One-minute review
The bean-shaped Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are a serious departure from the norm in every category. Their design is like nothing we have ever seen before; they are the first truly wireless earbuds from Samsung to record sound cancellation and they are tuned to offer a hefty help of bass.
Samsung is no stranger to this category, with previous ones earbuds like the Samsung Galaxy Buds en Galaxy Buds Plus, but the kidney bone shape of these buds is very different from what we have seen of rival brands, with most others wireless earbuds on the market basically plug in your ear canals.
It is, of course, doctrine of change. But the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are the real deal. They can compete with the likes of the Apple AirPods and Google Pixel Buds, and offer many of the same features plus a few new ones exclusive to owners of Samsung devices. (Surprise, it’s Bixby!)
The bad news is that they are not the top dog in terms of Android-based true wireless earbuds – that honor still belongs to the Sony WF-1000XM3. The Buds Live sounds great, but are nothing to write home about, and the noise level is a similar story. Beware of some issues with sound leakage and low IP rating, and you have an authorized successor to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, but not the best truly wireless earbuds on the market.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Buds are available to order from Samsung – like most third-party retailers – now for $ 169.99 / £ 179 / AU £ 319. That’s significantly cheaper than the AirPods Pro, which come in at $ 249 / £ 249 / AU $ 399, meaning the Galaxy Buds Live could be a compellingly cheaper alternative to Apple’s sound-absorbing earbuds.
What is confusing about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is how close they are to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus which were released on March 6th. The Buds Plus are $ 149.99 / £ 159 / AU $ 299, which is only about $ 20 less than the Buds Live.
The difference is that the Buds Live has active noise cancellation, while the Buds Plus use noise reduction for the environment, and the Buds Plus have a longer built-in battery life, but generally lower than your factor in the charging case.
Long story short, you should probably buy the Galaxy Buds Live over the Plus unless you plan to wear your earbuds for 11 hours straight.
Designed
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live come in three colors – black, white and bronze – and come with a matching charging case that slips into your pocket. There is a USB Type-C port on the back of the case for charging, alternatively you can also charge it wirelessly. An LED is present both inside and outside the case to let you know about the charging status of the case, as well as of the earbuds.
As for the buttons themselves, Samsung has made something really fun and unique here. Where other manufacturers of wireless earbuds still copy the design of Apple’s AirPods, Samsung’s design team is clearly working to make something original.
If they fit in your ear, you will need to push the speaker grille all the way into your ear while the charging contacts are located in the upper part of the outer ear. When properly tuned, the Buds should be an almost perfect fit – sealing the ear with a smart grip.
Of course, as we indicated in our preview with the Buds Live, it is not always a perfect fit. If you have large or especially small ears – if you intend to buy these for your children – there is a good chance that the distance between the ear canal and the outer ear is not the right size to place the Buds on. place, which means she can get out easily.
But even if they fit well, there is another problem: these buttons come with an IPX2 waterproof rating, which means they are only good for some sweaty workouts like a light drizzle. Take them outside when it goes, snow or take you to the beach and, well, that could be the end of them.
Each of the buttons also has touch sensors that can detect a single, double or triple tap that serves the expected actions of play / pause, as well as tracks forward / forward jumps. A tap and hold action is also available and is customizable for each bid separately – you can set it to increase / decrease the volume, launch Bixby or Spotify. Bixby apparently only works on Samsung phones and Spotify can only be launched on Android phones.
Noise cancellation
It’s impressive how much tech Samsung has packed into the Galaxy Buds Live. On each of the earbuds, there are three microphones along with an additional speech capture unit, the speaker with a bass channel and a bunch of sensors such as an accelerometer, IR, and a touch-capacitive sensor. All of this tech can add a rich set of features to Galaxy Buds Live – some of which work better than others.
Let’s start with Active Noise Cancellation – something that can be difficult to achieve in such small earbuds. What makes it even more challenging to get ANC on the Buds is that they do not fit you in your ear canal with silicone ear tips like some of the other buttons that support this tech. Samsung has thus developed ANC for open-type earphones, which, according to Samsung, reduce low-band background noise below 700Hz – such as trains and buses – by up to 97%, while you can still hear voices and announcements.
This sounds great on paper, but did not really make a difference with our tests – at least not with voices. At lower volume levels, we could hear people around us with ANC enabled when disabled and curving volumes close to 90% or more made the voices disappear with or without ANC. In short, like most other wireless earbuds, ANC depends on the fit of the buttons and the volume of what you are listening to.
Call quality
What works well is call quality, which uses the three microphones (one inner mic and two outer beam-forming mics on each side) along with the Voice Pickup Unit which uses the accelerometer to sense the movement of your jaw around that kinetic energy to convert into voice signals via bone conduction.
This allows you to be better heard at the other end of the call, even in loud environments. We tested this and were told that our voice at the other end was very clear, even when we had music in the background.
Audio quality
Samsung has implemented a number of features to keep Buds Live connected and in sync with your device – all based on Bluetooth 5. To maintain a reliable audio stream, the Galaxy Buds Live feature has Samsung’s proprietary Scalable Codec, which audio chopping is prevented by changing the bit rate according to the strength of the Bluetooth connection.
When the wireless connection is weak, Scalable Codec automatically encodes the audio information with a higher compression ratio, allowing the earbuds to receive data without interruption. We enjoyed uninterrupted audio, even when the phone was more than twenty meters from Galaxy Buds Live, but you probably would not have to push the distance if you plan to walk between rooms without your phone.
Audio quality, in general, is decent – the bass has a nice, punchy bounce that makes songs like Eminem’s Godzilla really slam, but it comes at the expense of clarity in the mids and highs. Fortunately, the Galaxy Wearable app can set your sound between six modes that include bass boost and treble boost, though you can not set a custom equalizer setting.
Another good thing about the Galaxy Buds Live is that since they do not feel a plug in your ear canal, they do not feel uncomfortable, even after prolonged periods of use. Samsung has added an air vent for ventilation, which helps to minimize the stuffy feeling you may get after a long session of listening to music.
The bad news? This air ventilation can also mean that there is a lot of sound leakage coming through to the people sitting around you. If you are a commuter or office worker, be prepared to hear a lot of complaints about how loud your music plays.
Battery life
At full charge, the earbuds are expected to last six hours and the battery cover can deliver more than two full charges, which means you can expect close to 20 hours of playing with the Buds Live. Better yet, Samsung Galaxy Buds Live supports fast charging, which can provide approximately one hour of playing time with only five minutes of charging.
So how does that compare to the competition? Now, it’s comparable to what Apple’s offering with the AirPods Pro – although many cheaper models, such as the Lypertek Tevi and even the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, offer much more impressive battery life.
Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live?
Buy them as …
You are looking for a Samsung-friendly alternative to the Apple AirPods
If you are looking for a cool companion for your next Samsung Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy Buds Live are a solid option. They have a number of features that specifically cater to owners of Samsung devices such as the Scalable Codec, and they also fit more easily.
You love Bixby
The other advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it) of using a Samsung device with the Galaxy Buds Live is that you can have Bixby as your smart assistant. Well, for most, that’s not a big deal, but if you’ve been in love with Bixby for the last few years, well, who are we to tell you that you’re wrong?
You love bass-heavy music and want real wireless earbuds
While the sound quality is nothing to write home about, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live really bring out the bass. If you love that fun, dull bass and you do not mind some lack of clarity in the mids and heights, you will definitely want to pick up some of the Buds Live.
Do not buy them if …
You absolutely need sound removal
There are no two ways left, the active noise level on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is more than noise reduction instead of complete cancellation. In most cases, you can still hear pretty much everything that is happening around you, just at a slightly lower decibel level than if you did not wear the earbuds.
You have irregularly shaped ears
The other issue is that there is no guarantee that they will fit your ears. The Galaxy Buds Live have an incredibly unique shape that should fit snugly, but if you have too big or especially small ears – if you plan to buy these for your kids – there is a good chance that the distance between the ear canal and the outer ear won ‘. it must be the right size to keep the Buds in place.
You are looking for the cheapest pair of true wireless earbuds
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are the premium genuine offering from Samsung, which means they are the most expensive of the bundle. If you do not want to worry about $ 169.99 / £ 179, there is always the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus which offers many of the same features for a little less, than the Lypertek Tevi which offers a heck of a lot less cost.
