Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro / Apple AirPods (3rd generation)

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro: Galaxy Buds2 Pro (2022); Graphite, White and Bora Purple. The Galaxy Buds Pro (2021), Buds2 and Buds3 Pro are separate models.

Apple AirPods (3rd generation): AirPods (3rd generation) launched in 2021 with the MagSafe Charging Case; from 2022 a version with the Lightning Charging Case was also sold. The earbuds are the same with either case. AirPods 4, AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro are separate models.

Specification	Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro	Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
Release year	2022	2021
Driver	Custom coaxial 2-way speaker (tweeter + woofer) In a coaxial design the tweeter and woofer share one axis, aiming to keep sound from coming from two separate points. Samsung	—
Sound quality	24-bit Hi-Fi; 360 Audio with Direct Multi-Channel 24-bit audio only works with Samsung Galaxy devices running One UI 4.0 or later and in supported apps. 360 Audio positions sound according to head movement. Samsung	—
Noise cancelling	ANC; 3 high-SNR microphones (2 outer + 1 inner); Ambient Sound; Voice Detect According to Samsung, cancellation is 40% better than the Buds Pro (50 Hz–1 kHz average). Voice Detect switches to ambient mode and lowers media volume when you start speaking. Samsung	—
Connectivity and codec	Bluetooth 5.3; Auto Switch; Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi, AAC, SBC The Seamless Codec is only used with Samsung phones; other phones fall back to AAC or SBC. Android 8.0 and more than 1.5 GB of RAM are required; some features are missing on non-Samsung devices. Samsung	—
Battery	Earbuds 61 mAh, case 515 mAh (typical); with ANC on 5 hours / 18 hours with case; ANC off 8 / 29 hours Samsung	Up to 6 hours of listening per charge (5 hours with Personalised Spatial Audio on); up to 30 hours with the case; 5 minutes in the case ≈ 1 hour of listening Apple
Talk time	With ANC on 3.5 hours / 14 hours with case; ANC off 4 / 15 hours Samsung	—
Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, Hall, touch, Voice Pickup Unit (VPU) Samsung	—
Water resistance	IPX7 (earbuds; up to 30 minutes in 1 m of fresh water) The charging case is not water resistant; beach and pool use is not advised. Samsung	—
Size and weight	Earbud 19.9 × 21.6 × 18.7 mm, 5.5 g; case 50.1 × 50.2 × 27.7 mm, 43.4 g Samsung	Earbud (each): 30.79 × 18.26 × 19.21 mm, 4.28 g; case: 46.40 × 54.40 × 21.38 mm, 37.91 g Apple
Design and fit	—	Open-fit in-ear design without silicone tips; short stem Because the earbud does not seal the canal, ambient sound is heard; fit depends on ear shape and there are no interchangeable tips. Apple
Audio technology	—	Custom high-excursion Apple driver; custom high dynamic range amplifier; Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking; Adaptive EQ Adaptive EQ measures what is heard in the ear with the inward-facing microphone and adjusts the tuning to the fit in real time. Head tracking anchors sound to the Apple device’s screen. There is no active noise cancellation or transparency mode. Apple
Chip and connectivity	—	H1 headphone chip; Bluetooth 5.0 Automatic device switching, “Hey Siri” and one-tap pairing work with Apple devices. Apple
Sensors and microphones	—	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone, skin-detect sensor, motion and speech-detecting accelerometers, force sensor The skin-detect sensor pauses playback when an earbud is removed. Apple
Controls	—	Press the stem once to play/pause or answer a call; twice to skip forward or end a call; three times to skip back; press and hold for Siri There is no on-bud volume control. Apple
Charging case	—	MagSafe Charging Case (MagSafe, Qi and Lightning) or Lightning Charging Case The included cable is Lightning to USB-C; there is no adapter. Apple
Sweat and water resistance	—	IPX4: earbuds and charging case IPX4 protects against splashes; it is not for submersion. Apple