Samsung will reportedly launch a new iteration of its Galaxy Buds, the Samsung Galaxy Buds+, alongside the upcoming Galaxy S20 smartphone in February. That’s according to industry insiders who have now released a purported official render of the true wireless earbuds.
Surprisingly there don’t appear to be any major design changes from last year’s Samsung Galaxy Buds, pictured above. Samsung will instead stay focused focus on keeping what worked with those other earbuds externally. That will keep almost all improvements internal.
The one noteworthy difference appears to be in the colors available. As shown in the render, the company looks to be preparing a third color option called Sky Blue. That will reportedly join the colors offered with the previous iteration — namely the standard white and black options.
So what’s changing with the new Galaxy Buds+?
The biggest changes to the new variation on Samsung’s Galaxy Buds wearable are allegedly going to be under the hood. That means that the overall look, aside from the addition of a new color, will stay the same. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since the design is already competitively refined. Functionality, in terms of touch-based controls is already on point too with the current iteration of the device.
The chief complaints about Samsung’s original Galaxy Buds have centered on sound quality and volume. Those are both areas where Samsung will reportedly improve matters.
The original Buds also last approximately 6-hours, with 13-hours of playback once the charging case is factored in. Since that case isn’t changing here, the charging capabilities of that aren’t likely to be either. But that doesn’t mean the company will be able to keep battery life consistent. Refueling that battery will most likely remain at the user’s discretion, based on the identical case design. That should mean users have the option to charge via either a cable or wirelessly.
Improved audio will almost certainly impact how long the buds can go on a single charge. So the battery life may actually decrease with the upcoming gadget. Conversely, Samsung may be optimizing the battery for longevity alongside audio changes. It remains to be seen whether that will make up for any decrease caused by improvements to sound.
A launch alongside the Samsung Galaxy S20 makes sense
The timing of the purported release also makes quite a bit of sense with consideration for Samsung’s history with the device. Samsung Galaxy Buds launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10 series last year in February at the company’s Unpacked event. The South Korean tech giant will almost certainly launch its next flagship this February too.
It isn’t out of the question that the company plans to repeat last year’s tactic and launch a new listening device to pair with that flagship. Rumors and leaks predict that the flagship series itself will be dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S20 instead of the Galaxy S11. That device is expected to herald some significant changes for the series, including its first 108-megapixel camera. So it would make sense to launch a vastly-improved accessory at the same time.