Samsung has officially unveiled the new Galaxy Buds Pro wireless headphones, sales of which will begin on the 15th
Galaxy Buds Pro
Launch date and price
As announced at the presentation, Galaxy BudsThe Pro will be available in select markets as early as January 15 for $ 200, which is $ 50 less than the Apple AirPods Pro. In Russia, the price for a novelty will be 17,990 rubles on the official website. You can pre-order now.
Design
Although previous Galaxy Buds Live models are in shapeSamsung beans were objectively cool and suited many users very well, their «earbuds» in-ear design wasn't optimal for some, which may be why Samsung decided to go back to a more secure design.
The Buds Pro headphones are actually similar in designto last year's Galaxy Buds Plus and feature traditional rubber ear tips that should provide a better seal in the ear for most users. Out of the box they come with a choice of small, medium and large earbuds. The outer upper part of the headphones is made of glossy plastic, and the rest of the — made of matte plastic.
The Galaxy Buds Pro body itself is largely identicalGalaxy Buds Live case, which is not bad at all. It has smooth rounded corners and again glossy plastic on the outside and matte on the inside. It opens in the same way as a wedding ring box, and features LED lighting to indicate pairing and charging.
Talking about the design, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will come in three color options: Purple, Silver and Black.
For anyone interested in reducing their environmental impact, Samsung notes that the Galaxy Buds Pro are made with 20% sustainable materials.
Touch gestures
As with previous Galaxy Buds, the outside of each earbud is touch sensitive, allowing the following touch gestures to be performed:
- Click to play and pause.
- Press twice to play the next song or answer / end a call.
- Press three times to play the previous song.
- Touch and hold (1 second) to perform a custom action or reject an incoming call.
- Touch and hold both earbuds (3 seconds) to enter Bluetooth pairing mode.
Sound quality
Galaxy Buds Pro sound comes from 11mma woofer and a 6.5 mm tweeter in each earphone, which are responsible for low and high frequencies, respectively. As mentioned earlier, the more traditional design of the Buds Pro (than the Buds Live) should help them fit better into most people's ears, regardless of ear shape and size.
In terms of sound quality, Samsung promises "the fullest sound" in the Galaxy Buds lineup, with detailed, balanced and complete sound.
Noise reduction and other features
Buds Pro have active noise canceling(ANC), which can be set to "high" or "low" depending on how much you want it. Samsung claims that in "High" mode, the Galaxy Buds Pro are capable of suppressing up to 99% of external background noise.
As an alternative to ANC Buds Pro, you canadjust to Ambient Sound. You will be able to adjust them between four levels, the highest of which boosts nearby voices by +20 decibels, so you can hear people speaking next to you loudly and clearly, even when your music is playing. Plus, Buds Pro can detect when you’re talking to someone and automatically switch from ANC to Ambient Sound. This feature is called Voice Detection and will be an option in the Galaxy Wearable app.
Here are other striking features of the Galaxy Buds Pro…
- Bixby's Voice Wake feature lets youyou interact with the Samsung Voice Assistant using hands-free voice commands. Like all voice assistants, you can check the weather forecast, news, request a translation or listen to music using commands such as “Hey Bixby, play my music”. Please note that Bixby Voice Wake is only available on Samsung devices with One UI 3.1 or higher and can be turned on or off via the Galaxy Wearable app.
- Auto Switch will connect your Buds to anotherthe Galaxy device on the fly when it detects that you've switched devices. For example, you are looking at something on your phone, but you switch to your Galaxy Tab. With auto switch enabled, Buds will also switch to your tablet, so you don't have to manually switch it.
- 360 Audio uses Dolby Head technologyTracking to create a multidimensional sound effect when watching movies. The idea is that the sounds will feel as if they are coming to you from different directions, in essence trying to mimic the physical surround sound home theater system where you are in the center.
- Multi Mic Recording allows you tovoice and other sound recordings using Galaxy Buds Pro and Galaxy smartphone in tandem, which can be especially attractive for YouTube users such as video bloggers.
- Game Mode will reduce the lag between your phone and the Buds Pro so you can immediately hear what's going on in your game and be able to react as quickly as possible.
- Swift Pair simplifies the pairing process between Buds Pro and Windows 10 PC, so you can easily use them while working and video conferencing on your PC.
In general, Buds Pro should satisfy anyneeds due to the number of functions they have. Of course, you also have an equalizer in the Galaxy Wearable app, so you can customize the sound to your liking.
Device support
Like the previous Galaxy Buds headphones, the Buds Pro will be able to connect via Bluetooth and work with both Android phones and iPhones, as well as tablets and PCs.
However, in order to enjoy all the functions of BudsPro, you need to use a Galaxy smartphone or tablet. For example, Bixby Voice Wake will only be available on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets.
But music playback, calls, ANC and touch controls work great on any phone or tablet.
Microphone
When you are participating in a video conference orWhen talking on the phone, the Galaxy Buds Pro use a voice pickup device and three microphones to optimize voice clarity — two external microphones and one located immediately behind the earpiece. According to Samsung, the microphones can separate out unwanted sounds, allowing your voice to stand out loud and clear.
To filter out wind noise, which is often a problem in outdoor calls, the Buds Pro are also equipped with a Wind Shield camera module.
Water resistant
Samsung calls the Buds Pro “the mostthe company's waterproof earbuds today, ”and this bold claim is backed up by their IPX7 rating, which means the earbuds have been tested to withstand immersion in fresh water for up to 30 minutes per meter.
And while it's best to be careful and avoidPotential damage regardless of IP rating, Buds Pro are suitable if used in the rain or if accidentally splashed with a little water. But please note that Samsung advises against using them on the beach or swimming pools. Also note that the charging case itself is not waterproof and does not have an IP rating, only the headphones.
Operating time and charging
Galaxy Charging Case Battery CapacityThe Buds Pro is 472 mAh, and the capacity of the additional independent battery of each earbud is 61 mAh. According to Samsung, this adds up to:
- 5 hours of playtime with headphones only (ANC enabled)
- 8 hours of playtime with headphones only (ANC off)
- 18 hours of playtime with headphones + case (ANC included)
- 28 hours of playtime with headphones + case (ANC off)
- 4 hours talk time using only headphones (ANC function enabled)
- 5 hours talk time using headphones only (ANC off)
- 14.5 hours of talk time with headphones + case (ANC included)
- 17.5 hours of talk time with headphones + case (ANC off)
It's also worth noting that the Buds Pro's 5-minute quick charge should give them enough power to play up to an hour, which is handy.
As for how they actually chargeBuds Pro — as usual, all you have to do is put them in the case. The case itself charges via the USB Type-C port. The Buds Pro comes with a charging cable but no charger, so you'll either need to use a spare or buy one. The Buds Pro case is additionally Qi certified for wireless charging.