Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsDisappointed...
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021
*** Update ***
I had these relegated to a junk/not junk drawer. I recently took a chance and bought the Comply Foam eartips. They are extra grippy, and even though I think they're ugly (my other foam tips were a pretty color-matched violet), they make these buds stay put. So, an extra $25 made these usable again and I feel less grumpy about them overall. They're still not my favorites, but at least they aren't languishing, unused in a drawer.
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I liked my old Galaxy Buds and I love my Galaxy Buds+. So, I had high hopes for Galaxy Buds Pro, but I've been disappointed in them.
Mostly, these buds are OK. They sound fine and the ANC isn't bad. Call quality is pretty good. The smart ambient aware feature works well, if you can stand the battery drain.
The battery life, overall, is terrible. Even with ANC and ambient off, playing at a low to medium volume, they only last about half as long as the older + version and a little less than the marketing claims.
Waterproofing seems great*, but even in light rain, the touch controls register every droplet as a command. The solution is to turn off touch in the app, and keep your phone in hand so you can manage playback or answer calls manually. I wanted to listen in the shower and that was just not going to work at all.
The older buds+ stay in my ears, comfortably, no matter what. With them in, I can shake my head like a dog shedding water and they stay put. These fall out with gentle movements like I bending to pull something out of the oven. Using 3rd party foam tips did reduce the problem a little, but, they don't offer the stay-in security required for moderate exercise. I think Samsung made a big mistake in removing the stability fin.
As for comfort, the oval tip is a natural shape for a human ear canal, but the bud's bowl shape is a giant pressure point generator, so, the overall comfort is reduced compared to the buds/buds+.
I have to constantly readjust/reinsert these and my ears are sore when I'm done. It's annoying.
*UPDATE: One bud fell out in the bath tub. It was only under water for a few seconds, and was immediately surface dried, but the ambient-aware microphone continuously squealed in feedback. That was resolved with a thorough towling-off, but the volume in that bud remains severely degraded a week later. Maybe it will be ok with more drying time, but it should be able to handle a brief submersion.
I bought a pair of Klipsch T5 II Sport earbuds. Compared to the Galaxy Buds Pro, the Klipsch have fewer features, but they sound better, stay in my ears and have better waterproofing.