Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus review: Impressive TWS earphones for calls, music

At Rs 11,990, the Galaxy Buds+ hits the right strings in terms of design, features and performance

The Galaxy Buds Plus is a pair of true wireless stereo earphones from South Korean electronics maker Samsung. A successor to the Galaxy Buds, the Plus edition gets new touchpad functions, better audio drivers, additional microphone and enhanced on-battery time. 

How do these improvements add up when it comes to overall experience? And where do they put the Galaxy Buds Plus in 2020? Let’s find out:

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ design

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seems to be the mantra behind building the Galaxy Buds+. These earphones are quite like predecessor Galaxy Buds. A closer inspection, however, shows that the buds get another tiny opening for a secondary microphone on the outside frame for better voice reception during calls. The earbuds come with three pairs of silicone-made ear tips of different sizes. These ear tips provide snug fit and the earbuds latch well into the ears. The earbuds’ fat build might draw attention, but the lightweight design and comfortable ear tips make them unnoticeable to user even after extended use.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ features

The Galaxy Buds+ has got some new features and functionalities as part of upgrades. The earbuds support Microsoft Swift Pair feature, which makes it effortless to pair the earbuds with Bluetooth-enabled Windows 10 running notebooks. Additionally, the earbuds get Spotify integration and a simple tap and hold gesture on the earbuds’ touch pad enables the music-streaming service on the phone to play music. The earbuds have also got an enhanced ambient mode, which lets you stay aware of the surrounding noise — only if you want to.

Operating the Galaxy Buds+ is same as operating its predecessor. There are touch pads on the outside of the earbuds which support single tap, double tap, triple tap and tap-and-hold gestures. A single tap is to play and pause audio, and to answer calls; double tap is to skip a song; triple tap is to move back to the previous song; and tap-and-hold is customizable (you can choose ambient mode, volume or voice assistant). 

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ performance

This is one area where the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ has improved by leaps and bounds. It sounds better, thanks to the dual-driver set-up with dedicated tweeter for highs and woofer for low bandwidth frequencies. The earbuds are tuned for a balanced output, and there are several pre-set equalisers and a provision to set custom equaliser available in the Galaxy Wearables app to change the output. 

The Galaxy Buds+ works equally well for voice call, thanks to the new three-microphone set-up (two outside and one inside) that recognises voice clearly even in noisy environments. Rounding off the exceptional performance, there is an impressive on-battery time of more than nine hours, and an extra 10-hour battery in the case. Charging time is also quick and you get an hour of battery on a quick 10-minute charge. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy Buds+ supports wireless charging, which is not quick but comes as a saviour when you can’t find a power port, especially if you have a smartphone that supports reverse wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ review verdict
 

At Rs 11,990, the Galaxy Buds+ hits the right strings when it comes to design, features and performance. The earphones are a complete package, with impressive audio output, resilient microphones and extensive on-battery time. It, however, would have been a perfect pair if it had active noise cancellation and better ingress protection for water and dust resistance. Go for this one if you can manage without ANC and IPX4 rating. Also, check out the Jabra Elite Active 75T (review), which is pricier but covers a wide spectrum of possibilities in the segment.