Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus might not be the upgrade you were hoping for
Noise cancellation? Never heard of it
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We’re expecting to see upgraded versions of theSamsung Galaxy Budsdebut alongside theGalaxy S11in February 2020, as rumors (and precedent) suggests, but they might not be theAirPods Prorival we were hoping for – or even much of an improvement on the originals at all – based on a new leak.
The information comes from prolific tech leaker@UniverseIcewho suggests that the new and upgradedtrue wireless earbudsmight not have noise reduction or noise cancelling.
That’s a big feature it’d be missing out on, which some of the Galaxy Buds Plus' most prominent rivals (like the aforementioned AirPods Pro) pack, soSamsung’s earbuds may suffer for this loss.
Apparently there are general improvements for battery life, charging speeds and audio quality, which fix problems that didn’t actually exist in the original buds. In general, though, it doesn’t seem like there are any new features here of note, as noise cancellation, or at least noise reduction, is one of the most important features for headphones.
That doesn’t mean future Samsung Galaxy Buds won’t come with the feature – these are being called the Buds ‘Plus’ not Buds ‘2’ so it’s possible they’re intended only as a slight upgrade to replace the older earphones, and not a completely new product.
Still, with the original Samsung Galaxy Buds being pretty good value these days, often with decent price discounts in sales, we’re not sure who’d want to buy these newer buds.
Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that this information has come from one leaker, so it could turn out to be incorrect. We’ll know for sure come February 11, when Samsung Unpacked will bring us the new generation of Samsung mobile products, including (we’re expecting) the Galaxy S11 (or Galaxy S20, as this same leaker suggests it’s called),Galaxy Fold 2, and Galaxy Buds Plus.
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Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.
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