You can't launch a new phone without new wireless earbuds. Samsung's new Galaxy Buds+ look identical to the regular Galaxy Buds but come with almost double the battery life: up to 11 hours of listening on a single charge versus 6 hours. The charging case adds another 11 hours compared to the 7 hours on the Galaxy Buds.
Big battery boost —
AirPods only get up 5 hours with one charge. AirPods Pro get up to 4.5 hours with active noise-cancellation (ANC) and 5 hours without ANC. And Sony's WF-1000XM3 lasts up to 6 hours with ANC and 8 hours without ANC.
Still no ANC —
The biggest letdown is that there's no ANC. The passive noise isolation still blocks out a good amount of sound, but not as much as ANC.
Three microphones —
The Galaxy Buds+ have three microphones instead of two on its predecessor. The extra mic helps improve voice calls and digital assistant voice commands.
Spotify shortcut —
A single press of the play button on the touchpad launches Spotify. Neat.
Pick your color —
The buds come in three colors: Cosmic Black, Cloud Blue, red, and white.
Price and release date —
The wireless earbuds will cost $149.99 and launch on February 14 at Samsung.com. Wireless carriers and retailers will stock it on March 6 — the same day as the Galaxy S20 phones.
