Probably you've seen a lot of positive reviews on both the Beats Studio Buds + and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and you’re uncertain which one is the best bang for the buck. It depends on your use cases and priorities, and we’ve made comparisons for you based on the fit and comfort, build quality, sound quality, ANC performance and voice call quality.
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro at a glance
| Beats Studio Buds + | Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price* | ||
| Release year | May, 2023 | Aug, 2022 |
| Photo |  |  |
| Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Codec | AAC, SBC | AAC, SBC, SSC |
| Battery life | Rated up to 9.00 hours | Rated up to 8.00 hours |
| Weight | 5.00 grams (per bud) | 5.50 grams (per bud) |
| Water-resistant | IPX4 (earbuds only) | IPX7 (earbuds only) |
| Driver | ø8.2mm dual-element dynamic drivers | Two-way drivers (10mm woofer, 5.3mm tweeter) |
| Noise reduction Tech | 3 Mic with Noise Reduction | A high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) mic |
| Fast charging | 5 mins = 1 hour | No |
| Wireless charging case | No | Yes, Qi Wireless Charging |
| Transparency mode | Yes | Yes |
| ANC | Yes | Yes |
| Multipoint | Auto-switching between Apple devices | No |
| Personalized hearing | No | No |
| Spatial Audio | Apple's Spatial Audio | Samsung’s 360 Audio |
| HR Tracking | ✖ | ✖ |
| Dynamic head tracking | ✖ | ✔ |
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: The good and The bad
| Beats Studio Buds + | Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro | |
| Pros | Great for making and taking voice calls, Lightweight with secure fit, Comfortable fit | Excellent sound, Excellent noise cancellation |
| Cons | No wireless charging, No spatial audio with head tracking, Missing: in-ear detection sensor | No multipoint connectivity |
| Short review | The good is made to the better. Redesigned to the transparent housing - you're exposed to the components that's haven't been seen on the old Beats Studio. The Beats Studio Buds Plus are not the most secure fit earbuds we've tested, but they deliver excellent call quality, solid NC performance and just a better sound for sports. | The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro sound great for the money. |
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Fit and Comfort
The Beats Studio Buds + are the refine look and feel of original Studio Buds, they even have a translucent model for both earbuds and charging case, which the inner components are exposed, and what we see is novel. Apple claimed they redesigned both hardware and the look of the original Studio Buds. We closely inspected, found out that not much change in earbud housings, just refining some ead and layout.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have a weight of 5.50 grams for each bud (vs 5.00 grams), the weight and size are almost equal and both give the same level of comfortl. We took both pairs for running and some training sessions and the Beats Studio Buds + fit more snugly.
The Beats Studio Buds + case measures 72 x 51 x 25.5 mm vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro measures 50.0 x 50.2 x 27.8 mm. Both are portable and pocket-friendly.
Winner: Beats Studio Buds +
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: App and Control
The Beats Studio Buds + have control with Siri and physical control button, you control everything with a physical button located on outer surface of earbud.
On either earbuds, you can press once to play/pause the mussic, answer/end a call or answer a second coming call, press and hold to decline an incoming call, press 3 times to stop listening from your earbuds and send the call to your phone. For track navigation, press the control button twice to skip to the next track, press 3 times to listen to the previous track. Apple doesn't give users option to control volume by pressing the button, you have to tell Siri to increase/decrease the volume to do so or do it on the music app you're listening to. You can also toggle back and forth between ANC, Transparency mode by press and hold the control button.
There are a few reports that users may sometimes accidentally tap the control button on Beats Studio Buds +, while adjust earbuds in their ears. If it's true and happens a lot the winner will be Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
The touch control also works the same on both left and right earbuds of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. Tap to play/pause the music, double tap to answer/end a call/skip to the next track, triple tap to play previous track/decline the call. The single tap and tap and hold control can be customized on SamSung Wearable app.
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Call quality
The both works quite well for calls in quiet environments. When increasing the background noise, like it gets a bit more windy or people chatting in coffee shop, the other end will start to hear a bit more cracking sound and difficult to hear your voice - probably because they pick up the noise, and the mic with algorithm isn't that good at separating your voice from noises. We don't find much difference in their voice call quality.
Winner: Draw (Both pairs are on par for voice call quality)
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Sound quality
The Beats Studio Buds + have lively, dynamic and energetic sound. The bass is deep, and improved in both amount and quality, and feel less distortion compared to the orginal Studio Buds. Beats just keeps the orginal sound and fine-tune it better - in both clarity and enhancement over ranges. But over mids and trebles the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro do a better job thanks to their dual driver setup, mids are mellow and highs are prominent (elevating the top end treble and adding sparkle and detail). That's said the Buds 2 Pro's mids are a bit recessed, making a U-turn in sound compared to Studio Buds Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are clearly a winner for sound quality.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Battery life
In terms of battery life, when the ANC mode is off, tthe Beats Studio Buds + provide up to 9 hours of listening time and more 27 hours in the case, for Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro you get 8 hours of listening time and their case includes another 22 hours of juice.
Winner: Beats Studio Buds +
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Codecs
iPhone users don't care much about codecs since Apple implements the AAC brilliantly. Just in case you (as Android users may be concerned about) want know which codec both pairs support.
The Beats Studio Buds + support AAC, SBC while Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro support AAC, SBC, SSC
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Immersive Sound
The Beats Studio Buds + and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro support 3D surround, Apple spatial audio and Samsung 360 Audio, respectively. It depends on the content for immersive sound, while spatial audio relies on the Dolby Atmos content, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro support content mastered withDirect Multi-Channel, 5.1ch / 7.1ch / Dolby Atmos for immersive audio experience, and their head tracking add-on is kind of making the experience elevated - well it's far from being perfect yet.
Winner: Draw
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Noise Cancelling Performance
After conducting some test in harsh conditions (intense noise background) we can conclude that the Studio Buds Plus's ANC performance is quite close to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, despite the fact that Apple claimed the Beats Studio Buds + perform 1.6x better than the original Studio Buds in term of noise cancellation. The function works effectively for frequency range from 20-1000Hz.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro's transparency mode work well but still not quite as natural-sound as on Beats Studio Buds +, Apple's transparency mode is know for - listening ambient sound feels more real and natural, and its quite close as if your weren't wearing earbuds.
Winner: Draw
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: Which pair should you buy?
If you have small ears and your priorities are sound, the $158 Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are an ideal choice. Especially for those who like the sound tuned to Harman target (with a lift or shoutiness in range of 3000-5000Hz).
The $149 Beats Studio Buds + fit more firmly and their sound though transparency mode feels more natural.