REVIEW: Galaxy Buds +, an evolution in sound quality and autonomy

Galaxy Buds + brings great improvements over the previous generation, however, it lags behind competitors' technologies

The Galaxy Buds + arrived to replace the successful Galaxy Buds and bet on greater battery, balanced sound and greater interaction with applications. However, noise cancellation technology was left out of the new generation, which raises the question: is it worth upgrading? Check in our analysis.

Beautiful and more compact

The Galaxy Buds + they kept the design of the past generation, a wise decision taking into account the excellent ergonomics and look of the first model. The headphones are slightly heavier, giving the feeling that they will fall, yet the perfect fit and are surprisingly stable, even over many hours of continuous use.

The headphones come with a new rubber tip, which better isolates the external noise, partially compensating for the lack of noise cancellation technology. Among passive isolations, the result is very satisfactory, but does not equal earbuds similar price that have integrated technology.

Galaxy Buds Headphones +Comfortable and with untouched design, Galaxy Buds + headphones are perfect for long hours of continuous use

The headphones have a pearly region that works by touch. There you can play / pause the music, skip tracks, answer and end calls. With long touches, you can start the Bixby, voice assistant of Google, listen to the ambient sound and start a playlist Spotify based on what the user hears the most, all configurable in the application Samsung Wearables.

Touch controls are fine, but accuracy is essential. In several situations when changing the music (which needs to be touched twice), I did not play exactly in the center and the music ended up pausing. something uncomfortable in the first few uses, but the user gets used to it.

Galaxy Buds + CaseThe Galaxy Buds + case received a pearly touch in its construction, and a rubber detail indicates the positions of the headphones

The charging case received slight design updates, being slightly smaller than the previous generation, with a brighter pearl finish and rubber bands that indicate the right and left handset. The case still has a LED which shows the amount of battery remaining in Galaxy Buds + and also a door USB-C at the rear for loading.

Connectivity and Battery

The Galaxy Buds + connect via Bluetooth 5.0, and the initial connection is very simple and quick using the application Samsung Wearables, which guides the user to their first use. While playing music, the sound never choked or lost its quality, even in rooms farther from the house.

The battery of Galaxy Buds + received a generous update and has excellent durability. O gadget has battery 85mAh in each of the headphones and the case has 270mAh, which guarantees around 11 hours on the headphones themselves and another full charge of the case, giving more 11 hours breeding. more than enough to go for days without plugging it in with moderate use.

Galaxy Buds + fitted to the earThe touch-sensitive controls are very responsive, however, they still lack refinement in their construction

It is worth mentioning that, in addition to the standard loading through the USB-C, the Galaxy Buds + have wireless charging. Therefore, it can be loaded directly from the back of a Galaxy Note 10 with the resource PowerShare, for example, or any other device compatible with the technology.

Battery information is displayed directly in the application Samsung Wearables, but only the duration of the headphones is shown, leaving the case independent from its own LED. During our tests, the battery of the Buds + proved to be very durable. Its impressive loading speed, just 10 minutes in the making provided more than 1 hour of music, being 1h15 the approximate time to fully charge it.

Powerful and crystal clear sound

The sound experience is one of the most important issues when looking for a headset, and the update of the sound drivers was very welcome. With the speaker system 2 way, being the Tweeter focused on the high frequencies and the Woofer for the lower frequencies, the sound gained the power and brightness that were missing in the first generation of earbuds.

The big discomfort is precisely in the standard equalization and the presets present in the app Samsung Wearables. The Galaxy Buds + they fail to shine in their entirety in these options, requiring an understanding of the cell phone's own equalization system to reach a balance. The presets leave the sound half washed and do not highlight the potential of earbuds. For the most demanding, even the use of an equalizer from another developer for finer adjustments is necessary.

Galaxy Buds + headphones in detailGalaxy Buds + has powerful and crystal clear sound due to improvements in your sound drive

In general, music addicts will be very satisfied with the quality coming from Galaxy Buds +. Due to their sound characteristics, the pop, alternative and indie styles will be highlighted here with serious gifts and crystal clear vocals.

J the microphone of Buds +, unlike the previous generation, they are great for calls and audio messages. The presence of an extra microphone brought better voice pickup and reduced ambient noise. The compression still leaves the voice a little metallic, however the progress is remarkable and works well here.

Samsung Wearable App and Touch Funes

The Samsung Wearable application is mandatory for the use of Buds +, because through it we configure all the ringing functionalities of the headphones and monitor the battery charge.

The interface is pleasant and very easy to handle: right away we already have information on the remaining battery in Buds +, the equalizer with 5 presets, the function Find My Earbuds and options to configure notifications, ringtones and surround sound.

Notifications via Buds + they're kind of uncomfortable. You can select which application you would like to receive notifications, in our tests I selected Whatsapp and every time I received a message, the current music I was listening to was paused and the Bixby spoke the name of the application that had received the notification. What really bothered me was the fact that the current music or reproduction was paused by some 3 seconds. If the warning was something more subtle or the music didn’t need to be paused for the user to be notified, the function would be much more interesting.

Galaxy Buds + details and caseGalaxy Buds + has a battery life of 22 hours, making the user stay even further away from the outlets

On the other hand, the touch and hold functions of Galaxy Buds + are very interesting: if you keep the touch button pressed for 2 seconds, the phone activates an extra command that is configurable by the application, such as activating the voice command, listening to the ambient sound, decreasing and increasing the volume, or starting a playlist personalized on Spotify.

Among the extra commands available, what caught my attention the most and which I used avidly was the Ambient sound. By holding down the touch button, you are able to hear what's going on around you without having to take your headphones off.

this function is very convenient, and even if the sound captured is half metallic and sometimes doesn’t capture the voices of the environment that you want to hear more clearly, something that the owners of Buds + I will not be able to use it on a daily basis. It is worth remembering that the Ambient sound can be configured to be always active by the application, defining volume and clarity in the surrounding voices. With this, the user can continue listening to their music and the ambient sound at the same time, but it is not recommended as it affects the quality of the music being played.

Completed

The Galaxy Buds + they are a good choice for those who wish earbuds to be your faithful day-to-day partners. With improved sound, interesting features and impressive drums, owners will not be dissatisfied. However, without including noise cancellation in the update, it is clear that the competition is winning if it takes into account that the price of R $ 999 of Galaxy Buds + equated with gadgets that already have this technology almost mandatory for earbuds more modern.

The headphones stand out for providing a better experience than the simple models that come in the cell phone case, but as accessories to be purchased separately, the Galaxy Buds + they are more expensive than they can provide to the user. O gadget fits more into evolution than revolution, and can quickly become obsolete in the race of earbuds.

Galaxy Buds + technical specifications

Model Galaxy Buds +
Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0 Profile: A2DP, AVRCP, HFPCodec: Scalable (Samsung), AAC, SBC
Drums Buds: 85mAhCase: 270mAh
Sensors Proximity, accelerometer, ambientetoque
Durability IPX2 (resistant to splashing water)
Dimensions and weight Buds: 17.5 x 19.2 x 22.5 mm; 6.3 g Case: 38.8 x 70.0 x 26.5mm; 39.6 g
Colors Black, white, blue, red
Price R $ 999
  • Design – 9/10
  • Connectivity – 9.5 / 10
  • Drums – 9.5 / 10
  • Microphone – 8.5 / 10
  • Sound – 9/10
  • Funes – 6/10

8.6 / 10

Summary

Galaxy Buds + brings great improvements over the previous generation, however, it lags behind competitors' technologies.

Pros

  • Beautiful and compact design, its lightness stands out
  • Sturdy and small charging case
  • Bluetooth 5.0 connection stable and uninterrupted
  • High autonomy battery
  • Features complement the experience, such as Som Ambiente
  • Enhanced microphones provide brilliant voice

Cons

  • IPX2 certification protects against splash only
  • Equalization presets are bad
  • Absence of noise cancellation technology