I tested the ANC during a flight from New Jersey to Pittsburgh, and it blocked out a lot of cabin noise. The plane engine and the plane chatter were at a minimum, and it made it easy to listen to music with no distractions. Though I’m not recommending they replace your over-ear headphones, they definitely made my air travel a lot easier—especially thanks to its Intelligent Conversation Mode setting (more on that later).
The Buds 2 Pro also support 24-bit audio Hi-Fi sound compared to the 16-bit audio from the Buds Pro. (Important side note: the 24-bit audio is only available with a Samsung phone.)
Intelligent Conversation Mode and Voice Detect
The Intelligent Conversation Mode setting uses voice detect to switch from ANC to Ambient Mode so that you can hear yourself talk if someone starts a conversation with you in person. This was by far my favorite feature of the Samsung earbuds. When I was traveling, I stopped to get coffee, and I happened to be carrying a lot of bags, so it was nice not to have to pause or take off my earbuds when I ordered my coffee. As soon as I started placing my order, the earbuds switched to ambient sound, and I could hear myself and the barista in front of me clearly. This mode really helps when you’re on the go and don’t want to do a lot of switching and maneuvering. In the settings, you can change it so that after 5, 10, or 15 seconds, the earbuds automatically return to ANC once it stops detecting your voice. It’s a smart functionality that I actually found very useful.
360 Audio and Head Tracking
READ RELATED: The 24 Best Climbing Shoes, According to Experts
Head tracking adjusts the volume of the sound depending on how you move your head. For instance, if your phone is in front of you and you move your head to the right side, your volume will decrease on the right and be more prominent on the left to create a 3D effect. I was really excited to test out this listening experience feature, but it really didn’t impress me. I tested this by listening to music, YouTube videos, and podcasts and moving my head from side to side, but I didn’t really find a noticeable difference. Spatial audio upgrades have been popular recently (it’s available on AirPods and Beats with iOS 16) but overall, this feature was a miss for me.
Battery Life
According to Samsung, the battery life should last five hours with continuous playback and ANC turned on, but battery life will really depend on use frequency and listening habits. I used these for my 30-minute commute and a few Zoom meetings throughout the day, and they lasted about four days before I had to charge them again. So the battery is pretty solid.
As for how to charge them? You can charge your Buds 2 Pro two ways, either by wirelessly charging it on a Samsung device or with the USB-C cable that it comes with. For wireless charging, simply plop it on your Samsung device—just make sure that the Wireless PowerShare feature is turned on. I didn’t use this function as much but I liked having the option to charge the earbuds in different ways. It didn’t completely deplete my phone battery and your phone will automatically stop charging around 30%.
Comfort
The comfort of earbuds can be very subjective, since everyone’s ears are different and earbuds don’t come in a one-size-fits-all. As SELF has previously reported, if your earbuds fall out, it might be because your ear canal is too big and there’s nothing for the earbuds to sit against. On the other hand, if your ear canal is too small, the earbud won’t be able to go in deep enough to fit properly. Luckily, many earbuds provide different size ear tips in its packaging. That being said, the Buds 2 Pro are the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever owned. The combination of its small shape lets it fit nicely in my ear and it’s light enough (but not too light) for a nice snug fit.
Source: SELF
