The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 is the fifth and most recent iteration of Samsung’s range of Bluetooth earbuds. Since its unveiling in 2019, Samsung has gone through several improvements to their Buds lineup, significantly improving them with each iteration and offering one of the most appealing choices for anyone in the hunt for compact in-ear wireless earbuds.

The significant improvements for the Buds2 from its predecessors include wireless charging ability as well as active noise cancellation built into Samsung’s smallest and lightest earbuds to date. But before we go any further, here’s a quick list of items you’ll get straight out of the box:

• 1 pair of Galaxy Buds2 in-ear wireless earbuds
• 2 pairs of extra in-ear pieces (small & large)
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Case with wireless charging capability
• Instruction manual

If you’re reading this right now on Kakuchopurei, we are pretty sure you have a nifty pair of headsets which you primarily use for work and play. Just like you, we spend most of our time with our headsets on as well. Be it for work purposes such as teleconferencing, consuming media and playing games or for leisure which also includes consuming media and more gaming.

Which begs the question: Do you need these?

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Do you have any plans of going out anytime soon?

A New Travel Buddy

The keyword when it comes to wireless earbuds is mobility. Let it be known that comparing sound quality between in-ear wireless earbuds and a wired over-the-ear headphones is pointless and unfair. These are totally two different products catering for two vastly different scenarios.

What we love the most about the Buds2 is how convenient it is to set up and shift between pairing it with our various gadgets. Jumping between the different devices we are currently reviewing to either of our laptops, the pairing is very much instantaneous. And with the world slowly returning to normal post-pandemic, we expect to see even more practical uses of the Buds2 especially when commuting, picking up calls while on the go or on rare occasions, during a run.

Fit-wise, with the medium-sized ear tips attached right out of the box, the Buds2 sit flush in our ears. They stay in place even during our runs – even through sweat. The buds are rated IPX2 splash-resistant which means they should survive a light sprinkle although we won’t recommend going swimming with them.

If you fear the Buds2 might not fit properly out of the box, fret not. Included are two pairs of ear tips of different sizes. These can replace the medium-sized one attached and you can adjust the fit using the Galaxy Wearable app on your Android device.

It is worth mentioning that while the Buds2 does work with Apple devices through Bluetooth connection, you’ll require an Android device to fully utilize its capabilities through the Wearable app. This includes the sound equaliser, reading notifications aloud, fit test, and even Gaming Mode.

Samsung has included touch controls for up to four gestures for each side of the Buds2 as well. For example, you can customize what a long, single, double or triple tap on your Buds2 on your right-sided ear does and a totally different set of commands for the one on your left-sided ear.

It may be a tad too much for some but in our books, the more controls we have with the touch, the less frequent we’ll have to reach out for the phone in our pocket and that’s a good thing. As an added bonus, we even tested the tap feature using Spotify via Chrome browser on our PC and it worked seamlessly.

Sound-wise, we don’t have too much to complain about; the Buds2 provide what’s expected from a pair of wireless earbuds. The sound is clear and crisp with respectable amount of bass. We took several phone calls using the Buds2 and the sound quality – incoming and outgoing – were clear with very little to unnoticeable distortions. Needless to say, if you’re in the hunt for reliable wireless earbuds for your Android device, the Buds2 covers a lot of bases.

Ear Candy

We (and are pretty sure you too) have seen several reviews floating about panning the sound quality from the Buds2. We feel these critiques aren’t a fair assessment since they downplay the true purpose of having wireless earbuds: the portability, overall presentation, build quality, sound output and touch features.

The Buds2 delivers on all fronts, The fact that Samsung was able to cram all that tech into these two, 5g egg-shaped earpieces alone is a technological marvel.

Personally, we don’t have any issues with the Buds2. The active noise cancelling is decent and the battery life is as expected of a wireless earbud. You can expect playback up to 7.5 hours with ambient noise cancelling off, and about 5 hours when it is turned on. You can expect about 3.5 hours worth of talk time as well.

Our only nitpick? iPhone users have little need for this device due to the inability of iOS devices to access the Galaxy Wearable app, which is where all the good stuff comes from.

Flavour-wise, the Galaxy Buds2 comes in four colours – Graphite, White, Olive, Lavender. Retailing at RM499.00, the Buds2 is the latest and most affordable wireless earbuds by Samsung currently in the market.

Final Score: 90/100

A review unit of the Samsung GalaxyBuds2 was sent to us for review courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. Further details of the product can be found here.