Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 rumored price, features, release date, and specs

(Image credit: samsung)

With all signs pointing to Samsung releasing a new set of truly wireless earbuds as soon as today (August 11), the Galaxy Buds 2 may be unveiled with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. We could possibly see the Galaxy Buds 2 unveiled alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 at the same event.

Since an APK deconstruction accidentally revealed the headphones’ name, there hasn’t been a lack of confirming rumors and apparent leaks to support their existence. There has also been an unauthorized unpacking film released in the recent past. Overall, the Galaxy Buds Pro is a lot more sophisticated set of earbuds than the original Galaxy Buds, but they have fewer frills and are priced much less expensively than the Galaxy Buds.

Before Samsung’s presentation, which begins at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live on Samsung’s YouTube channel (here’s how to watch Galaxy Unpacked), here’s all we know about the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 so far, including any speculated design, pricing, and release date information.

The most recent Galaxy Buds 2 news (updated August 11)

1.Rumors about the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

That Samsung’s own APK refers to the Galaxy Buds 2 as opposed to, for example, a new version of the Galaxy Buds Live or Galaxy Buds Pro may be significant. Samsung has yet to release a public version of the Galaxy Buds 2. This naming convention indicates that the forthcoming earbuds will be more similar to the original Galaxy Buds, which were not as technologically sophisticated as Samsung’s current versions but were much less expensive.

The product number SM-R177 for the Galaxy Buds 2 lends credence to this hypothesis. Accordingly, it is much more similar to the Samsung Galaxy Buds (SM-R170) and Galaxy Buds Plus (SM-R175) than it is to the Galaxy Buds Live (SM-R180) and Galaxy Buds Pro (SM-R175) (SM-R190).

You can presumably anticipate pricing that falls between the $99 Galaxy Buds Plus and the $199 Galaxy Buds Pro for the time being. MySmartPrice has previously reported that “anonymous sources” have indicated that the Galaxy Buds 2 pricing would be between €180 and €200, which translates to about $213 to $237 before tax considerations. Later, the same company changed the reported amount to a far more realistic €149, which is about $175 before tax differences are taken into consideration. In addition, leaker SnoopyTech uploaded what seems to be an early Amazon listing for the Galaxy Buds 2, which shows the €149 pricing listed on the device.

2.Rumors about the release date of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

What we’re about to find out is when the new earphones will be available for purchase. Samsung will host an Unpacked event on August 11 at 10 a.m. ET – that’s today — to showcase its latest products. Though it seems probable that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be among the new phones unveiled at that event, the Galaxy Buds 2 may also make an appearance.

According to Evan Blass, a leaked list of items that he expects will be revealed at the upcoming Unpacked event includes the Galaxy Buds 2. This forecast was made before the official announcement of the August 11th date by Samsung.

In terms of a specific release date, the Amazon listing shared by SnoopyTech indicates that the Galaxy Buds 2 will be available for purchase on August 27.

3.Specifications and speculations about the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

SnoopyTech, a Twitter leaker, has released what seems to be an exhaustive list of what they claim to be the Galaxy Buds 2 specifications. Several of these features are consistent with prior speculations and apparent leaks, including The Mobile Central’s very revealing unboxing video, which is linked below. We have not independently confirmed any of this information.

For example, SnoopyTech claims that the Galaxy Buds 2 would have active noise cancellation, while Ice Universe, another leaker, stated that the Galaxy Buds 2 will include active noise cancellation back in May. Afterward, Ice Universe shared a screenshot of what seems to be the Galaxy Buds 2’s companion app, which appears to have an active noise reduction feature.

In the unpacking video, ANC is mentioned both on the package (where it is said to be able to block out “98 percent” of outside noise) and in the Samsung Wearable app, which can be seen in the background.

The battery life is listed on the package as being between 5 and 20 hours. In part, this corresponds to SnoopyTech’s claims: the latter stated that the Galaxy Buds 2 would last up to 5 hours while utilizing ANC, with an extra 13 hours of battery life possible when using the charging case. Disabling ANC will, according to the manufacturer, increase this to 8 hours per charge, plus an additional 20 hours from the casing. Qi wireless charging is also included on the list.

The packaging, if both sources are correct, is taking the 5 hours of per-charge uptime with ANC activated and listing it with the 20 hours of uptime that the charging case provides with ANC disabled.

SnoopyTech also speculates that active noise cancellation (ANC) may not be the only feature that the Galaxy Buds 2 will borrow from the Galaxy Buds Pro. In addition to having a two-speaker design with an 11mm woofer and 6.5mm tweeter in each earbud, it will be waterproof to the IPX7 level, according to rumors on the internet. This would imply that the new earphones, such as the Galaxy Buds Pro, will be able to withstand submersion in water up to one meter deep for up to 30 minutes. Once again, the packaging shown in the unpacking video indicates that the speakers are of the dual-speaker kind.

Also possible is an update to Bluetooth 5.2 from Bluetooth 5.0 on the original Galaxy Buds to Bluetooth 5.2 on the Galaxy Buds Pro.

From the initial APK deconstruction, we were also able to glean some information about possible Galaxy Buds 2 features. Included in this was the word “supportMultiConnection=” true,” which indicates that the Galaxy Buds 2 will support Bluetooth multipoint connectivity; it is also possible that the Galaxy Buds 2 will have the same automatic device switching functionality as the Galaxy Buds Pro. Although it only works with certain Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, this feature allows the premium earbuds to switch sources when they detect video or audio playing on a different, but previously-paired device.

Support for Samsung 360 Audio is a less probable addition, as it hasn’t even been rumored, but it is still possible. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro, when used with appropriate video material, creates a 3D surround sound effect, akin to Apple’s spatial audio. This is a nice feature, but it’s likely to be reserved for the company’s high-end headphones.

4.Design speculations about the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 have surfaced.

An official-looking render of the new Galaxy Buds 2 earbuds was leaked back in June, and the new earbuds may be available in four colors: white, black, lavender purple, and lime green. The Galaxy Buds 2 are expected to be released later this year. According to the renderings, although the charging case will be colored to match the selected colors of the buds, this will only be present on the inside of the case, with the exterior being a glossy white.

Following the release of many animated Galaxy Buds 2 pictures, which were tweeted by trusted leaker Evan Blass, these renderings have gained more support. Additionally, these images reveal white as well as purple and green color options, and they confirm earlier rumors that the Galaxy Buds 2 would have a consistent glossy finish. As a result, the original Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Plus would no longer have the two-tone matte and glossy look that they had.

Blass has also recently posted what seem to be higher-quality render pictures of the buds’ design and casing, which he has since deleted. They come in a variety of colors, including white, black, purple, and green, and have a consistent glossy surface with a curved design similar to the Galaxy Buds Pro.

However, the pictures in SnoopyTech’s tweet featured images of another yellow-colored model, which we haven’t seen anywhere else at this time. The unboxing video posted by Mobile Central also revealed the same purported Galaxy Buds 2 design that has been seen in all of the previous leaks, but only the green variant was displayed in the video.

Tron, a Twitter leaker, has uploaded pictures that seem to show the Galaxy Buds 2 design as it appears in the device’s FCC paperwork. According to the different sources listed above, it has a rounded exterior that makes it seem less like the original Galaxy Buds and more like the Galaxy Buds Pro. While it may be impossible to duplicate all of the Galaxy Buds Pro’s capabilities, it seems that this new set of earbuds will be much more readily influenced by the latter’s design enhancements.

6.what we want to see with the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Constructing an idealized feature set for the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 is a little difficult due to the fact that, by modern standards, the original Galaxy Buds leaves a lot of room for improvement. But, at the same time, the new version cannot overburden itself with high-end technology to the point that the price becomes unaffordable. Here are some design characteristics and features that we believe would make for both effective and realistic upgrades if the Galaxy Buds 2 were to make an appearance at today’s Samsung presentation, as has been reported.

Longer battery life: We were able to get a little under 6 hours of typical use out of the original Galaxy Buds, which is good by today’s standards but not particularly noteworthy. However, with the possibility of ANC being included, 7 or 8 hours should be the goal baseline for battery life — but based on the SnoopyTech and The Mobile Central leaks, it seems that the Galaxy Buds 2 will only be able to handle 5 hours with ANC.

On the waterproofing aspect, the Galaxy Buds’ low IPX2 certification leaves a lot to be wanted, as does their lackluster build quality. If cost is a consideration, the Galaxy Buds 2 don’t have to be fully water-resistant; nevertheless, increased water resistance would be a significant improvement. A grade of IPX4 or above would guarantee sweat-proofing as well as protection from severe rain and snow.

The Galaxy Buds Pro is Samsung’s best-looking and most comfortable set of earphones to date, thanks to their slimmer design. Although the Galaxy Buds 2 may just be a refinement of the existing rounded Galaxy Buds design, we would welcome the introduction of a similarly streamlined design for the Galaxy Buds 2.

Better call quality: Phone conversations have always been a weak point for Samsung’s earbuds, even on their most expensive model, the Galaxy Buds Pro. Even on a low-cost set of headphones like the Galaxy Buds 2, Samsung should solve this by improving microphone performance so that the user’s voice does not sound choppy and distorted while they are conversing.

Compatible with a wide range of non-Samsung devices: Although we don’t know what sort of unique features Samsung has in mind for the Galaxy Buds 2, we hope that they won’t all be dependent on a current Galaxy smartphone to work. Unfortunately, this was a frustrating limitation of the Galaxy Buds Pro: many of the best features, such as automatic switching and 360 Audio, were only accessible when the buds were connected to a Galaxy smartphone running Samsung’s One User Interface 3.1 software. Hopefully, the Galaxy Buds 2 will be more platform-agnostic than the first generation.