“Discover Your Perfect Bud Match: Choosing the Right Buds for You”

Price, availability, and connectivity

Let’s kick things off with the category Samsung and Jabra compete most evenly. For starters, the two pairs of earbuds both dip their toes into the more expensive side of the true wireless experience. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the bigger ticket item, retailing at $230. The Jabra Elite 7 Pro have a slight edge at an even $200, but each pair is still fairly pricey.

In terms of availability, both the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Elite 7 Pro are in stock at major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy in various colors. Samsung’s buds, for instance, come in graphite, white, and bora purple. Alternatively, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro come in seven different shades: black, mint, gold beige, navy, titanium black, copper black, and gray.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are slightly better when it comes to connectivity, offering Bluetooth 5.3 compared to the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s 5.2. Still, these opposing earbuds align quite well on the topics of price, availability, and connectivity.

Design and fit

The Jabra Elite 7 Pro shine in this category, especially regarding durability. They feature an IP57 weather resistance rating, equipping them extremely well to handle dust, water, or a combination. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer an IPX7 rating — still good, but certainly not as well-protected against the elements as Jabra’s buds.

A few more, albeit smaller, wins in the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s design. They weigh slightly less (44 grams vs. 55 for Samsung’s), have more microphones (four vs. three), and offer a stable, comfortable fit in your ears. That’s not to say the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro aren’t comfortable, but it’s clear the Elite 7 Pro have an edge here.

Sound and call quality

Here, Samsung starts to distance itself from its Jabra counterpart. The Galaxy Buds’ stock sound is remarkably well-rounded, delivering clear vocals while tossing in solid bass and punchy midrange. And if the out-of-the-box sound isn’t completely to your liking, the buds’ accompanying Galaxy Buds app offers an equalizer with six different presets, including options like Bass Boost, Soft, and Dynamic.

As for the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, our review of the buds categorizes their sound as “decent” and implies that users will be “happy enough” with the sound they produce. The Elite 7 Pro are well-balanced, to their credit, but their smaller, 6mm drivers limit their overall soundstage. Music is clear but also lacks the dynamic force we’ve become accustomed to when listening to certain tracks. So while these Jabra buds aren’t unlistenable by a long shot, they do fall short of the excellent sound of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.

Software

Active noise cancellation, or ANC, is present in each of today’s contenders, though the application of such differs drastically. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro have been outfitted with exceptional noise-canceling capabilities, easily eliminating sounds like airplane noise or air conditioners from your listening environment. They also have a solid Transparency Mode to complement the effectiveness of their ANC, providing a more natural-sounding avenue to piping in noise from your surroundings.

It’s a bit of a different story with Jabra. While highly regarded for its valuable ANC as a brand, the Jabra Elite 7 Pro are unimpressive when canceling out background noise such as fans, cars, or airplane engine rumbles. The only saving grace for the Elite 7 Pro is their ability to block out noise passively, thanks to a good seal. Otherwise, they’re a disappointing entry into ANC for Jabra.

Battery life

Toss another tally on the board for the Jabra Elite 7 Pro because they take the cake when discussing battery life. They offer up to 8 hours of playback with ANC turned on and 35 total hours with the included charging case. Plus, they have a handy fast-charging feature that nets you an hour of playback after five minutes of charging.

While the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro match the fast-charging stats, they’re only good for 5 hours of playback with ANC turned on (though they can get up to 8 hours of listening without it). In total, they offer up to 30 hours with the charging case, again falling behind Jabra.

Which is right for you?

For buds that share the honor of winding up on our best wireless earbuds list, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Jabra Elite 7 Pro could not be more different. Sure, they have a few things in common, such as landing in a similar price range; but there are some real, stark differences between the two when comparing their sound quality, noise-canceling prowess, hardware, and other features. Which earbuds are best for you? Let’s break it down and find out.

If we’re calculating this comparison purely on the categories we used above to analyze these buds, we’ve come to a bit of a hung jury. The Jabra Elite 7 Pro have a more comfortable, lighter design that can better withstand the elements. And they’re a clear winner when it comes to battery life, sporting a full workday of listening with ANC on before running out of juice. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro completely conquered the coveted categories of sound quality and ANC.

Even with this so-called “tie,” it’s not hard to pick between the two, as long as you know what you need most in a pair of earbuds. If you’re after something that will sound better and block out all kinds of noise, spending the extra $30 and snagging a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro makes more sense. But if solid battery life and a great fit matter more, save some cash and consider the Jabra Elite 7 Pro. The good news is that you’re getting a quality set of true wireless earbuds either way you go.