Samsung officially revealed its new Galaxy

Buds+ at its Unpacked event on Tuesday, February 11.

Let’s face it. The headphone jack is gone.

Samsung was one of the last champions of the 3.5mm standard. Now, there are no

headphone jacks on any of the newly released Galaxy phones. So, you’re going to

need wireless audio solutions to enjoy music playback without disturbing those

around. The Galaxy Buds+ are improved versions of last year’s offerings

launched with the S10 line-up.

The Galaxy Buds+ come with new technology that’s supposedly better than their predecessors. Externally, there’s not much difference between the Buds+ and their predecessors. The differences lie within.

Instead of a single firing speaker, the Buds+ has two specialised speakers inside each earbud. There’s a tweeter for high notes and a woofer for bass. According to Samsung, the speaker system is almost 40% bigger than the ones in the previous generation. That should translate to a better listening experience. AKG tuning promises high-quality audio for wireless acoustics.

Samsung partnered with Spotify to grant users quick access to recommended tracks based on your listening habits. A long press on the Buds+ awakens music that Spotify’s algorithms think is to your liking.

Galaxy Buds+ were designed to provide a rounded audio experience. So, the devices have a new microphone system that should yield better results than the old versions. Since they removed the headphone jack, users can’t enjoy calls over trusted wires, so Samsung put not one, but three microphones into each earbud. There are two external mics and one internal microphone. Samsung says this system will better isolate voices on calls even with external noise. That’s a good thing because no one wants horrible, wireless call quality, however convenient the audio solution.

The company also thought of user safety with this design. There are new controls for ambient sounds. You can control the amount of outside noise you hear while using the Buds+. It’s essential to be able to listen to your surroundings while commuting. It can be quite dangerous, walking around while blasting music, especially when you pair loud, isolated music playback with eyes glued to screens. That’s a formula for disaster.

Samsung ensured that the Galaxy Buds+ have better connectivity as well. The device can switch seamlessly with other Samsung products. Negating the need to unpair and connect to another device when you want to change audio sources. They also work with iOS devices via the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ app on the App store.

Despite the apparent improvement in audio quality, it is all for nought if the device doesn’t have good battery life. Thankfully, Samsung claims the Galaxy Buds+ last a whopping 11 hours on a full charge.

For extended playback, the Qi-certified wireless charging case can keep you going for 11 more. That’s 22-hours in total, which is plenty of time to listen to your favourite tracks. Those extra 11 hours is thanks to a 270mAh battery inside the case. Each earbud has 85mAh batteries inside.

There’s no active noise cancellation on

board. But the ear tips should provide some passive sound isolation.

The Galaxy Buds+ come in Cosmic Black,

Cloud Blue and White and will be available for US$149 on February 14.