The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event is happening today, and plently of information about Samsung's new tech is the release of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. While the first Galaxy Buds Pro were undoubtedly a direct response to Apple's own AirPods Pro, the newly- announced second version only has some minor upgrades over Apple's offering.
Considering that AirPods Pro came out three years ago, I can't help but feel that's a little underwhelming. Not to mention rumors of Apple releasing an AirPods Pro 2 sometime soon have been in full swing for a while now, meaning the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro will likely get outclassed — and fast.
What the Galaxy Buds Pro 2 offer
So what is Samsung delivering with its Galaxy Buds 2 Pro? Well, for starters, these will have improved active noise cancelation (ANC) when compared to the first version and offer 360-degree sound. Plus, it's bringing 24-bit Hi-Fi audio to the table as well.
On top of that, the battery life hasn't seemed to have much improvement offering about 5 hours in the buds and 20 additional hours in the charging case. Pretty similar number to the AirPods Pro. However, Samsung says that without ANC on, the buds can last up to 8 hours — which is better than what Apple currently offers.
The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro do come with Bixby — Samsung's voice assistant — and features an IPX7 rating when it comes to water and sweat resistance, allowing the buds to be fully submerged in water. That's certainly a nice touch and beats the AirPods Pro IPX4 by a fair margin.
AirPods Pro 2 are expected to be much better
On paper, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro stacks up likely just a bit better than the current AirPods Pro, but that's not all impressive of a feat. The AirPods Pro came out in 2019. Surely, any flagship wireless earbuds released in 2022 sure blow Apple's AirPods Pro right out of the conversation, right?
Adding a whole other layer to this is the upcoming release of the AirPods Pro 2 — which should be by the end of this year, according to recent rumors. Plus, we're expecting AirPods Pro 2 to be a huge upgrade.
We've heard rumors alluding to self-adaptive ANC, a better chip, better Bluetooth connection, and even health features like heart rate detection and some hearing aid functionality. Plus, with Apple Music offering Lossless Audio, there's been plenty of talk of the AirPods Pro 2 taking full advantage of the format with greatly improved sound quality.
If the AirPods Pro 2 do release later this year, then the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are going to have very little time in the spotlight.
