The Galaxy Buds Live (left), along with the Apple AirPods Pro, Realme Buds Air, and Pamu Slide.
Contrary to popular belief, Apple did not invent the true wireless earbuds; these existed before the AirPods’ late 2016 debut. As an early adopter, I profiled the actual first company to push and promote the technology, and reviewed some of the earliest products.
But the AirPods did change the game. Its unique (at the time) design with long stems that stuck out the wearer’s ears allowed better Bluetooth connectivity, better microphone quality, and stronger bass drivers. And because it’s Apple, they quickly became ubiquitous and semi-status symbols.
The copycats and clones came fast and furious. Initially these came from smaller Shenzhen-based OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), but in recent months even major Chinese smartphone brands which had long established its own image and brand began pumping out true wireless earbuds with the elongated stems. The good news is they all sound and work great, but the blatant lack of unoriginality is unbecoming.
And so when Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds Live, I was happy to see Samsung refusing to go with the industry norm and stuck to a design that is as far from the AirPods as it gets. Samsung’s latest buds look like, well, beans.
The Buds Live are shaped like beans.
The opposite approach of Apple in more ways than one
The Galaxy Buds Live is Samsung choosing to go in a separate direction from Apple in more than just looks and design. While Apple’s AirPods (and just about all other recent earbud releases) are designed to have a tip that sticks inside our ear canals, Samsung’s Buds Live are designed to just sit in the inner “conch” of the ear, just outside of our ear canals.
This fit brings benefits and negatives: the pro is it’s very comfortable to wear, because we are not shoving anything inside our ear canal. Most buds with silicon tips are designed to seal off the opening of our ear canal once inserted; this helps block out unwanted outside sound but also leaves the ear canal feel pressurized after long periods of use. For me personally, I need to give my ears a break after 30 minutes or so of wearing these buds.
Buds Live and AirPods Pro.
The Buds Live.
But the Buds Live has a much “looser” feeling when worn, because they’re just resting in the nub of my ear.
Here comes the con, because of this unique fit, they do next to nothing in blocking out sound. Samsung advertises active noise cancellation technology with these buds, but they only work to reduce low frequency hums from air conditioning and fans. Plus, because there is no seal around our ear canal, no amount of technology will stop outside sound from entering.
In many cities around the world, I’d say this is not an issue. But Hong Kong is almost certainly one of the loudest cities in the world, noisier than most other major cities. Wearing the Buds Live in downtown Hong Kong means your music will never be left alone; you will always be able to hear outside noise, because noise pollution is so overwhelming.
The Live name is on purpose
But it’s unfair to pin the blame on Samsung, because this is more a Hong Kong problem than a Samsung problem. In cities with more space, less people, I’d reckon the design of the Buds Live are just right—you can hear enough of the outside world to feel safe when jogging or crossing the street.
Samsung’s “Live” naming is apt, too: when listening to music on the Buds Live, the audio sounds like it’s being played around you; the music is part of your real world surroundings; whereas listening to music on AirPods sound like music is being pumped directly to your ear, removed from the outside world.
Different people will have different preferences: audiophiles who prefer to tune out the real world and just soak in the music, these buds likely aren’t for you. But if you’re a cyclist or jogger who want to listen to music while being alert of your surroundings, these would be a great option.
Using them in the real world
Each earbud weighs 5.6g, and feature three microphones as well as two speakers. Inside is a 12mm bass driver, and audio, which Samsung says is tuned by audio brand AKG, sound great.
I’m someone who prefers more bass and kick to my songs, so I find the bass a bit lacking, but the mids and highs are crisp and clear. Podcasts, in particular, sound great.
There is a companion app that one can adjust the audio EQ levels, but the change is subtle. Speaking of software, the Buds have two really clever software features that work flawlessly with Samsung phones, and some other Androids. The first is the ability to use the Buds Live as a Bluetooth microphone. As can be seen in the sample below, wearing the Buds Live, the camera (in this case, a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra) can pick up my voice at a consistent level even as I walked further and further away from the camera. The audio quality is not professional microphone quality, of course, but it’s a nice middle-ground option for aspiring vloggers, for example, who may not want to invest in a proper microphone yet.
The second feature is you can have incoming notifications be read to you over the Buds Live. This works well for incoming WhatsApp messages during cycling sessions. I can have an idea of if I need to stop the ride to respond.
Unfortunately, the Buds Live can’t be used to trigger Google Assistant, instead the only digital assistant available is Samsung’s Bixby, which is not too popular a choice.
These buds have solid battery life, too: a single charge can power the Buds Live for close to five hours without noise cancellation. If you turn noise cancellation on, then that figure drops to three and half hours. As I said, the noise cancellation do next to nothing, so you might as well leave it off. Connectivity is good: I wore these around town with my phone in my pocket, or even in a backpack, and experienced few instances of dropped audio. I made a couple of phone calls with these, too, and the other party heard me without issues.
There’s a lot to like, but for me, originality is a major plus
The Buds Live retail for around $170, so they’re up to $50 cheaper than Apple’s AirPods Pro, but $170 is still a relatively high price considering there are solid wireless earbuds that can be had nowadays for $40 to $50. Objectively speaking, the Buds Live (nor the AirPods Pro for that matter) really sound three to four times better than, say, a $40 Xiaomi wireless earbud.
But as I said at the beginning, there’s something to respect about what Samsung is doing here: It would be very easy to pump out another long stemmed wireless earbud. But Samsung spent who knows how much to design a new form factor with different technology.
I know not everyone feels this way: but I feel weird sometimes walking into a coffee shop and seeing rows of Apple logos on laptops spread across the shop. The same is happening with earbuds: step onto trains in New York, London and Hong Kong and the unmistakable white stems are sticking out of many ears. The Buds Live allow me to stand out and break the mold from what everyone else is wearing, and that alone is a bonus to me. The Samsung specific features (like the ability to use the buds as a microphone) add to the appeal for loyal Samsung users.
But ultimately, if sealing off the outside world when listening to music is important to you, do not get these. These add music to your surroundings, not replace them.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvYmVuc2luLzIwMjAvMDgvMzEvc2Ftc3VuZy1nYWxheHktYnVkcy1saXZlLXJldmlldy1yZXNwZWN0LWZvci1ub3QtZG9pbmctYW4tYWlycG9kLWNsb25lL9IBeWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcmJlcy5jb20vc2l0ZXMvYmVuc2luLzIwMjAvMDgvMzEvc2Ftc3VuZy1nYWxheHktYnVkcy1saXZlLXJldmlldy1yZXNwZWN0LWZvci1ub3QtZG9pbmctYW4tYWlycG9kLWNsb25lL2FtcC8?oc=5
2020-08-31 10:15:00Z
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