GALAXY BUDS PLUS DRIVERS
The new drivers and AKG tuning bring the bright edges of Andre 3000’s voice forward in the mix but retain the low end of the sound. The Galaxy Buds Plus come with a new dual-driver setup that spreads musical pleasure out a bit more evenly, with dedicated bass and treble drivers that rumble down low and sparkle up high at the same time. Each earbud has three microphones (two external, one that faces your ear) to suss out what you’re saying from the background noise.Īudio quality has also massively improved. I often call a discerning listener ( Hi mom! Yes, I'm testing headphones again) to test this, and she said listening to me through the original Galaxy Buds is like hearing my beautiful, angelic voice (her words) through a thick moving blanket.īut I came through loud and clear on calls with the Galaxy Buds Plus. Perhaps worst of all (in the grand scheme of things) is poor call quality. The audio quality is nowhere near what you get from competing devices from Jabra, Sony, Master and Dynamic, and others.
I'd put on some OutKast and enjoy the bass response (and even a relatively pleasurable soundstage), but the music always felt a bit muffled above that. They also don't sound particularly awesome. The 7-hour battery of the original model is awesome when out and about, but I found myself recharging the case-a wireless charging pillbox that only boasted 10 hours of extra battery life-much more than I wanted to. I love how cheap and comfortable the original Galaxy Buds are, but it's not as though they are without issues. The old Galaxy Buds are still better than the standard AirPods, but these new Galaxy Buds Plus kick the absolute crap out of them. They now have an industry-leading 11 hours of battery life (more than double the juice offered by AirPods and AirPods Pro), better microphones, and special new audio tuning from Samsung-owned AKG. Instead of visual changes, the Galaxy Buds Plus come with a major internal overhaul. The tiny, comfortable in-ears all but disappear during longer listening sessions, with cozy silicone ear fins that keep the featherlight headphones in place no matter what.
Yet I’m elated that Samsung stuck with identical looks for the second generation of its Galaxy Buds-now called the Galaxy Buds Plus-because they had such a good design to begin with.
GALAXY BUDS PLUS PRO
Get an IPA or two in me, and I’m liable to start rambling about how Apple retained the stupid, eartip-less design on the second generation of its industry-dominating AirPods, forcing anyone who wants earbuds that are actually comfortable to shell out an extra $90 for the better-designed AirPods Pro (or Beats Powerbeats Pro).