It’s official: Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus are now considered last-gen. During today’s Galaxy Unpacked event, the company announced their long-rumored successor, the Galaxy Buds 2, a new set of true wireless earbuds that look to refine Samsung’s recent formula instead of reinvent it.
In terms of design, they’re not drastically different from the Galaxy Buds Plus. Each earbud is lighter and features a more rounded exterior. The Galaxy Buds 2 will also be available in four distinct colors (dark gray, green, purple, and white), and each earbud features a three-point microphone, active noise cancellation, and three sizes of silicone ear tips. Like Google’s Pixel Buds A-series, they also come paired with a wireless charging case, one that features a playful interior that matches the color of the buds.
The Buds 2 won’t match the Plus in everything, though. According to Samsung, battery life is estimated to be up to five hours of continuous playback with ANC enabled (the case brings that to 20 hours). If you turn noise cancellation off, you could get 7.5 hours, still short of the 11 hours maximum for the Plus.
According to our review, the Buds 2 also don’t have quite the same sound performance as the Plus, offering competent noise cancellation and somewhat mechanized ambient sound. And the Buds 2 are only rated IPX2 for water resistance, as opposed to the Pro’s IPX7. But they are the least expensive earbuds in Samsung’s lineup.
The Galaxy Buds 2 are currently available for preorder starting today for $149.99, the same price the Galaxy Buds Plus were upon their debut and $50 less than the Galaxy Buds Pro. For $5 more, you can add a Galaxy SmartTag. They’ll launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G on August 27th.
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According to Samsung, these are the smallest and lightest true wireless earbuds it has made yet, with two-way drivers, active noise cancellation, and an ambient sound mode. They come in green, white, purple, and dark gray; currently in preorder, they’re due to ship August 27th.
