The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless are an improved version of the older Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless. They look and feel identical and have the same sleek, compact design. Their out-of-the-box sound profile is very well-balanced, and their companion app is available for iOS as well as Android, unlike the older model's Android-only app. They have a much longer continuous battery life, with over 13 hours of playback time from a single charge, which is very impressive for a pair of truly wireless headphones. Unfortunately, their touch-sensitive controls can be a little finicky. Still, if you're looking for a versatile pair of truly wireless in-ears, these are a good choice.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are good for neutral sound. Their out-of-the-box sound profile is extremely well-balanced and neutral-sounding, so they should suit different genres. Unfortunately, their passive soundstage is bad, meaning their sound seems to come from inside your head instead of the room around you, but this is normal for closed-back in-ear headphones.
- Well-balanced sound profile is well-suited for a wide variety of content and genres.
- Companion app with EQ presets.
- Alright microphone noise handling capability.
- Closed-off soundstage.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are good headphones for commuting. While they don't block out the low rumble of plane or bus engines, they're quite comfortable, so you should be able to wear them during long trips without feeling any fatigue. Their 13.5-hour battery life is also quite impressive, so you shouldn't have to charge them during a long travel day.
- Impressive 13.5-hour battery life.
- Compact, lightweight construction.
- Sturdy build quality.
- Alright microphone noise handling capability.
- Hard-to-use control scheme.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are great headphones for sports. They're quite comfortable and feel very stable in the ear, even during more strenuous workouts. They come with different sizes of stability fins and silicone tips to help you find a good, secure fit. They're also rated IPX2 for water resistance, though this isn't something we currently test for.
- Comfortable and stable design.
- Compact, lightweight construction.
- Sturdy build quality.
- Alright microphone noise handling capability.
- Hard-to-use control scheme.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are satisfactory for office use. They're lightweight, comfortable, and have a battery life of roughly 13.5 hours, so you should be able to wear them all day without getting uncomfortable or needing to recharge them. They leak very little audio, and while they can't really block out sounds like passing buses or plane engines, they're very effective when it comes to blocking out background conversations and other higher-pitched noise.
- Impressive 13.5-hour battery life.
- Comfortable and stable design.
- Alright microphone noise handling capability.
- Only one additional charge from charging case.
- No multi-device pairing capability.
- High audio latency on PC.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ aren't recommended for wireless gaming. While you can connect them to a Bluetooth-enabled PC, the latency is likely to be too high for gaming. They also aren't compatible with Xbox One or PS4 consoles.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus are Bluetooth-only headphones that can't be used on a wired connection.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus are alright for making phone calls. The microphone has a mediocre recording quality, so your voice should sound understandable but may be muffled and lack detail. It does a decent job of isolating your voice from ambient noise, so it should be fairly audible even in loud environments. They aren't very good at blocking out rumbling sounds like engines, unfortunately, but do an excellent job with higher-pitched noise like background chatter.
- Alright microphone noise handling capability.
- Mediocre microphone recording quality.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 12, 2023: We've updated our Controls text to make it clearer that the volume controls aren't available in their default setup.
- Updated Jun 29, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Mar 03, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Nov 10, 2020: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There are five color variants of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+: 'Black', 'White', 'Red', 'Cloud Blue', and 'Aura Blue'. We tested the 'White' variant but expect the other color variants to perform similarly overall.
If someone comes across a different version of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+, let us know in the discussions below so that we can update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are a decent improvement over 2019's Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless. They're almost identical but with much-improved battery life and an iOS-compatible companion app. However, they lack an ANC feature, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.
Check out our recommendations for the best truly wireless earbuds, the best wireless earbuds, and the best noise cancelling earbuds and in-ears.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ and the Apple AirPods Pro are both very decent pairs of truly wireless headphones. The Apple have slightly easier-to-use controls, a more premium-feeling case, much better isolation performances thanks to their ANC feature, and a slightly longer overall battery life, and they are easier to pair to Apple devices. On the other hand, the Samsung have a more accurate out-of-the-box sound profile, a significantly longer single-charge battery life, and a better app for both iOS and Android that offers EQ presets, and they are easier to pair with compatible Samsung devices.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are better headphones than the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. The Buds+ have a more stable in-ear fit, a better-balanced sound profile, and longer-lasting continuous battery life with a standby mode to help conserve battery life when not in use. However, some users may prefer the Pro's ANC feature, which can help cut down some ambient noise around you.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are better for most purposes than the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless. The Samsung have a much more comfortable fit, a longer continuous battery life, and a more neutral default sound profile, which some may prefer. Their app offers sound customization features, and they come with a more compact charging case. However, the Bose's ANC feature does a much better job blocking out ambient sound, especially bass-range noise like rumbling bus and plane engines. Their control scheme has more functions as well, including volume control.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are better in-ears than the Beats Studio Buds True Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable, the Samsung headphones have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. Their integrated mic offers better overall performance, they have a longer continuous battery life, and you can customize their sound when using their companion app's EQ presets. They're also able to passively isolate you from more noise than the Beats with their ANC on.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
