Samsung Galaxy Buds2 SM-R177NZKAXAC

The Galaxy Buds2 offer elite, 93rd-percentile comfort and surprisingly strong ANC, but they're completely let down by a terrible 5-hour battery life that ranks in the bottom 9th percentile. Sound and call quality are just average, and the build feels cheap. Only consider these if you find them for a low price and don't mind charging them constantly.

The ANC here is genuinely impressive, landing in the 83rd percentile. It won't dethrone the absolute best from Bose or Sony, but it's a strong performer that effectively cuts down on low-end rumble. The transparency mode is a welcome addition for when you need to stay aware. Sound quality is solid, not spectacular. With a 73rd percentile score, the tuning is pleasant and inoffensive, but it lacks the detail and sparkle you'd get from a set of buds supporting higher-end codecs like LDAC. You're stuck with SBC and AAC, which is fine for most streaming but won't satisfy the audiophile crowd.

Connectivity is reliable thanks to Bluetooth 5.2, scoring in the 76th percentile. We didn't experience any major dropouts in our testing. The mic array, with its six microphones, does a decent job for calls, pulling a 79th percentile score. Your voice will come through clearly in quiet environments, though it struggles a bit more than the leading buds in noisy conditions. The real performance anchor is the battery. At just 5 hours, it's one of the worst we've seen, making these a tough sell for long flights or workdays.

Stacked against the heavy hitters, the Buds2's weaknesses become glaring. The Sony WF-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra absolutely demolish them in battery life and sound quality, though you'll pay a premium for that. The Apple AirPods Pro offer a more seamless ecosystem experience and a better overall balance of features, especially for calls. Even the budget-focused EarFun Air Pro 4+ will give you a longer listening time and likely a more durable build. The Technics EAH-AZ100 is in another league for sound. The Buds2's only real trump card is that 93rd percentile comfort, which is genuinely best-in-class. If all-day wearability is your absolute number one priority and you can live with the battery anxiety, they have a niche. For everyone else, the competition is too strong.

Pricing is all over the map for these, with a wild $254 spread between vendors ranging from $209 to $463. At the lower end of that spectrum, you're getting a pair of buds with top-tier comfort and very good ANC for a reasonable price. But as you creep toward the higher end, the value proposition completely falls apart. You'd be paying flagship money for earbuds with a bottom-of-the-barrel battery and no advanced codecs. If you can snag them closer to the $209 mark, they're a decent buy for the comfort and noise cancelling alone. Anything over $250 is a hard pass.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 land in a weird spot. They're incredibly comfortable, sitting in the 93rd percentile for that metric, and the active noise cancellation is a standout at the 83rd percentile. But the battery life is one of the worst we've seen, clocking in at a dismal 9th percentile. You're getting a featherlight 5g per earbud and a solid 6-mic setup for calls, yet the overall package feels held back by a few critical flaws. The build quality is mediocre and the social proof is practically non-existent with just a 3.5-star average from a tiny handful of reviews.

For music, they're a middle-of-the-pack performer with a 73rd percentile sound score, leaning on the standard SBC and AAC codecs. Gaming and call quality are similarly average, scoring 51.1 and 47.7 out of 100 respectively. The real deal-breaker for many will be that 5-hour earbud battery life, which puts it near the bottom of our entire database. If you're looking for a pair of buds you can wear all day without fatigue, these are a top contender, but you'll be reaching for the charging case constantly.

Anyone who values battery life should look elsewhere immediately. A 9th percentile score is not just bad, it's a fundamental usability problem. If you're a frequent traveler, a student on campus all day, or just someone who hates being tethered to a charger, these will drive you nuts. Fitness enthusiasts should also skip them, given the abysmal 31.3 out of 100 fitness score and lack of durability. And if you rely on social proof to make a buying decision, the tiny number of mediocre reviews won't give you any confidence.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 are a one-trick pony, but it's a really good trick. The comfort is elite, making them a joy to wear for hours, and the ANC punches above its weight. But the battery life is a deal-breaker for most people, and the build quality doesn't inspire confidence. We can only recommend these if you find them at a steep discount and your primary use case is stationary listening in a noisy environment where a charger is always within reach. For the vast majority of buyers, there are simply better, more well-rounded options available.