Benjamin Levicek In the years when Apple introduced the first AirPods, it was an absolute phenomenon that the vast majority of die-hard Apple fans dreamed of. At that time, completely wireless headphones were not yet widespread, so the Californian giant set a new trend. More than two years have passed since the last introduction of AirPods in the ears, namely AirPods Pro, but other manufacturers have definitely not slept. The biggest competitor of the Californian giant Samsung came out with its Buds Pro in January of this year - and it is these headphones that the Cupertino company is trying to defeat functionally. If you're wondering how the Korean company did it, this review is for you. One piece from Samsung's workshop arrived at our editorial office.
It could be interest you
Adam Kos They don't look bad at all on paper
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are in-ear headphones that, as I've already outlined, communicate with your smartphone and with each other via Bluetooth technology. This is the most modern 5.0 standard, but considering the price approaching the 6 CZK mark, I take it for granted and would not praise them for it in any case. Athletes will be pleased with the IPX000 resistance, thanks to which you can sweat or get a little wet with the headphones. Audio transmission is ensured by A7DP, AVRCP and HFP profiles, and codecs SBC, AAC and Scalable - a proprietary codec from Samsung that is only found in some of its phones. Each of the earphones has three microphones, which provide active noise cancellation and permeability mode, similar to what is the case with AirPods Pro. Thanks to the 2 mAh battery capacity of the headphones, you should be able to listen to music for up to 61 hours without active suppression and up to 8 hours with the function activated. The charging case with a battery capacity of 5 mAh can supply the product with juice for 472 hours of listening, but only if you do not have the throughput mode or active suppression activated. But even if you run out of battery while listening, in the case the product charges in 28 minutes for 3 minutes of listening, in 30 minutes for 5 hour of listening and in 1 minutes for 10 minutes of playing. The charging box itself is powered either through the USB-C connector or when placed on the wireless Qi pad. The weight of each earphone is 85 g, the dimensions are 6,3 x 20,5 x 19,5 mm. The case weighs 20,8 g and measures 44,9 x 27,8 x 50,0 mm.
The packaging doesn't excite, but it doesn't offend either
The unpacking itself will be an experience. After opening the attractive box, your eyes are immediately drawn to the design of the wireless plugs in the charging case, it is neatly placed here. Samsung didn't forget the classics in the form of a 1 meter long USB-C power cable and a manual. Medium-sized plugs are already placed on the headphones themselves from the factory. If necessary, you can replace them with new ones that you will receive from the South Korean manufacturer. Don't expect any additional bonus in the package, but that's not even necessary for a product like headphones.
Gallery
Design, or where is the premium?
Honestly, I was really looking forward to the product, but I was even more disappointed by how Samsung handled the processing. The charging case is small and, despite the fact that it is quite bulky, it can easily fit into a trouser pocket and does not get in the way. However, opening it is a bit stiff, as well as taking out and inserting headphones into it. The earplugs themselves also negatively impress with their thickness, but they don't hold badly at all. But if I had them on for 3 hours or more, I already started to get a significant headache and it was not comfortable to wear at all. Headphones in the shape of AirPods fit me much better, but I have to state that this is a completely subjective matter that everyone can perceive diametrically differently. I probably regret the material used the most - both the headphones and the case are made of plastic. It doesn't look like it could withstand a little rougher treatment, but if you spend a relatively high amount on the product, a higher premium wouldn't hurt.
Apple users will not enjoy all the features
Samsung has made no secret of the fact that it wants to compete with the AirPods Pro with a product, and it must be said that it has not done a bad job at all. When you approach a phone with the Galaxy Wearable app installed, a pairing request pops up immediately. You will then be prompted to install a program designed for control, where you can customize the control, equalizer, share music with other Samsung headphones or find them using audio playback. However, all these gadgets are available only to owners of smartphones with the Android operating system, the program for managing the settings of these headphones is not available for iOS. Fortunately, I own an Android phone, so I could try all the functions, but if I only had an iPhone, I would rate them much more negatively. But we will get to that in the next paragraphs.
Control is carried in the spirit of reliability, but not practicality
You will find a touch pad on both the right and left earphones. If you tap on it, the music will be played or paused, after double-tapping the right earpiece, you will skip to the next track, and the left one will switch to the previous one. Also interesting is the customizable tap-and-hold gesture, which can either decrease and increase the volume, launch the voice assistant or switch between active noise cancellation and permeability mode. You can set everything only on Android, but the headphones remember the preferences for other devices as well, which is definitely nice. Ear detection also works here, but as you guessed correctly, you'll have to get used to it on the iPhone.
To tell you the truth, I was most worried about the touch controls. Although I placed the headphones in my ears without prejudice, Samsung could not refute them. Not that there would be any unwanted contact if you have your hair or a cap over your headphones, but if for some reason you need to adjust them in your ears or perhaps in winter you will be taking off and putting on a cap, it will not be an exception to occasionally pause or switch the music song. An illustrative example is the current situation, when you are practically constantly handling a respirator or mask. Almost every time it happened to me that I did an action that I didn't care about at the time. This is what Samsung failed to do, and while it's not a reason not to buy the product, I just have to mention it.
The sound is what it's all about
Let's first focus on the target group of users for which the product is intended. Despite its higher purchase price, these are not Hi-Fi listeners, which would not even be possible due to the codecs used. On the other hand, those who buy headphones want good sound in a compact package that will be available every time they need it. And I can state that the product fulfills this purpose more than perfectly. Trebles are clear and distinctly audible, but fit naturally into the tones of the songs. I was pleasantly surprised by the mids, that they were not obscured, on the contrary, both in pop and rock songs, as well as in classical music and jazz, the melodic line was clearly audible. The headphones can also rumble, but that does not mean that the music from them is over-bassed. If you deactivate the equalizer, the sound is natural and balanced. Lovers of pop, dance music, hip hop and rap will enjoy the bass, rock fans will enjoy the drum solo and electric guitar.
Lately I've started listening to more alternative music. In many cases, it is really difficult to listen to, thanks to the many instruments, tinkling and other factors. But the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro played everything with incredible ease, a relatively good dynamic range and decent spaciousness. You could say that I didn't miss a single ding with them. Yes, we're still talking about music listened to from Apple Music and Spotify, don't be under the illusion that any audiophile can use these, or any other, wireless earbuds. But for them, this category simply does not exist, and probably will never be built. Regular users who listen to music on public transport and during sports will be extremely satisfied, and intermediate users who do not have the time and money for Hi-Fi headphones will not be offended.
Gallery
Active noise cancellation, throughput mode and call quality
Thanks to the design, which by itself dampens the environment successfully, I was not worried about the functionality of active noise suppression. Again, we are talking about small plug-in headphones, which naturally do not have the size proportions to completely cut you off from the outside world. Still, he has nothing to be ashamed of for his performance in this regard. If you have the music turned off and you're riding, for example, in a crowded bus, you can barely hear the sound of the engine and hear other people rather muffled. In the case of the cafe, the suppression works a little worse, but it still cuts you off enough to be able to focus on work here. If you play music, you practically only hear that and nothing else.
When you activate the transmission mode, the microphones on the headphones pick up the surrounding sounds and send them to your ears, you can even adjust the volume of the released sounds in the Android application. Here you will realize how extremely practical the foot on the AirPods is. The microphones point towards your mouth and pick up both you and the surroundings perfectly. Samsung doesn't do a bad job either, but the throughput mode is a bit more electronic. The same could be said about the quality of the calls, when the other party can't complain about not understanding you, but in the negative sense of the word, they recognized that I wasn't calling from AirPods or an iPhone.
Gallery
The last interesting feature is the automatic activation of noise cancellation and throughput mode depending on whether you are having a conversation or not. I can say right off the bat that after testing I turned this feature off immediately. If you start talking, the music turns down almost immediately and you can suddenly hear your surroundings, but if someone is talking to you, you simply have no chance to understand them. The headphones do not recognize that the person is talking to you and turn on active noise cancellation. But you can't simply set this up on an iPhone either. The headphones had this function activated after unpacking, and I simply could not deactivate it other than after connecting to Android. This is a rather discouraging fact for apple growers to buy.
Android users should jump into them, while Apple users should stick with their AirPods Pro
Samsung's latest true-wireless "plugs" have more than succeeded. It offers very high-quality sound, decently functioning noise suppression, a relatively good throughput mode and many other interesting functions. Samsung simply made universal headphones for Android, but unfortunately I can't pay tribute to them as an Apple fan. From my point of view, they are held back the most by the limited functionality with iPhones, where you can't really set up or customize anything on them, and you basically use them exactly like you used to use regular wired wireless buds. But now I ask, should we blame Samsung? After all, it does the same thing that Apple demonstrates in this field. Whatever your opinion on this issue, I certainly cannot prevent you from buying it. Those who are rooted in the Apple ecosystem and want similarly versatile headphones should look elsewhere, Android users can't go wrong with Samsung.
If you are interested in the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, you can buy them at the Mobil Pohotovosti for a promotional price of CZK 4 until the end of this week - just open the link below.
You can buy Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro at a discount here
Pffff, some Chinese can wipe their ass with AirPods for a few hundred. The whole article is either trolling or written by a total moron. According to those applecarts, I'm leaning towards the moron. For moderately demanding listeners, there is neither one 😂😂😂 Suitable for white thrash 🤣🤣🤣
Comment from the whiny poor guy how stitched :)
I would be interested in what is better than airpods pro and at the same size. The better ones like Bose are once so big. And then no one could match the microphone and call quality. And they write that everywhere, and my personal experience confirms it. And I have small headphones for everything, including calls. If I want to listen to something informative, I'll take overears and not listen wirelessly.
Well, I'm writing it in general. You can't wait for your equally reasonable fissure.
Samsung is once again trying to catch up with Apple and once again it failed. The design is no longer worth anything and the functionality is like trash.