With the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live en Galaxy Buds Plus, Samsung has now released two of them best wireless earbuds you can buy within a few short months. But which ones are right for you?
The new Galaxy Buds Live are the higher end of the two, delivering a sleek and unconventional design, lots of useful features and some subtle active sound change. The cheaper Galaxy Buds Plus goes further in value, offering some of the best battery life you can find on a pair of wireless earbuds, while also packing a unique feature for ambient sound.
Are you wondering which Samsung buttons are best for your needs? Read on for our full Showdown of Galaxy Buds Live Vs. Galaxy Buds Plus.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Specifications
| Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Price | $ 169 | $ 149 |
| Colors | Mystic White, Mystic Black, Mystic Copper | White, black, red, blue, cloud blue |
| Battery life | Up to 8 hours (29 with charging case | 11 hours (22 with charging case) |
| Great | 0.64 x 1 x 0.58 inches | 0.7 x 0.9 x 0.8 inches |
| Weight | 0.19 ounces (earbuds); 1.4 ounces (case) | 0.2 ounces (earbuds); 1.4 ounces (case) |
| Weather resistance | IPX 2 | IPX 2 |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS | Android, iOS |
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: price and value
The Galaxy Buds Plus cost $ 149, while the Buds Live is $ 20 more expensive at $ 169.
If you want the absolute cheapest buttons out of the two, then the Buds Plus are the way to go. But as we will detail below, the superior design and sound quality of Buds Plus may be worth the premium for some.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Plus
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Design and comfort
The Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus are both attractive-looking earbuds, but the Buds Live win the style contest by a wide margin. The bean-shaped design of Buds Live is surprisingly slim, and the earbuds look less noticeable to my ears than the similarly bulky Buds Plus do.
Both Buds come in a healthy mix of colors, with the Buds Live available in Mystic White, Mystic Black and a particularly beautiful Mystic Copper. The Buds Plus come in a wider range of shades, including white, red, black, Cloud Blue and Aura Blue. It’s a preference here – the colors of Buds Plus are more fun, while the color options of Buds Live exaggerate a more premium look.
The charging boxes that come with these buttons are both pretty slim, with the Buds Live having a curved square case that is slightly higher than the pill-shaped case that the Buds Plus comes in. Both cases support wireless charging, which gives them a nice edge over equal pricing buttons like the base $ 159 AirPods.
Both Samsung earbuds are comfortable to wear, but I prefer the snug, safer fit of the Buds Live. It’s easy to forget that both sets of earbuds are there, even with about 0.2 ounces. But the Buds Plus just feel a little too loose in comparison.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Live
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Controls
The Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus both offer a variety of handy touch controls, but both have issues when it comes to actually using it. The Buds Plus controls can be overly sensitive, often detecting accidental pauses when my fingers wiggle their light, and detecting single taps as double taps. The Buds Live sometimes have the opposite problem, because I had to give them a pretty solid touch, in order for them to completely record my input.
Both buttons are quite similar in terms of functionality, allowing you to pause music with a single tap, skip music with a double tap and go backwards on a track with a triple tap. You can also perform various actions with a long press on each set of earbuds, including changing the volume, calling your voice assistant, or activating ambient noise (Buds Plus) or mute sound (Buds Live). The Buds Live have a slight edge here, as you can also activate Bixby hands-free when connected to a Galaxy phone.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Live
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Audio quality
This round is not a match. The Galaxy Buds Live offers far superior audio from both earbuds, delivering deep bass, crisp treble and clear vocals. The Buds Plus offer decent audio in their own right, but music sounds much farther and lower on bass in comparison.
Phoebe Bridgers ‘soft, bouncy indie rock’ ‘Garden Song’ sounded warm and clear on Buds Live, making the singer-songwriter’s gloomy vocals sigh over the plucking reverberated guitars without drowning them out. By comparison, the backing instruments were much less present on the Buds Plus.
The emotional hip-hop of Juice WRLD’s ‘Wishing Well’ sounded like the same urgency on Buds Live, allowing the creamy vocals, shiny guitars and sly drums to shine alike. Again, the bass and guitars were harder to choose in the mix on the Buds Plus.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Live
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Battery life
Here’s where the Galaxy Buds Plus beat the Buds Live – and almost every other wireless earbuds. The Buds Plus have an theft battery life rating of 11 hours (and 22 out of the case), which for the most part held tests in our real world. When I checked them out earlier this year, the Buds Plus embarked on a long two-day trip that included long walks and a 6-hour flight, without me ever having to reckon with the matter.
The Buds Live are also not slouch, as they value for up to 8 hours of soup and 29 out of the case with ANC and Bixby voicemail. You get about 6 hours / 21 hours with ANC and Bixby, and 5.5 hours / 20 hours with just ANC.
Again, this was in line with my tests, as I was able to go through two days of heavy use with a mix of ANC on and off before I had to soup the case. But when it comes to actual earbud endurance, the Buds Plus can go longer before you have to place them in case.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Plus
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: cancel cancellation and ambient listen
One of the marquee features of Galaxy Buds Live is active sound canceling, though it is not the same high-end experience you get on the likes of the Sony WF-1000xM3 of Apple AirPods Pro. Instead, Buds Live offers a subtler ANC effect that drowns out some low-frequency sounds and makes your podcasts a little clearer. But based on our tests, the Buds Live did not drown out loud noises such as construction or conversations nearby, making options like the AirPods Pro much better for people with noisy households or work areas.
The Buds Plus take the opposite route, offering an ambient noise feature that comes in more from the outside world, so you can be aware of cars and pedestrians nearby as you lurk around for lounges. The feature works reliably, though it can sometimes amplify unusual sounds such as wind just a little too loudly.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Plus
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: EQ and special features
The Buds Live and Buds Plus share many of the same software limits thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app for iOS and Android. You can fine-tune the sound of each button with six EQ settings (normal, bass boost, soft, dynamic, clear, treble boost), and both buttons can activate Spotify with one touch.
You can also use the Find My Earbuds feature to track your missing Buds Live or Buds Plus. The Buds Live have a few extra Galaxy-exclusive perks when it comes to the app, including a special gaming mode that reduces audio latency when playing games, and an option to call Bixby hands-free.
Winner: draw
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Call Quality
Both of these earbuds offer a triple microphone array for clear conversations, but Samsung’s cheaper buttons actually provided better call quality in my tests. While those with whom I spoke on the phone with the Buds Plus reported that no problems were heard from me, several friends and colleagues sometimes noticed that I was depressed and sounded distant while using the Buds Live.
Winner: Galaxy Buds Plus
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live vs Galaxy Buds Plus: Judgment
Samsung released a witch of a punch of two with the Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Buds Plus released, but the Buds Live have a slight edge. Samsung’s higher end earbuds offer superb sound quality, strong battery life and an impressive set of features, making them some of the best wireless earbuds you can buy when you’re ready to spend $ 169.
| Samsung Galaxy Buds Live | Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus | |
| Price and value (10) | 8 | 10 |
| Design (15) | 15 | 10 |
| Controls (10) | 7 | 5 |
| Audio quality (20) | 20 | 15 |
| Battery life (20) | 17 | 20 |
| ANC in ambient noise (10) | 5 | 8 |
| Special Features (5) | 5 | 5 |
| Call quality (10) | 5 | 7 |
| In general | 82 | 80 |
However, the Galaxy Buds Plus remain an enormous value, especially if you are looking for the best battery life. And while the Buds Live offers a disappointing sound cancellation, the Buds Plus serve as a very useful mode for noise cancellation that allows you to stay aware when walking in public.
However, if you are looking for the best sounding, most beautiful and most feature-rich earbuds in the lineup of Samsung, then the Galaxy Buds Live are the way to go.
