With the release of Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Samsung touted the 24bit Hi-Fi audio, which is enabled by the Samsung Seamless Codec. Samsung shared very little technical information about this codec except for some marketing exaggerations.
Many Galaxy Buds 2 Pro owners have some questions about the Samsung Seamless Codec, for example, how “better” it is.
This Bluetooth headphone guide explains the four aspects of this new codec:
- When/where can you get and use Samsung Seamless Codec?
- The relationship between Samsung Seamless Codec and Scalable Codec.
- How better is Samsung Seamless Codec compared to other codecs?
- The role of a codec (like Samsung Seamless Codec) in the Bluetooth streaming process.
Currently, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro is the only (Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro also support Samsung Seamless Codec) wireless earbuds that support Samsung Seamless Codec. Very likely, new earbuds will be added to the list.
#1. Samsung Seamless Codec is proprietary and only works on Samsung devices
First, Samsung Seamless Codec (SSC) is proprietary, and Samsung owns it. No other hardware manufacturers have licensed it yet.
So, currently, it is only available on Samsung devices and works only on Samsung devices.
This means if you want to enjoy the Hi-Res audio with Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, you have to use it with a supported Samsung phone or tablet.
Samsung Seamless Codec is supported in Samsung phones and tablets with Android 11, 12 or 13. For example, Galaxy S10, S20, S21, S22, Galaxy Note 10, and Note 20 are all on Android 12. So, you can pair Galaxy Buds 2 Pro with any of these phones (and some Galaxy A and J series) and try the Hi-Res audio codec.
For headphones and earbuds, currently, Samsung Seamless Codec (SSC)is only available on Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Galaxy Buds 3, and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
In short, Samsung Seamless Codec is only for the Samsung ecosystem. You cannot even try it if you are using a phone or tablet of other brands. Galaxy Buds 2 Pro itself is only a receiving (sink) device.
#2. Samsung Seamless Codec is a new version of Samsung Scalable Codec.
The name of the new codec is very confusing: it is too close to the existing Samsung Scalable codec (also abbreviated as SSC).
And the truth is that Samsung Seamless Codec is just a new … Read the rest
