Samsung Galaxy Buds+: Double the Battery LIfe

Samsung rolled out the Galaxy Buds last year to some success, offering a solid alternative to Apple’s AirPods for less money.

- WILL GREENWALD

They work well enough that Samsung saw little reason to change much for its new model, the Galaxy Buds+. These true wireless earphones are slightly more expensive than the original pair and offer almost the same fit, design, and audio performance. The improvements come in the form of better voice quality and 11-hour battery life, which we feel is worth the increase in price, though we still give a slight preference to the Jabra Elite 75t ($180).

DESIGN

The Galaxy Buds+ look identical to the previous Galaxy Buds. They’re available in black, blue, or white (the blue is new and replaces the neon-yellow version from the first generation), which applies to both the earphones and charging case. Each earpiece is a plump bulb covered in glossy plastic with a small protrusion for the in-canal eartip. Three different-size sets of silicone eartips and fins are included, letting you find a snug in-ear fit.

The back of each earpiece has a rounded triangular touch panel that serves as a control surface. Tapping either panel once plays and pauses music, tapping twice answers and ends calls or skips to the next track, and tapping three times goes to the previous track. You can configure what touching and holding the panel does through the Galaxy Wearables app, including bringing up your phone’s voice assistant, activating the Ambient Sound mode to listen to your surroundings, and turning the volume down (left earpiece) and up (right earpiece). Note that this is the only way to get physical volume controls on the Galaxy Buds+, and they aren’t enabled by default.

The touch panels are a bit overly sensitive; it’s easy to play or pause audio when you’re putting the earphones in or taking them out.