the time i would just need to try again and make sure i was hitting right in the center all settings for the buds 2 are within samsung's galaxy wearable app a universal app for all samsung earbuds and smart watches but unfortunately the latest models are only supported on android i'm very sorry iphone users this means that in order to change the tap controls the eq settings the ambient sound modes and even download firmware updates an ios user would need to pair the buzz to an android phone it's all uh very uh apple of them for android users though the wear app is easy to use although only samsung users will get the quick pairing pop-ups on their phones so with the buds 2 samsung has created a 3 earbud lineup that all look the same with the case closed and very different when you open it you have the buds live that have that open ear design that's perfect for biking or when you need to hear the outside world and then the buds pro they have better water resistance more anc levels a bit more bass 360 audio capabilities and a voice detection mode and then the buds too they slide right in the middle of that lineup and while their price and name may indicate they aren't as capable as the pros i think most people can save a few bucks and be very happy with these tiny buds and ultimately even though their mic quality could absolutely be better the buds too small size makes them my favorite earbud in this lineup i forgot to record an end card so here we are thank you so much for watching we have been busting our tail feathers on this youtube channel there's so much up there for you to watch and enjoy i appreciate you bud i hope that you're well and hope that everyone you love as well we'll be seeing you real soon bye