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The Google Pixel Buds 2 are a huge improvement over their predecessor, but they have serious competition with Samsung’s excellent Galaxy Buds Plus. Two of the best wireless headphones Games you can buy, these two in-ear headphones offer impressive sound quality, adaptive noise smart features, and sleek, attractive designs.
Choosing between Google Pixel Buds 2 versus Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus can be narrowed down to which phone you have, as Google buds are optimized for Android compared to the Galaxy Buds Plus, relatively platform independent. But both buds offer plenty of attractive features regardless of their mobile operating system, from the excellent battery life of the Galaxy Buds Plus to the durable and rugged construction of the Pixel Buds 2.
Whether you’re looking for a great Apple AirPods alternative for your iPhone or want the best possible buds for your Android device, this is how Google Pixel Buds 2 and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus compare.
Google Pixel Buds 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus: specs
| Google Pixel Buds 2 | Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Price | $ 179 | $ 149 |
| Colors | Clearly white, so orange, quite mint, almost black | White, black, red, cloud blue |
| Battery life (nominal) | 5 hours (24 hours with case) | 11 hours (22 hours with case) |
| Size and weight | 0.8 x 0.7 x 0.7 inches, 0.18 ounces | 0.7 x 0.9 x 0.8 inch, 0.2 ounce |
| Durability | IPX4 (sweat and water resistance) | IPX2 (water resistance) |
| Special features | Adaptive Sound, Google Assistant | Ambient sound, equalization modes |
Pixel Buds 2 vs Galaxy Buds Plus: price and value
The new Google Pixel Buds 2 costs $ 179 and comes in Google’s Clearly White shade, with Oh So Orange, Quite Mint, and Almost Black options coming later this year. Google buds are significantly more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which cost $ 149 and come in variations of white, black, red, and cloud blue. If you are looking for the cheaper headphones of the two, Samsung has the edge here.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus
Pixel Buds 2 vs. Galaxy Buds Plus: Design
These are two elegant pairs of buds. Both Pixel Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds Plus have attractive and discreet designs that are comfortable to wear and do not hang from the ear like Apple AirPods do.
Still, there’s something about the perfectly circular exterior of the Pixel Buds 2 that catches my eye the most, especially when comparing how both earbuds look in my ear. Google’s matte earphones have a bit more pop in their design and look cleaner than the shiny Buds Plus, but I was still happy to wear the Samsung earphones in public for long periods of time.
Both headsets benefit from a variety of colors: clearly white, light orange, mint, and near black for Pixel Buds 2, and white, black, red, and cloud blue for Galaxy Buds Plus. Both sets of shades are attractive, but I like Pixel’s discrete colors a bit more.
Google Pixel Buds 2 and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus have attractive charging cases that are activated via USB-C, and they both fit in my pockets with no problem. However, I have to give the Pixel Buds a slight edge once again: I prefer the flat design of Google’s casing to Samsung’s pill-shaped case, and it was easier for me to make the buds fit securely into the Pixel Bud Charger. On the other hand, I discovered that the Pixel Buds 2 case is more prone to scratches and smudges than the Galaxy Buds case.
The 0.18-ounce Pixel Buds 2 and 0.2-ounce Galaxy Buds Plus are incredibly lightweight and comfortable, to the point that I often forgot I had them when I was working at work or shopping for groceries. I found that Pixel Buds feel a bit more secure in my ear, but the Galaxy Buds Plus offers more customization options. Both headsets include three sets of ear tips, but only the Galaxy Buds Plus also includes interchangeable wing tips to find the best fit for your outer ear.
The Galaxy Buds Plus has an IPX2 rating for basic splash resistance, while the Pixel Buds 2 has a slightly stronger IPX4 rating for long-lasting sweat and water.
Winner: tie
Pixel Buds 2 vs. Galaxy Buds Plus: Controls
This round is a non-contest. Pixel Buds 2’s touch controls proved reliable in my tests, allowing me to pause tracks with a tap, skip tracks with a double tap, and even swipe my finger up and down to control volume.
In comparison, the controls on the Galaxy Buds Plus are too sensitive and delicate. Even when I had the Buds programmed to perform the same actions as the Pixel Buds, I often found that they were skipping a track that I intended to pause, or pause when my finger barely brushed against the buds. It’s not a deciding factor for Samsung headphones, but it’s a nuisance that gives Pixel Buds 2 the edge.
Winner: Google Pixel Buds 2
Pixel Buds 2 vs. Galaxy Buds Plus: audio quality
Google Pixel Buds 2 and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus offer solid sound quality, but I enjoyed listening to more music on Google headphones.
The Pixel Buds 2 shone especially on heavy rock tracks. Playing the blazing post-hardcore “Lyrics Lie” of Dance Gavin Dance, the swirling guitars, the lively bass, and the mix of screams and vocals sang it all out clearly. The same track sounded a bit thin on the Galaxy Buds Plus: the guitars sounded slightly muffled at high volumes, and I had a harder time picking the bass.
I noticed a similar disparity when listening to other genres, from Phoebe Bridgers’ soft acoustic guitar rock to Taylor Swift’s bubbly, synthesized pop radio. The Galaxy Buds Plus benefits from having six different EQ options in its companion app (normal, smooth, bass boost, dynamic, clear, and treble), but the dynamic setting is the only one I found that comes close to Google quality. sprouts
Winner: Google Pixel Buds 2
Pixel Buds 2 vs Galaxy Buds Plus: battery life
This is where the Samsung buds really shine. The Galaxy Buds Plus are rated for an incredible 11 hour battery life (with an additional 11 in the charging case), and in my experience they lived up to that. I went several days without having to charge the Galaxy Buds case, even when I was wearing the Samsung headphones for hours on end.
Pixel Buds 2 doesn’t fare as well in the endurance department. Google’s outbreaks are rated 5 hours endurance, but we found that they last over 4.5 hours in real-world testing. Google promises a total of 24 hours of listening time with the charging case. That’s almost on par with other headphones, like the AirPods and AirPods Pro, but it can’t hold a candle for the Galaxy Buds Plus.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus.
Pixel Buds 2 vs. Galaxy Buds Plus: features and compatibility
The Pixel Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds Plus have special features to tailor your sound output to your environment. The Adaptive Sound feature of Pixel Buds 2 automatically adjusts the volume of your shoots based on what’s going on around you, while the Ambient Aware feature of Buds Plus lets you manually choose how much outside noise goes in.
We found that Adaptive Sound does a solid job increasing the volume automatically every time we enter a busy room, even if the effect was subtle. Offering three levels of sensitivity to let in sound, Samsung’s Ambient Aware was also useful for listening to things like cars and pedestrians when walking. However, we found the feature to be a bit too sensitive at times, resulting in a lot of muffled noise when things get windy.
The Pixel Buds 2 take advantage of the intelligence of Google’s software, allowing you to summon the Google Assistant with a long press and ask it to do anything from checking the weather to taking a selfie. The Buds offers real-time translation through conversation mode, and works with the Pixel Buds companion app so you can do things like check battery levels, find missing buttons, and enable adaptive sound.
There is only one downside: Pixel Buds 2 software features are exclusive to Android devices. That’s where Galaxy Buds Plus has an advantage, as you can use the Galaxy Buds Plus app with iOS and Android, allowing you to enjoy features like Ambient Aware and multiple equalization modes, regardless of your phone preference. You can even use Buds Plus to summon Siri on your iPhone.
Winner: tie
Pixel Buds 2 vs Galaxy Buds Plus: call quality
None of these headphones have stellar call quality, but Google’s buds are a bit more reliable for talking on the phone. I used both headphones to chat to a friend via Discord, and he noticed that the Galaxy Buds sounded much thicker and less clear than Google’s headphones. I still find the Galaxy Buds Plus to be fine for daily calls, but you might want to lean towards the Pixel Buds if you want a pair of wireless headphones that you can use for your daily Zoom meetings.
Winner: Google Pixel Buds 2
Google Pixel Buds 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus: verdict
It was an extremely close fight, but the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus won this overall showdown thanks to its excellent battery life, lower price, and increased compatibility with iOS and Android.
| Google Pixel Buds 2 | Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Price and value (15) | 10 | 13 |
| Design (15) | 13 | 13 |
| Controls (10) | 9 9 | 5 5 |
| Audio quality (20) | fifteen | 12 |
| Battery life (20) | 10 | twenty |
| Features and Compatibility (15) | 10 | 10 |
| Call quality (15) | 10 | 7 7 |
| Usually | 77 | 80 |
That being said, there are plenty of reasons to choose the Pixel Buds 2 over Samsung’s flagship headphones. The Pixel Buds 2 sound a little better, have a more durable design, and have some really impressive software features like Adaptive Sound and Google Assistant. It’s a shame that you can only enjoy those functions if you’re on an Android phone.
Overall, if you’re looking for the best battery life and feature set for the price, and want something that works well on iOS or Android, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus are hard to beat.
