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First Look at the Samsung Galaxy Buds+

The true wireless Galaxy Buds+ have a crazy 11-hour playback time on a charge.

Sascha Segan
 & Sascha Segan Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

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Having cast off headphone jacks from its new Galaxy S20 lineup, Samsung is doubling down on its true wireless earbuds. So here come the Galaxy Buds+, with crazy 11-hour battery life and improved voice performance for $149.99. I got a chance to check them out ahead of Samsung's Unpacked event.

I used Samsung's previous Galaxy Buds for a few months and didn't love them. Battery life was mediocre, and microphone transmission quality in noisy areas left a lot to be desired. But if the Galaxy Buds+ hold true to their promised of 11 hours, that's double the battery life of the previous model, with another full charge in their charging case. (And to be clear, that's 11 hours of music playback time, converting to 7.5 hours of talk time, Samsung says.)


The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ in their wireless charging case

The Buds+ look and feel just like the previous model. They're in fact the exact same size, but a bit heavier—0.22 ounces to 0.20 ounces—because of the slightly bigger battery, 85mAh rather than 58mAh. The Buds+ charge wirelessly when in their case, and can get an hour of music playback time with a three-minute charge, Samsung says.

The old Buds had one external mic and one internal one; these have two on the outer face and one on the inside. Presumably, that should make for better background and wind noise reduction, which was a big problem for the previous model.


The new Buds+ have an additional microphone, which should improve voice quality

In terms of audio quality, the Buds+ support AAC and SBC. I'm a little disappointed that they don't have AptX, the Qualcomm-proprietary codec set built into most Android phones that delivers great quality with relatively little energy, but I think that just means Samsung decided not to go with a Qualcomm chipset here. The Buds+ now work with iPhones as well as Android devices, though.

I didn't get to put the Buds+ in my ear at the Samsung event. But I did fiddle with them in my hands for a little while, and the spec sheet tells the truth: they really do seem to be the exact same size as last year's models, just slightly noticeably heavier.


The case contains another full 11-hour charge

Like the previous Buds, they will definitely plug up your ear. It's up to you whether that's a more comfortable or attractive approach than the semicolon style of Apple's AirPods and similar competing earphones. I personally don't like the little AirPods tubes hanging down from my ear, but other people have said that the larger Galaxy Buds make their ears feel uncomfortably full. I don't have that problem; this is very much a matter of taste.

The Galaxy Buds+ come in black, blue, or white for $149.99. They go on sale on February 14 and on shelves March 6. We'll have a review soon.

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About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

  • US and Canadian mobile networks
  • Mobile phones released in the US
  • iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
  • Mobile hotspots
  • Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services. 

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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