Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus remain some of the best truly wireless earbuds around

Ben Schoon | Jul 4 2020 - 5:00 am PT

Over the past few years, there’s been an explosion in the number of truly wireless earbuds — earbuds without any cables connecting to each other — to the point where it’s tough to say which ones are the best. Samsung, though, might take the crown with its Galaxy Buds Plus. Why? Let me explain.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus: What makes them so great?

I’ve used a lot of truly wireless earbuds from Google’s Pixel Buds to Jabra’s Elite 75t’s and many others. The ones that stand out, though, are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus. Where other pairs like the Pixel Buds are more opinionated and, as a result, may not be for everyone, the Galaxy Buds+ pretty much check all of the important boxes.

Samsung’s earbuds are most notable for their ridiculously good battery life. The buds on their own manage 11 hours on a single charge with another 11 hours ready to go within the carrying case. The vast majority of people won’t ever use their earbuds more than even 4 hours at a time, but what’s awesome about the Galaxy Buds+ is that you’ll never have battery anxiety. That’s helped, too, by the ability to charge them wirelessly.

In our review of the Galaxy Buds Plus from February, one of the things I praised most of all was how the Buds integrate with Spotify. A simple long-press on an earbud’s touchpad starts your tunes through Spotify, even if you were using another app first. For Spotify subscribers, this alone is a selling point!

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Review: Come for Android compatibility, stay for Spotify

Another perk, too, is the sound quality. It’s pretty decent! You shouldn’t expect world-class audio and deep bass, but if you are looking for decent quality from a pair of compact, affordable earbuds, these are a great offering. Here’s an excerpt from our earlier review:

The sound profile is fine with a decent amount of bass and balanced audio on the highs and lows. There are a few different profiles in Samsung’s app, but I settled on “Dynamic” as the best one. “Normal” sounds pretty bad, “Bass Boost” muddles vocals, and the rest feel too soft to me.

In the months since that review, too, I’ve only come to better appreciate the quality in “Dynamic” mode after spending some time listening while connected to a Samsung device. The short story is basically — these ain’t half bad.

As mentioned, too, Galaxy Buds Plus pretty much nail the rest of the experience. The fit is going to be solid for most people, as will the price point. Better yet, it seems like Buds+ are almost constantly on sale.

What colors are available?

Perhaps one of the best things about the Galaxy Buds Plus is that you can buy a pair in several different colors. Where AirPods are only available in white and Google is delaying different colors of Pixel Buds, Samsung has an edge with several different color variants available. As pictured below, Galaxy Buds Plus colors include:

Do they work with my phone?

Yes, the Galaxy Buds Plus will work with almost any smartphone. You can pair them to any device using just the Bluetooth pairing menu, and that process works on both Android and iOS.

Notably, though, Galaxy Buds Plus work considerably better with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. There, a suite of apps is preinstalled which enables super-fast pairing and greater controls over the earbuds. Also, the Buds sound better when connected to a Galaxy device because they can pull from Samsung’s audio codecs that other phones might not support. To get controls over sound quality, noise-canceling, and custom buttons, though, you’ll need to download other apps from the Play Store.

What’s the catch?

What’s wrong with Galaxy Buds Plus? Really, there’s not a whole lot. As mentioned, sound quality is decidedly better when connected to a Samsung phone, but it’s still not bad elsewhere. The glossy case picks up scratches and oils from your hand quickly, but that feels minor. Some of the gestures, too, like Samsung’s recent addition of tapping to adjust the volume can be pretty picky.

The biggest annoyance for me, really, is just the apps you have to install to gain control over these buds. If you’re not using a Samsung phone, you have to install two separate apps to get control over sound and any customization whatsoever. The app itself, too, is often a bit buggy. I also took issue with the case size which is just a bit on the thick side, but that’s a very minor problem really — it still fits in a coin pocket, after all.

Where can I buy Galaxy Buds Plus?

Samsung charges $149 for the Galaxy Buds Plus, a pretty reasonable price if you ask me. As mentioned earlier, though, they’re often on sale! If fact, they’ve been on sale for as little as $90 for a refurbished pair. You can keep an eye on 9to5Toys for all the best deals on Galaxy Buds and thousands of other products.

Where to buy, though? Samsung sells these earbuds pretty much everywhere, and we’ve listed several below.