Rumours of new Samsung Galaxy Buds have been swirling around the internet for months, and it looks like we finally have confirmation of the (unoriginally named) Galaxy Buds+ thanks to Apple.
An app for the as-yet-unreleased earphones has appeared on Apple’s App Store less than a week before their reveal at Samsung’s February 11 Unpacked event and hours before a Samsung spokesperson confirmed the new buds.
The new buds were rumoured to have improved battery capacity of 300mAh for each of the buds and 600mAh for the case, however thanks to Evan Blass (@evleaks) we have what appears to be official Samsung specs for the new buds.
According to this, the new Galaxy Buds+ sport the same physical dimensions – and design – as the current Galaxy Buds but weigh 0.7g more, likely due to the larger 85mAh battery in the buds which provide up to 11 hours play time. The charging case also gets a boost and now packs a new 270mAh battery which brings the total battery life for the buds & case to 22 hours, a vast improvement from the 13 hours Galaxy Buds users currently experience.
Fast charging has also been improved and now boasts 1 hour of music playback after just 3 minutes of charging.
Like the current Galaxy Buds, the Buds+ are IPX2 rated which means that they’ll survive a few splashes, a sweaty gym workout and even an occasional spill.
A much-needed improvement comes in the form of the upgraded microphone setup which now boasts 2 outer microphones and 1 inner mic which should improve the tinny, echoey audio quality most people experience when using the Galaxy Buds during a call. A new two-way dynamic speaker system consisting of a woofer and tweeter in each bud will provide more a more substantial music listening experience.
Samsung’s Spotify partnership makes a surprise appearance in the inclusion of Spotify controls in the touch pad which can be used to open the music streaming app on your Galaxy device.
The Galaxy Buds+ will work with Apple devices running iOS 10 and up and Android devices running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and up.
Available in Black, White, Red and Blue, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Buds+ look like a welcome improvement to the company’s much-loved buds, but appear to lack one important feature – noise cancellation.
Will a higher price and lack of active noise cancellation be a deal-breaker or will you buy Samsung’s new wireless buds?
