Samsung upgrades the Galaxy Buds2 and Buds Live to 360 Audio

360 Audio is Samsung's answer to Spatial Audio, and thus uses Dolby Head Tracking to boost the impression that sound coming from wireless earphones is emanating from a screen during video playback regardless of where the user's head is at the time. 

This feature is found in the ~US$170 Galaxy Buds Pro; now, however, it is also available in the ~$120 Galaxy Buds2, not to mention the ~$100 Buds Live. "360 Audio" has reportedly popped up in the changelog of the latest update for both kinds of Samsung TWS earbuds.

This latest firmware, known as R180XXU0AVC2 for the Buds Live and R177XXU0AVC8 for the Buds2, would bring both sets of accessories closer to the level of the Buds Pro themselves - on paper, at least. 360 Audio has failed to meet with universal acclaim, due to its reported susceptibility to lagging; in addition, it is restricted to use in video by nature.

In addition, Samsung has restricted the compatibility of this update to versions 3.1 and later of One UI only. Therefore, users with Galaxy Buds2 or Live and who are also hanging on to an older device such as one of the Galaxy S8 series may find themselves unable to activate the new 360 Audio feature, regardless of how up to date their earbuds' software is.