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Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus review: AirPods competitor ramps up the performance – CNET

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The Galaxy Buds Plus is available in 3 colors.


Sarah Tew/CNET

When I put together a list of best true wireless earbuds of 2019 in a YouTube video, I took some heat from fans of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds (

$109 at Amazon

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) for not including them in my roundup. I liked the Galaxy Buds, I said, but I thought they were lacking in a couple of areas: They sounded decent for their price — but not great — and they just weren’t good for making calls in noisier environments because callers complained about hearing too much background noise.

How it stacks up

Like

  • Improved sound, with dual drivers that deliver better bass performance.
  • Boosted battery life (11 hours).
  • Significantly better for making calls
  • New iOS app for Apple users
  • USB-C and wireless charging

Don’t Like

  • Same design as standard Galaxy Buds.
  • Priced higher than the previous model.
  • No active noise canceling
  • Only IPX2 water-resistance

But now Samsung gets a do-over in the form of the Galaxy Buds Plus, which have launched alongside the company’s new Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip smartphones. The new Buds Plus look essentially the same as the originals, but they have some improvements on the inside boost performance significantly: Their battery life is rated at 11 hours for music playback (up from 6), and they pack improved drivers for better sound and an additional microphone in each bud to help with external noise reduction while making calls. 

At $150, they cost $20 more than the Galaxy Buds. And they’re not bundled with Samsung’s new phones, but the $150 preorder credit with the Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra (when ordered via Samsung’s site) effectively knocks the price down to free. (UK and Australian prices are TBA.) Alas, while they feature the same noise-isolating design, they don’t offer active noise-cancellation like Apple’s AirPods Pro do. 

Available in three color options (black, light blue, white), the Galaxy Buds Plus have the same dimensions as their predecessor and look nearly identical. However, they weigh 6.3 grams (0.2-ounce), or 0.7-gram more than the Buds. That’s because they have a larger battery and two-way drivers (with a woofer and tweeter) as opposed to a single driver. The battery case, which charges via USB-C and wirelessly with any Qi-compatible charging pad, is also equipped with a larger battery (a three-minute charge in the case gives you one hour of juice). And yes, all of those new Samsung phones have the Wireless PowerShare feature, so you can top off your Galaxy Buds Plus just by resting the case on the phone’s backside.


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The other noteworthy changes are multidevice pairing — an often overlooked feature that many people appreciate — and an iOS app geared to make the Galaxy Buds Plus more friendly to iPhone (

$699 at Apple

) owners. At launch, the app garnered many negative reviews from current Galaxy Buds owners because it doesn’t appear to be compatible with the original Galaxy Buds. But I thought the app was fine.

The app gives iOS users access to firmware upgrades, EQ settings for tweaking the buds’ sound and “ambient sound” settings that allow you to adjust the buds’ transparency levels (off, medium or high), letting sound in from the outside world into the buds. In the app, you can also opt to have ambient sound on when making calls. That allows you to hear your voice in the earbuds while talking. (This is sometimes referred to as Sidetone.)  

Android users use Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app and get a few small features not available to iOS users, the biggest of which are one-touch Spotify access from the buds themselves and a gaming mode to “minimize audio delay for vivid, synchronized gaming sound.” I used the buds with an iPhone 11 Pro and a Galaxy S9 Plus (

$643 at Amazon

).

The Galaxy Buds Plus keep the same touch controls as their predecessor. They work well and are quite responsive, although my double-taps to advance a track forward sometimes turned into triple taps that ended up restarting the track I was listening to (you triple-tap to skip back one track). In the app, you get some options for customizing the touch controls, including adjusting volume with a long press. There’s even an “experimental” setting that enables you to use the edge of the buds for volume and the center for other controls.

The Galaxy Buds fit my ears well, and the Galaxy Buds Plus felt very similar in my ears. These are pretty compact buds (they stick out from your ears a little, similar to Jabra’s Elite 75t) and should fit most ears well. The only issue I had was with the ear tips. With these types of noise-isolating earphones it’s crucial to get a tight seal to get optimal sound quality. I got a pretty good seal with the largest of the included tips, but things improved when I switched to my own ear tips (one of the advantages of reviewing a lot of headphones is that I have a lot of ear tips lying around). The ones I used were rounder and little wider than the included tips, which should work fine for many people’s ears. The Samsung tips — three sizes are included — are a little more convex shaped. 

Samsung Galaxy Buds PlusSamsung Galaxy Buds Plus

Sarah Tew/CNET

I opted to use the middle-size wing tip (three sizes are included) and got a nice secure fit. Although these have only IPX2 water-resistance, they are sweat-resistant (to a degree) and can be used at the gym and for running. That said, competing models like the Jabra Elite 75t (IPX5) offer higher water-resistance ratings and some are fully waterproof. 

I was impressed with the sound. It’s detailed and smooth, with deep, well-defined bass. The sound is richer and more spacious than that of the original Galaxy Buds. Well-respected Austrian audio company AKG, which Samsung acquired when it bought Harman, is behind the audio. While the original Buds were also “tuned” by AKG, these are a nice upgrade over the originals — and right there with what you get with Jabra Elite 75t, if not even a touch better. Like a lot of headphones these days, there is a tad of presence boost to help make your music sound more detailed and exciting but which leads to some faint sibilance in the highs. You can toggle between a few EQ settings — “Soft, Bass Boost, Dynamic, Clear and Treble Boost” — but I stuck mostly with the “Normal” EQ setting, which seemed the most balanced.

The buds look the same as their predecessor but weigh slightly more, thanks to new components on the inside.


Sarah Tew/CNET

Aside from the better battery life, the other performance enhancement you’ll most appreciate is the call quality. The added external microphone for better noise reduction during calls helps correct the earphones’ biggest weakness. The Galaxy Buds may not work quite as well as the AirPods Pro or Anker Liberty Air 2 for making calls, but they’re significantly improved in this area from the original Galaxy Buds. In our test calls from the New York City streets, external noise from traffic was effectively reduced and my voice could be heard clearly.

I’ll also add that my wireless connection remained rock-solid during my two days of testing. New York City can be notoriously difficult on true wireless earbuds with interference issues. But I didn’t experience any dropouts or glitches. I also didn’t notice any problem with audio syncing when using various video streaming apps (I tried YouTube, Netflix and DisneyPlus).     

Ultimately, I don’t think these will slow the sales of AirPods, but the Galaxy Buds have only become a better option for Android users and may even earn some fans who use iOS devices. Hopefully, they’ll come down in price a bit — I would have liked to have seen the original Galaxy Buds go to $99 and have these priced at $129. But if you do go the preorder route for your new Galaxy phone and can effectively get these for “free,” you won’t be disappointed. 

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The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

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Tech

Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024

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Videos

With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.

In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.



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Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes

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Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.

But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.

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While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.

Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.

And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.

That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.

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This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?

Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.

It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.

Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.

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Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca

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A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing. 

In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days. 

On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.

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Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation. 

“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”

Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”

Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.

A ‘willingness to give back’

As part of the sentence, Picard must complete 300 hours of community service. 

Justice Maharaj commended Picard for “taking that on.”

“That shows me Ms. Picard sincerely does recognize what has happened here,” said the judge. 

“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to her community.”

During Picard’s plea, court heard that in November 2021, Picard and her father fought over his drinking. 

Nurses discover victim

The victim suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.

At the time, home-care registered nurses were assigned to help provide supplementary care.

Nurses found the victim wearing a soiled adult diaper and suffering from two black eyes with blood on his head. 

He told the nurses who discovered him that he’d been there for two days. 

Picard admitted she knew her father had fallen and she had “administered a number of physical blows.”

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