Taeki Chan Samsung has recently spoiled us with some tech goodness at the start of the New Year, but in terms of headphones, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro stole the show.
After just five months ago when Samsung launched its first-ever noise-canceling wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds Live. The Galaxy Buds Pro now takes performance up a notch with enhanced noise neutralization and sound, along with several new features and a more conventional design.
Now let’s dive into the details and what makes Samsung’s Buds Pro a perfect earbuds to start our 2021 year with.
First Look
These buds are more discrete and elegant than Samsung’s previous release. They don’t stick out. The shiny gloss finishes, while a fingerprint magnet, produces a nice shine that gives a premium look. Then there are the three sleek colorways; Phantom Black, Phantom Violet, or Phantom Silver, and they’re fully waterproof, with an IPX7 rating that’s the highest yet for a set of Samsung earbuds. (IPX means they can be fully submerged in 3 feet of water for 30 minutes.)
Comfortable Wearability and Design
Adopting a circular shape was necessary to get the most performance out of the Galaxy Buds Pro, as the design accommodates functionality and wearability, from the larger panels for accurate touch input to the elongated sound port for seamless insertion.
The Galaxy Buds Pro sits securely on the ears when properly adjusted and creates a decent seal to enjoy audio fully once locked in. The design changes that Samsung has implemented, such as the outer mics on the top and bottom of each bud which allow you to tune in effortlessly for hours as well as keep the buds securely in your ears while working out. With air vents that balance the pressure in your ear and increase airflow, the buds are such a natural fit you might forget you’re wearing them.
Functionality
Samsung’s large two-way speakers pump out deep bass and clear mids. And though the audio is scaled up on Galaxy smartphones, thanks to the brand’s proprietary Scalable Codec, you can still enjoy lively music on non-Samsung devices despite the minimal loss in quality.
The Ambient Mode in Buds Pro allows you to adjust the amount of amplification, with the low setting sounding more like a transparency mode that lets you hear the outside in a more natural way while the extra high mode really does amp up the amplification and augments little sounds. Removing one bud will automatically pause music and enable Ambient Sound mode on the opposite bud too.
Samsung has added an innovative control option of Voice Detect, a feature that decreases the sound of what you’re listening to and increases audio passthrough volume to let you converse with others without taking off the buds. This was very useful especially when you are working in the office, traveling and even outdoor activities as this could refrain you from missing out on any important information received from your surroundings.
The Galaxy Buds Pro separate your voice from unwanted sounds with three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU), ensuring you are heard as clearly as possible when making calls. In addition, Samsung also has integrated its new Wind Shield technology into Galaxy Buds Pro. While a less protrusive shape minimizes the wind contact area, a specially designed chamber, and mesh filters out wind interference. Your phone calls have never been clearer, even if you’re stuck in windy weather.
As same as Samsung’s previous Buds Live, Buds Pro also has the Buds Together feature that allows you connect two sets of Galaxy Buds Pro to your phone at the same time, so you can both listen to your BFF’s playlist with premium sound quality
Apps Special Features
One of the parts that we had always missed out on was its apps. With Samsung’s Werable Apps, you could customize adjust your buds even more based on your sound preferences. The Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app has a variety of features to personalize the buds. This is where you’ll customize the controls, tweak the sound, cycle through the different levels of each listening mode, and access several other goodies, depending on your device.
On the other hand, Buds Pro can automatically toggle your earbuds connection between your Galaxy smartphones and tablets based on your usage – no manual adjustments required. For example, if you’re watching a video on your Galaxy Tab S7 and then receive a call on your Galaxy S21, the all-new Auto Switch feature will pause the video and let you answer the phone using Galaxy Buds Pro. Once the call is over, your earbuds instantly switch back to your tablet; the video plays again, and you can hear the audio through your earbuds again.
The Gaming Mode in the Labs setting decreases audio lag when gaming on Galaxy devices. It also has an Auto Switch feature for us to instantly switch between Galaxy devices too.
Tracking down your lost earbuds is also simple. By using the SmartThings app with a compatible Galaxy device, your buds will emit a beep so you can easily find them in your room. Plus with Offline finding, you can see the last location they were used, even if they’re no longer connected to your phone.
The other bonus feature is something similar to Apple’s Spatial Audio virtual surround feature, called 360 Audio. Samsung says it features Dolby Head Tracking technology, which enables you to stay at the center of the scene when you’re watching a movie or TV show. It currently only works with the brand new Galaxy S21 models and isn’t available yet for legacy Samsung smartphones. Hopefully, Samsung will open up these features to its other devices soon. Maybe other android and iOS devices too?
Battery Life
When fully charged, you get up to 8 hours of playback, with an additional 20 hours of reserve power available in the wireless charging case. Even when using ANC, you can still enjoy 5 hours of playback with 13 hours more available in the case. For a quick recharge, you can gain one hour of playtime after just five minutes of quick charging. It’s not an impressive battery life but taking into account on the features such as ANC and many more, the battery life was acceptable for the Buds Pro.
The Buds Pro also has the PowerShare feature to wirelessly charge the buds by placing the charging case on the back of a compatible Galaxy smartphone such as the S20 and S21 series.
Conclusion
Audio and wireless capabilities are the Buds Pro’s greatest strengths, rewarding listeners with an energetic sound that complements most music genres, and over a stable connection. The Galaxy Wearable app extends functionality as well.
Galaxy S21 owners do end up receiving the full monty, making the Galaxy Buds Pro the perfect companion for Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones. However, innovative features like 360 Audio remain exclusive to the Galaxy platform.
Overall we felt the Buds Pro was a huge jump in earbuds innovation and performance compared to its predecessors in terms of functionality and performance. With the price tag at RM 799 we felt that it was a worthwhile investment in 2021.
For more information on Samsung Buds Pro, visit Samsung’s website at https://www.samsung.com/my/audio-sound/galaxy-buds/galaxy-buds-pro-violet-sm-r190nzvaxme
