When announcing their latest Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, Samsung exec TM Roh opened with an understatement: “Consumer expectations have risen.” Seriously. Just a few short years ago, I remember being pretty impressed with the sound quality coming from my (wired, non-ANC) earbuds.
But now, the sound we demand from our personal head-based speakers must be fully immersive, while cancelling out the bark of dogs and the banter of housemates. The bass must be big, the highs clear, and the middle range deep and rich. Also the form must be small enough to fit in our ears without falling out while being comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time. Oh they also must transition seamlessly to hosting pin-drop phone conversations. And not look dumb.
It’s a ridiculously tall order. And we, as consumers, are not known for our willingness to compromise. Luckily, if the Galaxy Buds Pro deliver what they promise, all our high-demand boxes will have been duly checked. The audio is Samsung’s best experience yet with 11-millimeter woofers and 6.5 millimeter tweeters for balanced sound. For tuning out the world around you so you can focus on your chill beats or true crime podcast, their intelligent Active Noise Cancelling tech can respond to the sounds around you to cancel out 99 percent of background noise. And they’ll even recognize when you’re talking to automatically turn ANC off.
As for how they fit and feel, Samsung has improved comfort by reducing the contact area with your ear, while the shape of the bud integrates better with your head, for a more natural look. Fully charged, the Buds Pro will give you eight hours of playback, with an additional twenty hours of juice stored in the wireless charging case. Of course, these buds will work best with a Galaxy phone and tablet, but they’re compatible with devices running on Android 7.0
Available now in three shiny colors, these buds are ready to meet our (pretty darn elevated) expectations.
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