RELEASED over a month ago, the Galaxy Buds Pro has proven itself to be a competent player in the crowded wireless earbud market.
While it still retains some of the inherent flaws characteristic of Samsung’s line of earbuds, it is the company’s best effort to date and a very competitive offering at RM799.
Design
Gone are the days when Samsung’s earbuds would look like a bean. It is now back to its original look, a more traditional design that one could easily mistake with any other comparable earbuds.
It is available in three colours, namely Phantom Black (which is the one in this review), Phantom Silver and Phantom Violet, and is made with a glossy plastic coating, while also managing to house an 11mm woofer and 6.5mm tweeter.
However, in actual use the fit is somewhat of a mixed bag. While it fits well in my ear most of the time, it also sticks out of the ear. That means it can be uncomfortable, bordering on unbearable, particularly if you are the type to use these earbuds in bed when watching the latest K-drama before retiring for the night.
Inside the box are two additional sets of eartips to help you get a better seal in case the equipped tip is not to your liking.
The relatively lightweight construction and good fitment, however, is a boon when it comes to sports. The earbuds, despite protruding out of the ear, do not move around a lot even during spirited running on the trails.
That, on top of the IPX7 certification, which protects the buds against freshwater immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of up to one metre, effectively means you are protected even against a sudden heavy downpour.
Moving on to the casing itself, it is a simple square shaped matte unit that is better at resisting fingerprints compared to the glossy casing that comes with the Galaxy Buds Plus I had last year. I have no complaints with the casing whatsoever and think it's matte finishing does a great job at making the case feel more premium.
Sound quality
The sound quality is why the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are undoubtedly the best Samsung earbuds to date. It simply blows the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus out of the water and judging from the many reviews out there and my own brief experience with the Apple Airpods Pro, it can even give the latter a run for its money.
The bass response is tight, the customization is wider, and the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) just makes everything sound better despite its performance being average at best (more on that later).
Playing ‘Xanny’ by Billie Eilish showcases its ability to play low-rumbling bass well, just don’t expect it to blow you away like how a proper subwoofer would. The same can be said when playing Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’, her high notes are produced well without sounding too harsh or tinny.
However, just like most earbuds out there including the Galaxy Earbuds Plus and the Apple Airpods Pro, the soundstage is limited.
If you are the type to want to feel like you are at a concert or at a live event then perhaps earbuds are not the way to go.
Get a proper over-the-ear headphone, there are many budget friendly devices of the type that can give you a wider soundstage than most earbuds. But then again, that is a different market altogether and I am sure those who value flexibility and mobility above all else will not mind the trade-off.
Speaking of the ANC function, it won’t be claiming any awards anytime soon but its value is apparent considering that the earbuds cost about RM799, a good RM300 less than its Apple counterpart which retails at RM1,099.
Not many earbuds in the market are offering ANC functionality at this price point, let alone coupled with a plethora of other features.
To elaborate, the ANC works, but it is not perfect. Normal conversations or even ambient sounds are filtered out well – making it suitable to be used in an office setting – but anything louder than a normal conversation can and will be heard even with ANC turned on.
So those who absolutely must have complete silence or find themselves needing to filter out construction sounds coming from their neighbour’s house might want to look elsewhere.
On the opposite side of ANC is audio passthrough that can be accessed by pressing and holding the touch capacitive panel or even tinkering with the in-app settings to let it run permanently.
It works exactly as advertised, letting audio pass through but can also amplify sound by as much as 20 decibels should you ever feel the need to keep an open ear to nearby conversations.
User experience
User experience, however, nets Samsung's new buds a mixed impression at best. For starters, it is great if you are using a Samsung phone or tablet, but not so much if you’re using other brands of mobile devices.
For example, useful features such as the voice speech recognition, where the buds will automatically lower its volume when it detects your voice, or automatic device switching, can only be used if you pair it with a Samsung smartphone.
Meanwhile, learning the core controls of its touch-capacitive exterior is easy: a single tap to play/pause your music, double tap plays the next song or answers/ends a call, a triple tap plays the previous track and a touch and hold allows you to switch between ambient and noise cancellation modes.
Battery life
The buds are rated for 5 hours of playtime with ANC turned on but from my own usage the result varies depending on how loud you play your music.
Ranging from 5 and a half hours to almost 6 in my experience, I can safely say that it will not veer too far from the 5-hour mark if you are the type to listen at higher volumes. It may be average but it should be enough for typical users.
However, Samsung claims that these buds could run up to 8 hours with ANC turned off and considering how Samsung’s claim is pretty accurate with ANC turned on, one should expect the buds to last that long or slightly longer depending on usage.
Conclusion
As you may have summarised from this review, I think this earbud is a great buy despite having some flaws outside the Samsung ecosystem. It is an exceptionally great option for those that are using Samsung’s smartphones, especially since getting ANC functionality and an IPX7 rating for as little as RM799 is rare.
However, if you are in the market for a pair of great earbuds and are not using a Samsung device, this might not be the best choice, as you will not be able to access some of the best features this earbud has to offer, such as the voice recognition.
The battery life, meanwhile, is slightly better than average even when ANC is left on most of the time.
So long story short, it is Samsung’s best effort to date and is a great pair of earbuds for Samsung users. But those outside the Samsung ecosystem may have more alternatives at that price point. – The Vibes, February 26, 2021
