Samsung launched its latest flagship wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, a few months ago. During the launch, the company said that the wireless earbuds have two new audio features, Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi and Bluetooth LE Audio. While the first feature shipped out of the box, Bluetooth LE Audio was promised to come to the earbuds “later this year.”
However, we are just a week from the end of 2022, and Bluetooth LE Audio is nowhere to be seen. Samsung hasn't released an update to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro that would bring LE Audio connectivity.
So, why is the company delaying the release of Bluetooth LE Audio to wireless earbuds? Was it too busy rolling out Android 13 to its smartphones and tablets, thereby putting the release of Bluetooth LE Audio on the back burner? Well, we are not sure, but this delay is disappointing for Galaxy Buds 2 Pro owners. But why is LE Audio so important?
What is Bluetooth LE Audio, and why is it important?
Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio is the next generation of wireless audio streaming technology. It is designed to offer better audio quality at the same bitrate as Bluetooth Classic Audio. The newer technology is more power-efficient and offers perceived audio quality. Wireless audio products using this technology will last longer compared to when using Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) Audio.
Bluetooth LE Audio is also built with isosynchronous channels in mind. It means that it is designed to send the audio signal straight to different audio receivers simultaneously, with latency between them as low as ~10µs. In theory, it should drastically improve the Bluetooth performance of truly wireless earbuds like the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
Bluetooth LC3 Audio Codec
More importantly, Bluetooth LE Audio brings LC3 (Low Complexity Communication Codec). The new audio codec is developed by the Bluetooth SIG. It uses just half the data bandwidth as SBC (standard Bluetooth codec in Classic Audio) to send audio to a wireless receiver (earbuds, headphones, hearing aids, or speakers). In fact, the perceived audio quality through LC3 is better than SBC at varying bitrates, thanks to its improved encoding and decoding algorithms.
It also features lower latency and storage requirements, leading to a more efficient pipeline. Devices using LC3 can send and receive data more reliably even when there are a lot of wireless devices (and thereby congestion) nearby.
Advanced Bluetooth audio codecs like AAC, aptX, aptX Lossless, LDAC, LHDC, and Samsung Seamless Codec HiFi already exist, but they're proprietary technologies, and they transmit data through Bluetooth Classic, which is more power-hungry. In comparison, LC3 is developed royalty-free and sends data over Bluetooth LE. Devices using this technology could cost lower and still offer good audio quality.
So, where is Galaxy Buds 2 Pro's Bluetooth LE Audio, Samsung?
As far as we know, there are currently no wireless headphones in the market that feature Bluetooth LE Audio and the LC3 codec. So, Samsung has a chance to be the first brand to launch wireless earbuds equipped with LE Audio and LC3. However, that hasn't happened yet, but we hope the update arrives soon. The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are among the best truly wireless earbuds in the market right now, and they have the potential to become even better.
We are excited to try out Bluetooth LE Audio and see the new technology live in action. Are you?
SamsungGalaxy Buds Pro
