premium headphones for good money

Samsung introduced in 2019 its first Galaxy Buds headphones and thus started the successful era of its wireless headphones. Since then, we have been able to see other models such as Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds Pro or Galaxy Buds Plus, and along with the introduction of new flexible phones and watches, Galaxy Buds 2, the true successor to the original Galaxy Buds. We lived with the headphones for about 14 days and during that time we managed to make a relatively clear opinion about them.

Review content Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Package contents

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 headphones are packed in a white paper box, in which, in addition to the headphone case itself, there is also a booklet with manuals, a USB-A / USB-C charging cable and, of course, a set of spare plugs. You would look in vain for an adapter here (as with most headphones).

• Samsung Galaxy Buds 2
• charging USB-A / USB-C cable
• set of spare plugs
• brochures

Design and quality of workmanship

Galaxy Buds 2 headphones are available in four color variants – purple, green, white and graphite. We have received a white variant in the editorial office, which we sincerely like the most. When you choose another variant, you always get white case that is colored up inside. We personally find this weird and we don’t like it very much. But it is rather a subjective opinion, although we also met a similar one in our environment.

Samsung compares the new headphones the most with the Galaxy Buds Plus, against which they should be 15% smaller and up to 20% lighter, which is definitely not a small number. Nevertheless, they are handled well, even though they are really tiny. They also bear their credit for that well made magnets inside the case. Of course, there are also touchpads on the headphones for control, and perhaps the only disappointment can be IPX2 certificationwhich guarantees protection only against dripping water. So if you plan to dance with your headphones in the rain, look somewhere else.

The case is then made of glossy plastic, which we consider rather a disadvantage. In time, you will have capillary scratches or abrasions on it, if you do not get some packaging for them. It is located on the front LED diode indicating charging of the headphones, on the back there is a USB-C connector for charging. Of course, there is also an inscription inside “Sound by AKG”.

Function

Since the headphones are the direct successor to the first-generation Galaxy Buds, the presence of the ANC is probably the biggest change. As with the real Buds Air 2, this feature is activated by holding your fingers on the touchpad of both headphones (if you still can’t imagine it, take a look at how Memphis Depay celebrates its goals).

If you make this gesture a second time, you will enter a transparent mode that lets the surrounding sound through to your headphones. This is especially useful when you need to communicate with your surroundings without taking your headphones out. Of course, there is support for AAC and SBC codecs, and if you use a Samsung phone or tablet, you will also have the Samsung Scalable Codec, which boasts slightly better quality than the classic SBC.

Samsung Galaxy Wearable application

Application Galaxy Wearable is the centerpiece from which you control basically everything and also update your headphones. By the way, we recently received an update that adds a few new features, such as noise suppression activation if you have only one handset on, or the option to have transparent mode on during calls, which is useful if you are walking down a busy street and don’t want to be completely cut off from the world. But back to the application.

Galaxy Wearable (Samsung Gear)

If you find gestures that are too complex, you can also switch between the different modes (active noise reduction, off and ambient sound, or transparent mode) in the application. You can also turn off or reset touch control, if for some reason you do not like or use the Find My Headphones feature. In addition, you can see detailed information about the battery status of the headphones and the case here.

Sound quality, microphones and ANC

For our daily listening, we use AirPods headphones (2nd generation) for iPhone and real Buds Air 2 if we use Android devices. So we can compare them with these models. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 will fit us definitely best in the ear and the sound of them is much clearer than with realme headphones, the quality with AirPods is then comparable. The Apple headphones have surprisingly better bass, on the contrary, heights and mids seem better to us with Galaxy Buds 2.

Overall, we evaluate the sound positively, how much the headphones cost really play very good. In some reviews, you may find opinions that the headphones lack bass, but not extra large from the plugs we don’t even expect a bass experience. The good quality of the microphones is also pleasing, we called the headphones quite often and the other party never complained about anything, unlike other headphones.

Active noise cancellation could be a bit better, but we’re glad the feature got into the headphones eventually. If you do not expect to hear noise from the bus or housing estate when the ANC is switched on, we must disappoint you. So we can imagine using the mode somewhere in the office, but it will definitely not completely cut you off from the outside world, as is the case with more expensive headphones.

Battery life

Samsung claims that the headphones will last up five hours with normal listening and ANC on, which is a very good value. If you turn off the ANC, expect about 2.5 hours longer life. Together with the case, you can get a total of 20 or 29 hours. Experience has shown that the endurance of the headphones is above average. We got it somewhere at 8 o’clockbut when we combined the modes, changed the volume and so on. It is safe to say that it will last much longer than our AirPods (which already have something behind them) and also the realme Buds Air 2. The headphones then charge, of course. via a charging case that can be charged either via USB-C or wirelessly via the Qi standard. It should be added that the headphones also support fast charging, where you can enjoy an hour of listening in 5 minutes on the charger.

Price and availability

The recommended price of Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 headphones is 3 799 CZK with the fact that you can find them at most Czech e-shops in all color variants, ie white, purple, green and graphite.

Resumé

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 headphones are a worthy successor to the 1st generation Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Plus headphones. So if you use some of these headphones, or you have some cheaper ones and you want to look for something that has better sound, ANC and good endurance, they will certainly be a great choice. They have above-average sound expression, they will also enjoy decent battery life, quality microphones thanks to which you can make calls with the headphones even on a busier street or the well-made Galaxy Wearable application. Only IPX2 certification is disappointing for us. Otherwise, we can recommend headphones with a calm heart.

What do you say to Samsung Galaxy Buds 2?