Michael Crider
In addition to the Galaxy S20 line and the foldy-new Galaxy Z, Samsung showed off a revision for its Galaxy Buds true wireless earbuds at its Unpacked event. The new Galaxy Buds+ look almost identical to the original, but there are some notable improvements.
According to the spec list, the earbuds jump from 58mAh in each ear to 85mAh, with the case going from 252 to 270. But there must be some behind-the-scenes magic going on in Samsung’s software, because the quoted runtime is going from 6 hours to a massive 11 hours. Add in the extra charge in the case and its 22 hours of music.
The case itself is getting upgraded, too. It still recharges wirelessly (including straight from a late-model Samsung phone), but now it can get an hour’s worth of playtime in only three minutes on a fast charger.
Other upgrades include a new multi-device connection mode—good for connecting to a PC and phone at the same time—and new two-way dynamic drivers. If you have multiple Samsung devices, your buds can automatically pair with them via your Samsung account. There’s an extra microphone on the exterior, the better to use the Buds’ ambient sound mode and talk functions, and the touchpad now supports native Spotify commands.
The biggest addition to the spec list is also the smallest in terms of letters: the Buds+ work with the iPhone. Now, using standardized Bluetooth, the old model technically did too, but a lot of the features like ambient mode were off limits. The earbuds could also only receive software updates via the Android app. With Samsung now fully supporting iOS for the Buds+, expect to see the Galaxy Wearable app pop up on the iOS App Store soon.
All that extra battery life and bonus features will cost you an extra $20—the Galaxy Buds+ will retail for $150. They’ll be available in the usual white and black colors, plus pale blue. Samsung says they’ll be on sale starting on February 14th.
