Samsung’s Galaxy Buds2 Pro look & sound great. But are they worth RM899?

Let’s just put it out there – RM899 for a pair of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Buds2 Pro wireless earbuds is a LOT of money when brands like Jabra, Skullcandy, JBL, and Nothing are offering well-reviewed options that cost less. In fact, my Galaxy Buds Live (aka Galaxy Beans) worked great for all of the RM389 I paid for them. Here’s an overview comparison score:

Initially, I wasn’t expecting to be swayed from my Beans… until I actually opened the box.

 

The Buds2 Pro case and earbuds material feel and look premium as heck

Unlike my Beans and even the year-old Galaxy Buds2, the Buds2 Pro are coated in a matte material that provides a solid grip with a soft reassuring feel both in your hands and your ears. In fact, my usually unimpressed Apple-using friends’ eyes widened when I passed her the case, (probably) involuntarily exclaiming “Ooh, this feels nice!” if you know what I mean.

While the glossy plastic on my Beans have survived many drops onto tarred roads without a scratch, the Buds2 Pro case has picked up an unremovable stain within 2 weeks. I just noticed the faint orange stain while taking final pictures for this review, so be prepared for it to look less new over time.

But good news is that you won’t have to worry about the Buds falling out because they stay on VERY well. It’s stayed on through all my attempts to dislodge it, from running to headbanging to the best of Molotov and Turmion Kätilöt. Its only kryptonite seems to be Marrybrown fried chicken, where they’ve fallen out on two occasions mid-crunch. Weird.

Looks-wise, the Buds2 Pro will stand out if you have short hair – either as a fashion statement or have people think that you stuck peanut M&Ms in your ears. Here’s how they look on our botak writer Jake:

Ha ha just kidding. That’s an M&M in his ear.

You see why we made the comparison though.

They’re probably a lot more noticeable because we got them in Bora Purple (or Purple Purple if you speak Korean), but the Buds2 Pro are also available in more discreet white and black options.

 

The Buds2 Pro will aurally pleasure you

I’m nowhere near being an audiophile, being that I’m perfectly happy with Spotify and don’t know the difference between highs, mids, and lows… but that’s probably most people out there as well. And for all these people, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro will sound great. I use 4 totally non-scientific gauges to measure the sound quality from a pair of earphones/earbuds:

• How clearly Ozzy Osbourne’s maniacal laughter travels from my right ear to my left in Crazy Train
• How well I can hear the bass over Lou Reed’s lyrics in Andy’s Chest
• How sultry Marty Robbins’ voice sounds in El Paso
• Audio latency while watching videos

Overall sound (on default EQ mode) from the Buds2 Pro is rich, full and has enough depth that you hear the music centered in your head rather than having it blasted into your ears, with almost no perceivable latency while watching videos. The matte material also provides a more comfortable feel in your ears, increasing the aural pleasure.

While I can say that they sound better than the Beans and comparable to the AirPods Pro, I don’t think the difference in sound quality alone justifies the price – especially when a review from The Sound Guys noted that the Buds2 are almost just as good for RM499. I don’t have a set for comparison, but The Sound Guys were spot on with their review for the Beans so I’ll trust them.

 

The value comes from the Galaxy Buds2 Pro’s Active Noise Cancelling (ANC)

Where I feel the value for the Buds2 Pro starts is with the Ambient Sound and Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) modes. Tested against a loud standing fan, the Buds2 Pro’s ANC is only slightly less effective than the AirPods Pro, but allows you to hear your own voice better so you’re not unintentionally shouting.

My colleague who pooh-poohed spending anything above RM150 for any sort of head- or earphones also wavered in her opinion when she used them for meditation, and especially when it filtered out our office coffee machine; reducing everything into a muted rumble that can be completely cancelled with music. Click here to see what we have to put up with 2-3 times a day.

But the winner for me is the Ambient Sound mode, which is the opposite of ANC. This is going to sound weird, but I’ve always avoided earbuds because I didn’t like the stuffy, isolated feeling of hearing my own heartbeat while not knowing if I’ve accidentally farted or not. It’s why I got the Beans and, before that, Shokz bone conduction earphones. Although Ambient Sound mode tends to over-amplify wind (like from an aircond), it felt natural enough that I once drove home wearing the Buds2 Pro because I completely forgot they were on.

 

The Buds2 Pro are great for calls and meetings

Since a lot of my work involves calls and online meetings, mic sound quality is a super important factor. Even with Samsung’s own Beans, the mic quality on my end was serviceable but not great; with people telling me that I sounded like I was in an echo chamber or just very tinny.

But not so with the Buds2 Pro.

After taking phone calls as well as attending meetings on Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet, and Gather Town; I’ve been told that the call quality was “super clear” with some colleagues not even knowing that I’ve switched over to the Buds. Sound cancellation also seems to be good, with the caller being able to hear me while I was standing next to a busy street (but have to shout a bit la).

While Samsung puts the battery life at 5 hours with ANC, I got about 5½ hours with some music and many short conversations while working from home.

 

The Buds2 Pro have a ton of features, but not all are great

Most of the base features like ANC, Ambient Sound, and Equalizer settings are available to non-Samsung phones via the Galaxy Wear App, but I’ve marked some that require a Galaxy device and/or minimum version of OneUI with a (*)

• Wireless charging
• Voice Detect
• 360 Audio*
• Earbud fit test
• Gaming mode (lower latency for Bluetooth connection)
• Double tap earbud edge
• Amplify ambient sound
• SmartThings Find*

One useful feature is Voice Detect, which temporarily turns off the ANC if the Buds detect you’re talking so you’re not unintentionally shouting out your conversation. There’s also 360º audio with an additional head tracking feature that changes the direction of the sound when you turn your head… kinda like Apple’s Spatial Audio. It’s kinda cool, but also more of a gimmick to impress your colleagues with.

Amplify ambient sound is a feature meant for hard-of-hearing people but fun to mess around with. Essentially, it makes sounds and conversations clearer, but more robotic. It’s a strange sensation which I can only say feels like Superman discovering his super hearing for the first time. Also good to eavesdrop on people.

But here’s where I knock Samsung for Samsunging their Samsung.

Double tap earbud edge is a super useful feature if you keep missing the touch controls. Basically, it can turn the entire back of your ear into a touch sensor to control volume. The problem? I only discovered this from watching a tips & tricks video because Samsung’s own instructions for using it makes it less useful than the existing touch controls.

Samsung also touts a SmartThings Find feature where you can locate your misplaced buds. The marketing gives the impression that it works like a GPS tag, but the actual experience isn’t nearly as granular. They will bring you to a wide general location, but you’ll have to use the ring function to make them beep, which isn’t very loud. So, if you dropped them behind the sofa cushions in an office, you’re likely not going to find them as easily as you might think.

 

The Buds2 Pro are a good option, if you have the budget for them

The tough part about directly recommending a pair of earphones based on sound alone is that, sound is subjective. I’m mostly listening to country nowadays so my preferences would be very different from someone who listens to rap.

But if you’re already in the market for expensive earbuds or need a pair for both work and play, then I’d definitely recommend at least trying them out at a store. But if you just need wireless earbuds to play music and don’t particularly care about sound quality or fancy features, then I’d avoid even touching them because you WILL be tempted.

Trust me, I can’t hold my Beans without missing that velvety texture or comparing the difference in sound quality. You have been warned.