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Review of the brand-new Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Truly Wireless Earbuds
Welcome back to yet another review of an all-new truly wireless earbuds. Samsung launched its newest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S20, a few weeks back. They also added another brand new model of its galaxy buds series by the name of Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. Previously, they launched two models of the Galaxy buds with the Galaxy Buds Plus been the latest. The galaxy buds plus stormed into the market boasting 11-hour battery life and some great new features. So, what’s new in this Galaxy Buds Live? Is it better than the Galaxy Buds Live? Can it compete with other truly wireless earbuds such as the Apple Airpod Pro? Lucky for you, we are here to help you find answers to all your questions. Before we move into details, let us first look at the pros and cons.
Product Name: Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
Product Description: Something different and something unique from Samsung as they launched the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live, which comes with open type active noise cancelation. This is new, and it comes with an attractive price tag of just 169$.
Brand: Samsung
Summary
The new Samsung Galaxy Buds live, gives excellent value for money. It is authentic, and a definite eye-catcher for all truly wireless earbuds fans out there.
Pros
Cons
Positives
Open Type Active Noise Cancellation
Ergonomic design for extra comfort
Comes with unique decent design with extra comfortable
Wireless Charging and Quick Charging
Galaxy Buds Live supports wireless charging and quick charge
Bluetooth 5.0
Guarantees uninterrupted coverage until 30ft
Inbuilt mobile app for both Android and IOS
Users can customize the audio output and the controls
Nagative
Not recommended for an active lifestyle
IPX2 Rating
Low water-resistant rating of IPX2
What is Open type Active Noise Cancelation? In laymen’s terms, it drowns the low-end noises happening in the background while letting in the high-end sounds.
For example, when you’re walking on the road with the Galaxy Buds Live in your ear, you would not hear the vehicles or the footsteps of others, but you will listen to the horns or people talking in a higher pitch. This is something unique that comes with the Galaxy buds Live.
The Active Noise Cancelation you get in the Apple Airpod Pro is different from what you get with these all-new Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. The Airpod Pro drowns out all external noises once the ANC is activated, while the Galaxy buds Live lets in high pitched noise such as the voice of people or announcements. This could come in handy if you’re using these in an office or a train station.
The Galaxy Buds Live comes with a whole different design to what we have seen in the market. It does not have a rubber ear tip to push into the ear; neither does it have an ear hook or loop. This is pretty much similar to what you get with the Apple Airpods. Unfortunately, for some users, this might not work. The fit would not be able to withstand sudden moves or repetitive moves during workout sessions or an evening jog.
There are two sizes of ear tips that come with the Galaxy Buds Live. Use the smaller one to get a tighter fit than the bigger size. It is tough to say it would stay put while you clench your teeth and jog in the treadmill.
However, the fit is comfortable, and the fact that these are super lightweight, the user wouldn’t feel like there is an earbud on their ear. Samsung has achieved that comfortability, but they had to compromise on the stability of the fit.
This is similar to what you get with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, which is disappointing once again. They could have done better in this department. An IPX2 rating means it can withstand water splashes from a 15-degree angle or less. This adds to the fact these are not suitable for an Active Lifestyle. Unlike the Apple Airpod Pro, which comes with a higher water-resistant rating and much tighter and secure fit, these Galaxy Buds Live are more of an everyday use truly wireless earbuds.
That was a brief introduction as to what you can expect from the all-new Galaxy Buds Live. Now let us move into an in-depth analysis of the features in the new model. These thoughts and opinions are subjective, but we have done testing on the product to give you an insight as to what this product offer for the user.
The new Samsung Galaxy Buds Live comes with a unique design. Its predecessor, the Galaxy Buds Plus, had a standard design with rubber ear tips, but the new Galaxy buds live does not have the ear tips to get stuck inside the ear. It uses an ergonomic design to stay flush on your without exerting much pressure inside your ear. The lightweight buds fit comfortably inside your ear so well; you wouldn’t feel like you are wearing earbuds.
Even though the comfortability factor is high in these Galaxy Buds Live, the design does not help the earbuds to stay put inside the ear during rapid movement. This means you might end up dropping these earbuds while working out in the gym or having jog on the road. The lack of fit is a significant downfall when compared with other truly wireless earbuds in a similar price range. The Galaxy Buds plus have a better fit, and even the Apple Airpod Gen 1 stays in the ear better than these Galaxy Buds Plus.
Related Article – Powerbeats Pro Review
However, the design looks sleek and attractive, and it comes in three different colors. Those are Mystic Bronze, Mystic White, and Mystic Black, which goes hand in hand with the new Galaxy S20 series. It stays flushed inside, and the glossy finish makes it stylish. These would be ideal for wearing during office hours or while you take the train after work.
Touch Buttons Functions
One Tap
Play/Pause Audio or Answer calls
Double Tap
To skip forward to the next track or Decline Calls
Triple Tap
To go back to the previous track
Tap and Hold
Customizable through the app
Touch and hold to activate or deactivate Active Noise Cancelations, Increase and Decrease volume or call upon the digital assistant. You can customize these options using the Samsung Wearables App.
The Galaxy Buds Live works seamlessly with Bixby. You could activate the “Bixby Call up” option using the app. It enables you to call upon Bixby, but just “Hey Bixby.” This makes life much easier for Samsung users.
Other digital assistants such as Google Assistant or Siri works as well. You wouldn’t get the same fluency or the response compared to what you get when you use the digital assistant on a Samsung Device. Overall, this is compatible with both IOS and Android devices without much hassle.
Samsung developed a designated mobile application for all its wearables, including the Galaxy Buds series, which is available on Android and IOS platforms. The apps give you all the necessary information regarding the earbuds. The remaining battery life of each earbud and the remaining battery life in the charging case will appear on the app’s home page.
You can modulate the audio output using the inbuilt equalizer, which has few presets to choose from. Apart from the equalizer, there are few other options you get from the app.You can manually customize the “touch and hold” control according to your liking; you could switch on/off active noise cancelation.
In case of a missing bud, there is an option called “find my buds.” It triggers a noise from the buds so that you can locate them. To prevent lagging while playing games or streaming videos online, you can switch “game mode,” which assures no latency in the audio.
You get the basic options such as “reading the notifications out loud,” and Bixby Call up. All these functions you get from the mobile applications, make these Galaxy Buds live convenient and user friendly.
AKG powers the Samsung Galaxy Buds series. You get the same with these new Galaxy Buds Live, which comes with 12mm speakers. The audio output is similar to what you get in Galaxy Buds plus, but due to the lack of tight fit, the Galaxy Buds plus provides a much deeper base and better noise isolation. However, when you compare with earbuds that do not have rubbers tips, such as the Apple Airpod Gen 1, these Galaxy Buds Live provides a similar experience, if not better.
The High’s and Mid’s are well balanced with good punchy bass to give a great audio experience for the user. With Active Noise Cancelation, it drowns out low-end noises around you to provide you with a more isolated experience. However, it is hard to compare the Galaxy Buds Live with other Earbuds that come with rubber ear tips. It is fair to say the audio quality is right up there, which gives excellent value for money.
The Galaxy Buds Live does active noise cancelation. But, it’s a litter different from what you get in all other earbuds in the market. The ANC in the Galaxy Buds Live only drowns out the low-end noises around you and lets in the high sounds. It means you would not hear the vehicles or any other machinery, but you will listen to the voices of people around you.
This works both ways. It is ideal in an office environment, where you would prefer to hear if someone is calling your name while plugged into your earbuds while drowning out other noises around you. Samsung has done a great job in using this technology, and it works just fine. Generally, ANC earbuds or headphones are expensive, but these Galaxy Buds Live will only cost you 169$, compared to Apple Airpod Pro’s 249$ price tag. The ANC you get with the Apple Airpod Pro is different and advanced to what you get with these Galaxy Buds Live.
Since there is no tight fit, there could be fewer noise isolations compared to other earbuds. But, it does not hinder the experience you get through the quality of audio.
When Samsung launched its Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, it stormed into the market with its 11-hour battery life. However, with the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Live, they have only provided 8 hours of battery life. In comparison with other earbuds in the similar price range, this is on par. The Earbuds lasted little over 5 hours, with ANC enabled.
Overall, battery performance is excellent, and it adds more value to the product.
The all-new Galaxy Buds Live comes in a newly designed charging case. It has a glossy finish to go along with the earbuds. The charging case supports wireless charging, and it comes with a USB Type-C charging port. You could use your power-sharing enabled smartphone to charge your earbuds while on the go.
The charging case also supports a quick charge. A five-minute quick charge will give one hour of uninterrupted playback. The charging case provides 21 hours of additional playback time, which is more than enough to get through the day.
You could charge one earbud at a time while using the other. The charging is lightweight and made out of recyclable material, which is commendable and environmentally friendly. The case has LED indications both inside and outside to indicating battery charging. However, the magnet used to hold the earbuds in the case is not very strong, so it is better to be careful not to drop the earbuds while charging.
The galaxy Buds Live comes with three mics. It provides crisp call quality, pretty similar to what you get with Galaxy Buds Plus and Airpod Gen 1. The Galaxy Buds Live uses Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity. It works swiftly, especially with Samsung Galaxy devices. Generally, Bluetooth 5.0 guarantees a range up to 30ft, but we tested the range up to 50ft, and it works smoothly.
Video streaming on Netflix and Youtube is smooth, and there is no latency.
What’s the difference between galaxy buds and galaxy buds?
When you compare these two products, it is tough to say which is better. Few factors are worth mentioning. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus provide deeper bass, due to the rubber tips which stay flush in your ear. When both earbuds used in the same volume, it offers similar loudness.
However, the audio quality is similar to each other. If you are not a fan of having the earbuds stuck inside your ear, the Galaxy Buds Live would be your best option. If you don’t mind having the rubber ear tips, you might as well go for the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus and save 30$.
Both these earbuds mentioned above come with active noise cancelation. But it is not the same. The Airpod Pro comes with the rubber ear tips, which provides a tighter fit. The Galaxy Buds Live does not have the same fit and its open type. If you wish to experience proper active noise cancelation, there is no doubt that you should go for the Apple Airpod Pro. But, if there are budget concerns and you wish to go for cheaper ANC earbud, Samsung Galaxy Live is your option.
