Galaxy Buds Plus review, four months later: a perfect balance

In February, before the world fell apart, he was in an art gallery building in New York City, where Samsung gave the press an early look at its upcoming Galaxy S20 series. In the demo room, there were plenty of phones spread across different film sets, but Samsung had also placed some of its new Galaxy Buds Plus in the room. Visually, they were quite difficult to distinguish apart from the original Galaxy Buds I had in my pocket, but I was still excited to see them anyway.

I fast-forwarded to when the S20 was pre-ordered, and took advantage of promotional offers to get a free pair of Galaxy Buds Plus with my S20 + order because, well, why not? I thought the audio would be a bit better, and the improved battery life was attractive given the frequency with which I used the original Buds when traveling.

Since my Galaxy Buds Plus arrived, I’ve also got a pair of Jabra’s popular true Elite 75t wireless headphones to compare, which seem to have become the de facto gold standard for the product category. After spending months with both couples, I must say: I don’t remember the last time I loaded my Jabras.

I’ll get down to business and say that by far the thing I like most about the Galaxy Buds Plus is still the ridiculous battery life I can get between charges. Samsung cites 22 hours of battery life on the Buds Plus, divided between 11 hours internally and 11 hours of extra juice in the charging case. I definitely haven’t used these headphones for 11 hours straight to prove the truth of that claim, but at least I can say that I never had to worry about them dying with me at noon.

Galaxy Buds Plus are comfortable, compact and durable.

That’s partly because of how you can recharge them. Of course, the case keeps the headphones full of volume every time you store them, and I love that you can recharge the case via USB-C. But even more useful (especially when I travel) is that you can load the case wirelessly On business trips, instead of needing an extra cable and charging port, I usually just plug my S20 + in at night, flip it over and put the Buds Plus case on top with Wireless Powershare enabled.

Since my last trip in late February, I switched to the OnePlus 8 full-time, which doesn’t have wireless charging in either direction, so I guess the workflow wouldn’t work for me anymore, but it was a wonderful system to keep in mind. its place.

As for the headphones, the Galaxy Buds Plus are as comfortable as they are to my ears. The default size fits snugly and provides enough seal to keep surrounding noise going, even without active noise cancellation.

These have become my favorite headphones for meetings and phone calls.

I still love the winged tips that keep the earbuds in my ears, even when I’m running, and the Buds Plus really do sound a lot better than their predecessors. I listen to everything from progressive metal to jazz, pop, hip hop, emo, fusion. I try to keep some variety and rarely have a complaint with the Buds Plus sound profile.

Also, my biggest annoyance with the Jabra Elite 75t, the Buds Plus’ direct competitor, is that the left earcup relies entirely on the right. I watch videos with just one earbud all the time, and with the Elite 75t, you just can’t do that with just the left earbud. Galaxy Buds Plus work independently of each other, giving you free will to divide your attention the way that seems best to you.

I think what I like most about the Galaxy Buds Plus over the original Galaxy Buds is the massive improvement in microphone quality. Last year’s model was cushioned to the point of being virtually unusable for calls, but the Buds Plus actually sounds pretty good. They have become my favorite headphones for Android Central’s weekly meetings, and a few times a month I need to make a real phone call.

Galaxy Buds Plus What has not aged well

One thing that would definitely change about the case is this rough glossy finish that replaced the matte shell of previous Galaxy Buds. It feels cheap, and it stains like crazy, though I suppose the light it reflects makes the case easier to find anyway. On the plus side, it still opens gently along the hinge and closes with a satisfying snap. I wish the earbuds were a bit more magnetized in the case, which I think Jabra really nails with the Elite 75t, but that’s not a deciding factor.

It’s also worth noting that the Jabra Elite 75t definitely sounds better for certain types of music. In particular, the Elite 75t has a more balanced bass response that works great for heavy bass music, but it may be too metallic for my ears on the high end for genres like metal, which often put a lot of emphasis on cymbals. and high and sharp notes. Ultimately, I am confident that any set of headphones will work for most of what I listen to.

Samsung has also recently added a volume adjustment feature to the Buds Plus, but as The Verge’s Dieter Bohn, I’m not having the most consistent experience with him.

Therefore, the Galaxy Buds Plus have this neat beta feature where you can double tap the top to adjust the volume.

… that kicks in every time I’m chewing on something extra crunchy hahaha

– Dieter Bohn (@backlon) June 29, 2020

I still wish Buds Plus can pair with multiple devices at once; While it’s nice that you can quickly switch between devices you’ve previously paired with without having to reestablish a Bluetooth connection, it would be even better if you could have multiple audio streams at once.

And while we’re talking about minor complaints, I’d really love for a later model of Galaxy Buds to feature active noise cancellation. Passive sound isolation is enough so that cabin noise doesn’t really bother me on flights, as long as it’s loud enough, but you shouldn’t have to sound just to listen to my music in peace. .

The true competition of wireless headphones

There are other true wireless headphones that handle specific things better than the Galaxy Buds Plus. The Jabra Elite 75t sounds better for particular genres and has even longer Combined battery life between headphones and charging case. But they’re also more expensive, the case doesn’t charge wirelessly, and I’m having a hard time overlooking the dependency of the left earbud on the right one.

The Sony WF-1000XM3 headphones are among the few selected true wireless headphones with active noise cancellation, along with even better sound quality. However, the charging case is considerably larger, making them much less pockets, and these are among the most expensive true wireless headphones out there.

The Pixel Buds are another great set of true wireless headphones that are worth considering. Battery life isn’t the best, but Pixel Buds have Google Assistant’s contactless voice controls, activated with a simple “hello Google” command, along with details like smart volume controls that automatically adjust based on the noise levels of the environment.

Galaxy Buds Plus Should you buy them?

For whom it is?

• If you need affordable and durable headphones
• If you need wireless charging in your earphone case
• If you make many calls over Bluetooth
• If you need headphones that fit in your pocket
• If you like touch controls

Who is it not for?

• If you need active noise cancellation
• If you need to connect to multiple devices at once
• If you want the best possible audio quality

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of convenience and portability. Since getting the Galaxy Buds Plus, I’ve used them almost exclusively on my Sony WH-1000XM3 (over-the-ear) headphones (with the exception of when I’m editing video, when I need wired audio), which offer better quality sound and active noise cancellation, because they are much easier to transport and put in and out of my ears. They are significantly lighter on my head and do not give me the dreaded “headphone hair”.

4.5 4.5
of 5

Andrew gave Buds Plus a 4.5 in our initial review, and I don’t see any reason to change that. I would love a pair of upgraded Galaxy Buds that offer active noise cancellation and best-in-class audio quality, even if it cost a slightly weaker battery life. But in the meantime, these work very well for pretty much every use case I throw at them, and I haven’t turned to my other true wireless headphones in the past few months.