Samsung discontinues Galaxy Buds Plus earbuds

David Carnoy/CNET

Samsung's Galaxy Buds Plus were released two years ago and earned a lot of fans thanks to their comfortable fit, good sound and impressive battery life (up to 11 hours). But with the arrival of the new Galaxy Buds 2, available for preorder now and set to ship on Aug. 27, the Buds Plus are apparently being discontinued. While Samsung hasn't officially announced the Galaxy Buds Plus' retirement, they're no longer for sale on Samsung's website and I spoke with two customer service reps about it (via text chat) and both said the buds had been discontinued.

This isn't terribly surprising. After all, the Buds Plus are a two-year-old product and Samsung had them on sale recently for $80. Currently, they're selling for $100 at most online retailers. With close to 40,000 user reviews on Amazon, they've been very popular among both Samsung and Android users, and some of those folks got the Buds Plus for "free" as part of a bundle with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. 

We've already reviewed the new Galaxy Buds 2 and both Senior Editor Lexy Savvides and I were impressed with their design and overall performance (they're also very good for making calls). They don't have nearly as good battery life as the Buds Plus, but they have active noise canceling and they're very comfortable to wear. 

The Galaxy Buds 2 list for $150. But by the holiday season, we should see some discounts that bring the price down by $20-$30. The Galaxy Buds Pro list for $200 but today are selling for $170 or only $20 more than the Buds 2. 

The Buds Plus may be discontinued, but like most discontinued electronics, you'll probably be able to buy them for a while. And perhaps you'll see them back down to $80 or less. 

Samsung PR did not immediately respond to a CNET request for comment.