Galaxy Buds Pro gets an update even before it launches

By JC Torres/

All or at least eyes were on Samsung last week, unsurprisingly, especially on its new Galaxy S21 series with admittedly tempting price tags. Those weren't the only products the company announced, though, and the Galaxy Buds Pro definitely deserved just as much attention, especially for the value that it offers for its price. It's not perfect, of course, but fortunately, some of its warts can be easily addressed by software updates, just like the one that will be ready for new owners when they power up the buds for the first time.

With a score of 9 over 10 in our review, the Galaxy Buds Pro definitely ranks high among the TWS earbuds we've tested so far. The $199 price for those premium features definitely helps its case. We did have some complaints but nothing that was a real deal-breaker. That said, other types of users may have less favorable experiences, at least without this first update for the buds.

The small Galaxy Buds Pro update, just 2.2MB in size, adds the ability to adjust left and right sound balance. That may sound like a minor feature but it could actually be a show stopper for those with hearing impairments. It has also been established that hearing can be quite personal and may even differ between ears on the same person so having the ability to adjust the audio balance to taste is a significant improvement.

The update also notes that it improves the hands-free voice wake-up response for Bixby, which could be a good thing if you do use Bixby that much. Sadly, it still doesn't support assigning the trigger to other assistants, disappointing but not exactly surprising.

With excellent quality, decent active noise cancellation, and a comparatively accessible price tag, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro offers quite a lot of value. Although it works with almost any smartphone, it does still function best when used with a Galaxy phone. That said, hopefully, some of these, especially the hearing enhancements, will be applied for all, regardless of paired phone. Even more hopefully, Samsung will push updates that will open the buds up to more options, like picking the AI assistant you want to use, though that's probably wishful thinking.

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