Galaxy Buds Pro Impressions: Samsung’s best are simply excellent

Ben Schoon | Jan 15 2021 - 8:00 am PT

Samsung is not new to the truly wireless earbud game, but I’ve not been content with any of the company’s releases to date. Every one has seemed to have one glaring flaw. That is, until I tried out the Galaxy Buds Pro. Over the past week, I’ve been impressed at Samsung’s top-tier offering. Here are a few takeaways ahead of our full review.

Galaxy Buds Pro release today for $199, a steep price compared to Samsung’s otherwise pretty affordable lineup. Given the hefty price tag and the limited amount of time we’ve actually had the chance to spend with these buds, our full review will be coming next week, but we’ve got three key points to talk about if you’re intent on getting these today.

A near-perfect case

Truly wireless earbuds have a lot of priorities to deal with, but cases are toward the top of my list. Thankfully, Buds Pro get this right. The case is the same shape as the one that ships with Galaxy ~~Beans~~ Buds Live, but it’s actually marginally slimmer and smaller in its footprint. The Buds Live case was already one of my favorites, so shrinking it down just gives Samsung more points in my book.

The case also has a nice matte finish that doesn’t collect fingerprints and oils constantly, but still slides out of your pocket with ease. The lid also closes with a super satisfying “thunk,” thanks to some strong magnets. Click the video below to hear it.

Much better ANC

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live definitely have their place, but the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) on that product was an absolute joke. It did nothing. Thankfully, Buds Pro couldn’t be more different.

Thanks to the oval-shaped eartips, I’ve found that Galaxy Buds Pro already have a pretty good seal in my ear and block plenty of noise passively, but when ANC is flipped on it’s very effective. It’s not perfect, I can definitely still hear some noises get through, but almost all background noise fades away quickly. Samsung did a really good job here.

Sound quality gets a boost

Finally, let’s touch on sound quality. I’ve only used the Buds Pro while connected to my Galaxy Z Fold 2 so far, where Samsung’s buds usually sound better. That said, the sound quality has been excellent. Unlike with Buds+ and Buds Live, I didn’t need to switch to the “dynamic” equalizer profile just to get decent sound quality. Now, every preset actually sounds great to my ears with a pretty surprising amount of bass going on. I wasn’t sure if Samsung’s “2-way speaker” setup was actually going to make a difference, but it really seems to. I’ve been very impressed on sound quality, with Buds Pro rivaling even the Jabra Elite 85ts that were so far ahead of everything else in my rotation.

What do you want to know about Galaxy Buds Pro? Drop a comment below and we’ll do our best to give you an answer. As mentioned, expect our full review of Galaxy Buds Pro next week. You can buy Galaxy Buds Pro now for $199.