Samsung Galaxy Buds2 review - Sleek finish with a few rough edges
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 are Bluetooth earbuds with ANC that cost just over €100. They have ANC, are very compact and have a polished finish. But do they sound good, and are they good for calls? We bought and tested these earbuds. Here are our results in this review.
In this article
Pros and cons
Here are the pros and cons of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. See at a glance whether these earbuds are right for you.
| Pros | Cons |
| ✔️ Excellent fit ✔️ Good sound ✔️ App ✔️ Good microphone |
❌ Limited customization |
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 specifications
- Price: ~110
- Chipset: BES2500ZP
- Codec: AAC, SBC
- Bluetooth: 5.2
- Range: 10m
- Case battery: 472 mAh
- Earbud battery: 61 mAh
- Cable: usb c
- Waterproof rating: IPX7
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 sound quality
The Samsung Buds 2 have rich, full sound. Good sound for your everyday music listening.
What's striking is how small and light each earbud is. You wouldn't expect deep, powerful sound from something this size. And I wouldn't call it truly powerful, but it certainly sounds full.
With the Samsung Wearable app for Android and iPhone (the app for managing your Samsung gadgets), you can adjust the equalizer. In other words, you can choose from a few presets: Bass boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear and Treble boost.
Honestly, that feels a bit dumbed down to me. Just give me an equalizer so I can adjust the frequencies myself. Presets would be fine if you could see the equalizer change in real time as you select them. Still, at least there's an option to adjust the sound.
Bass boost is the best choice, in my opinion.
Sound quality score: 7
The sound lacks real depth. Somewhere at the very bottom of the frequency range, it runs out of power. In other words, these earbuds do have bass, but part of the low end is missing, leaving the sound slightly unbalanced.
The earbuds are so small that putting them in is a surprise: there's more bass than you'd expect from something so light. But more on the fit later.
Microphone: are the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 good for calls?
The Galaxy Buds 2 microphone is very good. They work well for video meetings and phone calls. Above average, in fact.
Microphone score: 8
You will notice that the earbuds pick up your voice a little too loudly. During calls and video meetings, your coworkers may need to turn you down a bit. But don't they need to do that sometimes anyway? They do with me :D.
Listen to this recording made with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 microphone:
The odd thing is that compressing the recording to MP3 has flattened the volume a little. So I can't really demonstrate my point that the earbuds record too loudly.
But the fact remains: you can hear me loud and clear. That's an impressive achievement from Samsung. Bluetooth earbuds with this shape have a hard time picking up your voice. They don't have a stem like other earbuds do, such as these AirPods alternatives.
We haven't said much about phone calls specifically, but the earbuds do a good job there too.
Fit: how do the Samsung Buds2 feel?
The fit is interesting, and the earbuds are compact. Their most distinctive feature is their rounded shape.
That rounded shape mainly has advantages:
- The wind passes smoothly over the earbud
- The earbuds have a comfortable, ergonomic fit
But there's a downside too. The touch controls are a little harder to find with your finger. Still, we've already covered the touch controls.
Fit score: 9
The Buds 2 are an excellent choice for small ears. They're compact and tuck neatly into your ear canal.
Women, who often have smaller ears, will be very happy with the fit. But the same benefit applies to men: a smaller earbud is less likely to get in the way. The rounded design helps with that too.
ANC: how good is the noise cancellation?
The active noise cancelling on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 is good, but it could be better. "It does the job" probably sums it up best. You don't notice a huge difference when you turn ANC on and then off again.
We should be careful with statements like this, though. Samsung has an excellent development team working on the firmware. An update could improve ANC significantly.
ANC score: 6
But compared with newer earbuds such as the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, these earbuds fall a little short on ANC.
Earbud controls
These earbuds use touch controls, not buttons. Their rounded shape makes the touch controls a little tricky to find. But you can count on a tap on the earbud getting a response. So that works well.
What disappoints me is that:
- Tapping the left and right earbuds triggers the same functions
- And you can't change those functions in Samsung's app
That limits your control options.
Here's the thing: these touch controls, and their customization in particular, have a few shortcomings.
These are small earbuds, so getting them positioned correctly in your ears takes a little extra adjustment. The problem is that touching them to adjust the fit pauses or plays your music. That's inconvenient.
Luckily, you can change the single-tap setting in Samsung's app.
Controls: 5
How do the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 touch controls work?
| Left | Right | |
| 1x | Pause | Volume up |
| 2x | Next track | Next track |
| 3x | Play previous track | Play previous track |
| 1.5 sec. | Previous song/video | Next song/video |
You can turn touch controls on or off for each function. You can't change what each touch gesture does.
Battery: how long can you use the earbuds?
The charging case holds 472 mAh. That's a slightly odd number. For context, the average for earbuds at this price is around 500 mAh.
The back of the box says 5 to 20 hours of use. There's quite a difference between 5 and 20 hours. But you can expect around 5 hours from the earbuds themselves, without recharging them in the charging case.
In total, including recharges in the case, you can use the earbuds for around 20 hours. That's probably what they mean by 5 to 20 hours.
Battery score: 7
Battery life is about what we'd expect. After extensive testing, the Buds 2 aren't earbuds that leave you constantly annoyed about having to recharge. Battery life is more than sufficient.
You'll notice they drain a little faster during calls, but that's true of all earbuds.
Conclusion: are the Buds 2 good?
| Rating | |
| Sound | 7 |
| Microphone | 8 |
| Fit | 9 |
| Battery | 7 |
| Controls | 5 |
| ANC | 6 |
Yes! The Samsung Buds 2 are good. The sound is solid. The only area for improvement would be a little extra support in the mid-bass.
The fit is better than almost any other earbuds: small, compact and snug.
The battery is what we expect from earbuds at this price. No surprises. Around 500mAh is average. And you can listen for up to 20 hours with these earbuds.
The controls are touch-based and could be a little better. The rounded shape makes it harder to hit the right spot, but you get used to it.
We think you should be able to customize the controls separately. That's not possible yet, unless Samsung updates the app.
That app is a plus, though. ANC works, but that's about all we can say. These earbuds won't make our list of the best noise-canceling earbuds. All in all, the Buds 2 are a solid choice for the price.
Alternatives
Samsung Buds 2 vs. Jabra Elite 7 Pro
The Jabra Elite 7 Pro cost about €70 more. But the sound, microphone and ANC are much better. The Jabra controls are much better too.
The Galaxy Buds 2, on the other hand, fit much better. The Buds 2 are particularly comfortable for smaller ears.
Plus, the Buds 2 cost much less.
Samsung Buds 2 vs. SoundPEATS T2
The SoundPEATS T2 come from a relatively unknown brand, but their quality is impressive. These earbuds cost around €60 and have ANC, transparency mode (the opposite of ANC: you hear surrounding sounds gently amplified in your ears) and good sound.
Sound quality is about on par with the Buds 2, but the T2 are much cheaper. The T2's ANC might work just a little better than the Buds 2's. All in all, the T2 are a very good buy.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading this Eardopes review of the Samsung Buds 2. We hope it helped you get a clear picture.
Others also viewed:
- Browse all our wireless earbud articles
- These are the 8 best true wireless earbuds
- These are the best noise-canceling earbuds
- These are the best earbuds under €50
- These are the earbuds with the best microphone
- Also check out our article on AirPods alternatives
- Check out the best earbuds for running or the gym
- Also check out our hands-on look at the Eardopes B6 pro.
