Review: Samsung Galaxy Buds+
By Will Goodbody
Business Editor
If wireless ear buds are your preferred method of listening to music, audio
books etc, then you are currently spoiled for choice.
There has never been as big a range of devices available out there, with more
hitting the market all the time.
Among the latest to appear is the Samsung Galaxy Buds+, the new iteration of
Samsung's wireless ear bud offering.
The buds consist of two triangular shaped plastic units housing all the tech,
with detachable rubber rings around the edge.
Protruding from those units on a stalk at a slight angle are the ear pieces
with a rubber cup on the end, that inserts into the opening of the users ear
canal.
There is a left and a right, shaped appropriately.
There are also different sized rings in the box to help improve the fit and
replacement cups in case you lose one.
It took a little while to figure out how to fit the buds properly, and it
didnât exactly come naturally.
But after a few tries it quickly became second nature.
Once in place, the buds feel very comfortable to wear. And equally important,
they donât feel like they are likely to fall out.
Unlike the first generation of Apple AirPods, which I always worried could
dislodge themselves and disappear onto the ground never to be seen again, the
Buds+ feel firmly lodged, both in the outer ear cup and in the ear canal
opening.
When they arenât in ears, the buds live in an elongated pill box shaped case
that doubles as a charger.
The ear buds themselves are capable of up to 6 hours playback time, 5 hours
talk time or 20 hours standby time between charges.
That charger case is capable of holding up to 11 hours more of charge and
refills itself pretty quickly when connected to mains via USB-C.
That collective 22 hours of capacity is pretty good, but not class leading,
with Airpods offering up to 25 hours.
There are indicator lights inside and outside the case to tell you what the
charge status is of both the buds and the case itself.
One of the big improvements with the Buds+ is that they now work with Appleâs
iOS operating system.
But whichever operating system you use, the pairing and set-up process is
pretty straightforward.
They can be connected directly via Bluetooth, but this limits the
functionality.
The alternative involves downloading the Galaxy Buds+ app from the Google Play
or Apple App Store.
Pairing this way gives access to the full suite of controls through the app â
some useful, others less so.
These include an Ambient Sound function, which allows you to customise how much
ambient sound you want to leak through the buds into your ear, so you can hear
whatâs going on around you while still listening â a slightly odd
experience.
There is also an equalizer in there, with a range of settings including Bass
boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear and Treble Boost.
It can also be used to change the touch controls on the buds themselves.
Tap once for example to play or pause a music track. A double tap however will
play the next track or answer or end a call. And there are various other
options available.
One downside though is that the touch pads are extremely sensitive and likely
to trigger an action from the lightest of touches, which can be annoying.
Luckily you can lock the touchpad, although that sort of defeats the purpose.
The app also offers a Find My Earbuds function which makes the buds beep when
activated.
When it comes to the functionality of wireless earbuds though nothing is more
important than sound quality.
And here the performance of the Galaxy Buds+ is so-so.
I found the overall tone to be quite tinny in nature, even when the bass boost
is on.
It is clear though volume levels are good.
But overall sound quality is not as good as I had expected.
The performance of the built-in microphone is also just ok.
While conducting phone calls, particularly when there was background noise like
in a moving car, I found people were struggling to hear me properly at times.
One other peeve, when I answered incoming calls on my iPhone with the buds in
my ears, I always had to manually choose to send the call to the buds, which
was very annoying. It should default once they are connected to the iPhone.
The rubber cups do a good job of blocking out ambient sound when properly
lodged in your ear, but there is no proper noise cancellation on the buds.
The buds are also only splash resistant, so donât drop them in a puddle.
And there is no voice assistant built in.
Overall though, these are reasonably good quality earbuds at a price point
(â¬179) that isnât over the top.
There is stiff competition out there though and if sound quality is really
important to you then you might want to look further.
Hands-on with Samsung's new folding screen phone
<https://www.rte.ie/author/666389-will-goodbody/> By Will Goodbody
Business Editor
It is somewhat ironic that the latest thing in smartphone technology
immediately conjures up thoughts of the past.
But that's the way it is when you first lay your hands on the Samsung Galaxy
Flip Z - the new folding device from the South Korean manufacturer.
Initially at least, it looks and feels quite a bit like the now very old iconic
Motorola Razr, which was also a clamshell design that folded shut when not in
use.
But the big difference with the Flip is that the fold is right across the
middle of the full-length screen covering the entire front of the device.
Samsung's first attempt at a folding phone didnât go so well.
Last year's Galaxy Fold experienced problems with screens breaking after just a
short amount of use during trials prior to its release, before it was
redesigned and the issues resolved.
This time though the company appears to have got it right first time.
Iâve only had the device for 24 hours and so this isn't a complete
comprehensive review.
But certainly there is an initial wow-factor to the Flip Z because of its
folding screen party trick that you donât get with most other smartphones.
Around the office and at home, people were intrigued to see it and try it.
The phone has a solid feel to it, with the hinge upon which it all, well
hinges, cleverly disappearing inside the device once its opened.
Thereâs even a practical use to the fold, because you can leave the
smartphone standing open at different angles in front of you for video calls or
for taking selfies for example.
And when you are doing this, the apps automatically adapt to put controls in
the bottom half and the viewing area in the top half of the screen.
Itâs also possible to have two apps open simultaneously in the top and bottom
of the display.
Yes, when the device is asleep or off there is a bit of an obvious crease
across the middle of the 6.7 inch AMOLED touch screen where the folding happens.
But that does broadly disappear to the eye when the display is lit up,
particularly when it is bright.
You also don't really feel it when you run your finger across it, nor is the
sensitivity in this area compromised.
The "foldiness" also doesnât compromise the quality of the screen, which is
as good as many other premium smartphones Iâve used.
The clear plastic covering over the glass that the display is made of does seem
to attract a lot of fingerprints though, as does the plastic case on the back.
But many people will be attracted to the small form factor when it is folded
up, enabling it to fit neatly into pockets and bags, without having to
compromise on screen real estate.
Given the eye-watering price tag of â¬1,500 the specs arenât quite up there
with other phones of similar cost.
You only get one main camera, but it is pretty good quality and has loads of
features.
There is a small touch sensitive screen on the back for displaying the time and
who is calling for example, when it is folded shut.
But it doesnât have a water or dust proof rating.
It comes with 256GB of storage, a 3300mAh battery and is powered by 8GB of RAM
and a powerful processor.
Is it flipping brilliant? That's stretching it.
Is it a gimmick? I don't think so.
Will everyone want one? Possibly not.
But having played with the Galaxy Flip Z, I can see why many people will see
its attraction.
And I certainly donât think folding phones will be retro 10 years from now,
like the old Motorola Razr is today.
In fact, I think it is more likely that theyâll be mainstream.
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