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Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review

These super comfortable earbuds are a well-priced option for work or play
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Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Price:  $230 List
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Manufacturer:   Samsung
By Graham Faulknor, Genaveve Bradshaw, and Clark Tate  ⋅  Sep 28, 2024
70
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#10 of 25
  • Sound Quality - 40% 6.5
  • User Experience - 20% 7.7
  • Noise Cancellation - 15% 6.4
  • Battery life - 15% 6.9
  • Call Quality - 10% 9.0

Our Verdict

Of the top-ranked earbuds we've tested, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro stands out as one of our favorites in this price range. They're extremely lightweight, comfortable, and secure, making them ideal for active days. They also offer impressive water resistance for outdoor adventures. Their sound profile balances treble, mid, and bass frequencies to create a pleasant, neutral listening experience. This works well for pop songs like Meija's “Feel Right” and “Drops of Jupiter” by Train, though the highest notes can feel thin and strained at high volumes. While the bass and mids aren't as full or forceful as we'd like, they still provide enough power for smooth hip-hop tracks like “Poetic Justice” by Kendrick Lamar. The Pro version offers improved sound quality, comfort, and a better fit and seal than their predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. They don't block noise as well, but we find that they offer the best value at this price point.
REASONS TO BUY
Comfy fit
Solid sound quality
Good noise cancelling
REASONS TO AVOID
Disappointing battery life
Not as water resistant
Smart app not supported by Apple iOS

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards  Editors' Choice Award
Best Earbuds for Most People
Editors' Choice Award
Easiest for Apple Users
Editors' Choice Award
Best Noise Cancelling Earbuds
Editors' Choice Award
Best Wired Earbud
Price $230 List
$100.00 at Amazon
$250 List
$199.98 at Amazon
$249 List
$189.99 at Amazon
$299 List
$229.00 at Amazon
$18.00 List
$17.97 at Amazon
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Bottom Line These are comfortable with reasonable audio quality at a lower price point than mostThe latest and greatest from Jabra, these great sounding earbuds are incredibly comfortableGreat noise cancellation that lets you appreciate their excellent sound qualityThe best option to block out the world and lose yourself in an immersive soundscapeForgoing flash for a great fit and impressive sound at a great price, these wired earbuds are hard to argue with
Rating Categories Samsung Galaxy Buds... Jabra Elite 10 Apple AirPods Pro 2 Bose QuietComfort U... UliX Rider - 3.5mm
Sound Quality (40%)
6.5
8.4
7.7
8.6
8.1
User Experience (20%)
7.7
8.7
7.9
6.2
5.6
Noise Cancellation (15%)
6.4
7.2
8.0
9.9
2.5
Battery life (15%)
6.9
7.3
7.6
5.9
10.0
Call Quality (10%)
9.0
7.4
9.3
8.8
8.8
Specs Samsung Galaxy Buds... Jabra Elite 10 Apple AirPods Pro 2 Bose QuietComfort U... UliX Rider - 3.5mm
Active Noise Cancelling Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Earbud Location Tracking Yes Yes Yes No No
Measured Battery Life 7.5 hr 8.0 hr 8.5 hr 6.2 hr N/A
Waterproofing IPX7 IP57 IPX4 IPX4 N/A
Measured Weight 0.19 oz 0.20 oz 0.38 oz 0.22 oz 0.62 oz
Quick Charging 5 mins = 1 hr 5 mins = 1 hr 5 mins = 1 hr 5 mins = 1 hr N/A
Charges Per Case 3 3 4 5 N/A
Wired Charging Port USB-C USB-C USB-C USB-C 3.5mm jack
Wireless Charging Option Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Claimed Battery Life 8 hrs 8 hrs 6 hrs 6 hrs N/A
Charging Carrying Case Yes Yes Yes Yes N/A
Transparency Mode Yes Yes No Yes No
Multipoint No Yes Two Apple devices simultaneously No No
In-ear Detection Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Multiple Ear Tips Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro buds offer great call quality and exceptional user experience while maintaining good sound quality. If you're not willing to drop hundreds of dollars on a pair of earbuds but still want the best bang for your buck, these are the right pair for you.

Performance Comparison


We test these earbuds to the max. From a panel of human audio experts to the objective ears of our Brüel & Kjaer Type 5128 Head Simulator (also known as Darwin), we do the hard work to help you find the perfect pair.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Sound Quality


These earbuds sound good. They're balanced, clear, and loud. To assess them, we assembled a team of audio experts to listen to a wide range of genres — from pop romps and soaring classical sets to twangy country tragedies, jazz, rap, hip hop, and R&B. Ultimately, we rated the Galaxy Buds2 Pro a bit better than average.


Their sound signature is bright rather than warm, offering more clarity and detail than a smooth, relaxed feel. The balance of bass, mid, and treble creates a neutral, natural profile, though high frequencies can sound tinny, sharp, or hollow at times, especially at high volumes. For example, in “The Recipe” by Kendrick Lamar, the opening screech of landing gear is piercing at the 0:05 mark, and the snare drum throughout the song “Swimming Pools” can sound overly sharp.

Expert Panel Sound Quality Ratings
ProductBassMid-RangeTreble
Best8.79.08.7
Average6.66.96.5
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro7.06.05.8
Worst2.03.53.0

That said, when they work, they work well. “Drops of Jupiter” by Train sounds full and expansive, with clear, bright instrumentation and warm, punchy kick drums at 0:50. While the mid-frequency tones are smoother, with more depth than the treble, they lack the fullness of the bass range. The upper end can sound strained, which we noticed in “Out Alpha the Alpha” by Megan Thee Stallion and “J.S. Bach's Cello Suite No 1” performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

"24-bit Hi-Fi audio" — Samsung is making a big deal about the Galaxy Buds2 Pro and their 24-bit Hi-Fi audio. We don't find it to be a game-changer. You need a Galaxy smartphone with Android 8.0 and specific data standards to access it, and most people can't discern the difference between 16 and 23 bits. We'll monitor this development. For now though, it doesn't seem worth the hype.

The bass frequencies sound good enough, thumping and booming adequately in songs like “Poetic Justice” by Kendrick Lamar. But they have the muddy, indistinct quality that can result from overlapping frequencies. It's not rich, warm, or defined enough to create a well-rounded and nuanced sonic space to explore. At higher volumes, the bass gains power but can feel clunky.

Soundstage


An earbud's soundstage describes how the music appears to be situated around you in three-dimensional space. Due to their small size and in-ear design, earbuds often struggle to reproduce the experience of live music, where sounds emanate from various instruments spread across a stage in front of you.

Soundstage Ratings
ProductSoundstage Rating
Best10.0
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro8.0
Average7.2
Worst4.0
The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro earbuds offer an above-average soundstage that doesn't compare to the best options in the test.

As technology advances, some earbuds are beginning to offer a more immersive audio experience, making it seem as though your music is coming from the world outside of your earbuds. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro earbuds manage this, allowing the music to move out of your head while remaining somewhat confined.

They don't ascend beyond their humble reality, a small set of in-ear speakers. Still, you can place instruments in various locations around you and hear and appreciate them across frequencies. In Mejia's “Feel Right,” the rhythmic bass groove is full and clearly defined against the high vocals and the electronic instrumentation at the 2:22 mark.


Each set of earbuds has a unique blend of bass, mid, and treble frequencies, and the relative volume is higher for some frequency bands than for others. This is their frequency response curve, shown above alongside the GearLab House Curve. Our House Curve is the sound mix that offers the best listening experience for most people in our experience. The two curves are very similar, with only minor differences. We use our Brüel & Kjaer Type 5128-B Head Simulator, which we've nicknamed “Darwin”, along with its companion software, SoundCheck, to generate these curves.

samsung galaxy buds2 pro - darwin records the sound frequencies emitted by the earbuds.
Darwin records the sound frequencies emitted by the earbuds.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

User Experience


The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro earbuds are incredibly comfortable and secure, making it easy to take your music with you. To evaluate how easy they are to use, we asked a dozen testers to try them on for size, and our expert test team wore them during long days in the office, commutes, and workouts. Here's what we found.


Comfort


These earbuds come with three silicone tips to adjust their fit. All of our testers found a comfortable setup. It helps that these earbuds have a matte gel coating that makes them far more pleasant to the touch and less severe against your ear than most. They feel light and airy, perching in your ear rather than crash-landing there. Some earbuds create pressure points that drive us to the brink. That's not an issue with the Samsung Pro buds. We have no trouble wearing them for hours at a time.

These fit perfectly for those with mid-sized ears.
These fit perfectly for those with mid-sized ears.
Testers with larger ears found that these tend to fall out more but...
Testers with larger ears found that these tend to fall out more but, for the most part are fairly comfortable.
Though these fit well on most, they aren't as well suited for those...
Though these fit well on most, they aren't as well suited for those with small ears.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro buds fit well in most ear shapes.

Stability


Due to their lightweight design and comfort, these earbuds can feel unstable at times. They proved themselves during testing though, passing our headbanging and handstanding stress tests. After that, we feel confident enough to wear them mountain biking, where a runaway earbud would be very hard to recover. Their ingress protection rating of IPX7 means that you can (theoretically) immerse these buds in up to a meter of water. We haven't tested this, but it gives us confidence to wear the Pro buds when it's raining lightly or we're sweating heavily.

samsung galaxy buds2 pro - we found ourselves popping these buds back in from time to time.
We found ourselves popping these buds back in from time to time.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Customization


The Pro earbuds' operating system is trickier than their fit. To start, the Wear App isn't supported by Apple products. You can pair them with a Mac or iPhone via Bluetooth, but then you won't be able to access the earbuds' numerous features. The app allows for manual equalization (EQ) adjustments to the frequency response curve, letting you customize the treble, mid, and bass levels. There are only six settings though, fewer than other options we've tried. That said, the sound is pretty darn good already.

The Samsung buds come with an excellent app.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

There is an active noise cancellation and an ambient sound mode, which pipes in ambient sounds so you can be aware of your surroundings. They also have a voice detection feature that lowers the volume automatically when you start speaking so you can carry on a conversation.

The 360 audio feature is a surround sound function that's meant to make your experience more immersive. It isn't very effective compared to similar features in other earbuds. You can also access some of Google's AI features with the right device, including a real-time language translation assistant. The app also includes a fit check to ensure optimal sound and noise cancellation, and a location feature to help you find misplaced earbuds.

Connectivity


During our in-house evaluation of connectivity, one of our testers had some trouble pairing the Galaxy Buds2 Pro with her iPhone after they had already been paired with an Android, having to “forget” the connection on one device before pairing with another. One thing worth mentioning is the sensitivity of the touch controls. While not a technical issue with connectivity, the same tester found that she accidentally paused or skipped songs multiple times throughout the day when doing things like putting on glasses or pulling on a sweater. However, beyond this, we did not experience very many connectivity problems when using these earbuds. To compare our experience with a larger crowd, we looked at 1-star Amazon user reviews and kept note of each one that mentioned connectivity-related issues. We used this number to find a percentage of negative feedback out of the total number of user reviews. The Buds2 Pro fared relatively well, with a reported rate of connectivity issues of just 0.25%. These earbuds are a great choice for interruption-free listening if you plan to use them with a single primary device and are ok with the extra-sensitive touch controls.

Reported Connectivity Issues
ProductPercent Cited
Worst3.83
Average1.3
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro0.25
Best0.1
We found the percentage of 1-star reviews citing connectivity issues for each earbud model we tested. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro came in with a reported rate lower than the average (analysis conducted on 7/23/24).

Noise Cancellation


When it comes to active noise cancellation (ANC) and passive noise isolation, these earbuds are in the middle of the pack. They perform adequately, but the difference between them and the top-ranked models is noticeable, affecting our focus during work and holding us back from fully immersing ourselves in the music.


We're surprised that the Pro earbuds don't perform better here since the previous version, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2, are much more effective. The ANC dampens noises below 2,000 hertz by 15 to 20-odd decibels, which helps, but it's not enough to block out the world.

For high-frequency sounds, passive noise isolation is more effective since earbuds physically block noises like earplugs. The previous Galaxy Buds2 blocked between 25 and 40 decibels in the treble range, while the Pro version struggles to crack 30 decibels, muffling a narrower frequency range. The difference is noticeable.

These earbuds passively block a reasonable amount of ambient noise and offer decent active noise cancelling. But it's not the best in the test.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Still, as you can hear in the video above, the earbuds do a decent job of quieting the mid and high-frequency sounds in a noise cafe. Turning the ANC on can make high-pitched noises more noticeable. If you're playing music, you'll mask more of the noise, but the experience is hardly immersive.


Check out the graph above, which shows how many decibels the earbuds block passively and with ANC activated. As is expected, the ANC is more effective with consistent, low-frequency noises, while passive isolation works better for higher frequencies. The issue is that it's not blocking enough noise across the board. We'd like to see both lines hitting higher marks.

Samsung's sleek case holds three additional battery charges and gives you a nifty little wink in the right light.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Battery Life


We test battery life by streaming music at 75% of the maximum volume until each set gives up the ghost. While the Galaxy Buds2 Pro earbuds achieve a respectable score for their 7.5-hour battery life, they don't live up to Samsung's 8-hour claim. The half-hour difference though is unlikely to drastically impact daily use.


Even if you need a full 8 hours for your shift, a fully charged case will provide another three charges. That's roughly 32 hours of use on the go. You'll need to wait for the earbuds to power up, but a quick 5-minute charge will give you a full hour of listening time.

Call Quality


We don't mind making calls with the Galaxy Buds2 Pro whether in a busy office or a quiet room. They isolate your voice from background noise fairly well. To test this, we recorded male and female testers reading from a script, then played the recording through a speaker in the Bruel and Kjaer 5128-B head, and listened to what the earbuds picked up in both quiet and noisy environments.


When it comes to the Subway stress test, none of the earbuds fare particularly well. It's not a great place to take a phone call. Yet, the man's voice pleasantly clear. We're able to hear some slight tapping in the background while the woman speaks woman's but we're able to catch every word clearly. All told, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro did better than most in this test.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro nearly cancel out the squeal of the rail car wheels in our Subway call test.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Again in our office call quality test we're able to hear both voices clearly with only a very light tapping that's well masked in the background of the call.

Here, you can hear both the woman's and man's voices clearly with some light keyboard tapping and well-masked conversation in the background.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

In a still room, both male and female voices were loud and clear, despite some occasional clicking or tapping sounds, which didn't affect overall clarity.

The call clarity in ideal conditions is some of the best we've heard.

Should You Buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro?


If comfort is your top priority, these earbuds are an excellent option. Only a few other options can compete, and they all cost more. We also enjoy the listening experience and sound profile the Samsung Buds2 Pro offer. Their impressive waterproofing and secure fit make them ideal for active users. While Samsung's flashier features, like the 360-degree audio with head tracking didn't impress us, the essential components are solid. But, if you need top-of-the-line noise cancelling to focus on music or your work, these aren't your best bet.

These earbuds offer impressive call quality in noisy situations.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

What Other Earbuds Should You Consider?


If you're seeking comfort and excellent audio quality, the Jabra Elite 10 and Jabra Elite 8 Active are fantastic options. They cost a bit more but offer superior sound, longer battery life, and are slightly more pleasant to use than the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. The Elite 10 excels in noise isolation, while the Elite 8 Active's ANC is less effective. These earbuds are also excellent for active use with incredibly stable and comfortable fit, superior water resistance, and dust protection. Though, the Buds2 Pro will save you a little cash and do a better job of isolating your voice on phone calls in a noisy environment.

Graham Faulknor, Genaveve Bradshaw, and Clark Tate