Samsung Galaxy Buds review: Airpod killer?
A TEST REPORT from Andreas Rossmann 
on July 06, 2019, 11:21 | Write a comment
The Samsung Galaxy Buds have been on the market for a good 4 months and want to compete with the € 150 Apple Airpods with their attractive price of € 180. I've tested them for you - that's my conclusion.
Jump to section
Unboxing and setting up
The Galaxy Buds come in simple packaging with a glossy Bud label. The package includes instructions, USB-C charging cable, 3 different ear pieces and ear holder attachments that ensure a better hold in the ear and of course the buds themselves.
-
- Packaging sorted with content (picture: TechnikNews)
-
- USB-C charging cable for the Galaxy Buds, is supplied without Powerbick. (Image: TechnikNews)
-
- Ear holders and ear tips in 3 different sizes (1 pair on the buds themselves) (picture: TechnikNews)
The setup is just as easy as with the competitor Apple: Open the case and press "Connect" (the Galaxy Wearable app must be installed for this function! Unfortunately, it is not available for iOS).
-
- App pop-up window - Connect (Screenshot: TechnikNews)
-
- App pop-up window - Batteryprocenter (screenshot: TechnikNews)
General information about the buds
They are quite small, compact and light, have no physical buttons, but rely on a triangular touchscreen that follows the last one firmware Update clear profitted, since you can now tap the touchpad at any speed, there are fewer missed clicks.
Furthermore, each Bud has two microphones and several sensors that can detect whether the Bud is in the ear or not. This has the function that if one of them is not in the ear, the touch is blocked and the music goes out. If you take both out, the music is paused.
The Galaxy Buds themselves deliver up to 6 hours of music, while Apple's Airpods only deliver 5 hours.
Another point is the convenience, as Samsung includes several ear and ear holder pads in the package with its Galaxy Buds, so they fit several customers. The Airpods from Apple, on the other hand, have a fixed size, if you have an ear that is too small, a large one or one that is too flat, they may not find enough support.
-
- Comparison of case USB-C cable and Samsung Gear S2 Classic (picture: TechnikNews)
-
- Galaxy Buds (Image: TechnikNews)
I've had the buds for almost a month myself and they haven't slipped out of my ear, which is a definite plus.
But that's not all, they are very pleasant in the ear, even after several hours!
The case
The first thing you notice is that the case is really tiny, it even fits in my side pocket!
Like the buds, it is made of high-quality plastic. The flap makes a nice annoying click when closing and looks quite stable.
The case protects and recharges the buds, bringing you 7 more hours of music enjoyment. Here the point goes to Apple, because its case takes 19 hours on the table.
It is charged with USB-C or wireless, the Apple Airpods also have the feature, but for an extra charge of 50 €.
Similar to the Airpods, the battery level is shown with small LED lights, one for the buds and one for the case. They change the colors from green to yellow to red, depending on the battery level.
Galaxy Buds Case (Image: TechnikNews)
More features about the buds
The app offers many options for adjusting the sound and also shows the battery level of the individual buds, but not that of the case:
The touchpad is configurable (unfortunately only point “hold the touchpad”) and the voice assistant can be switched (e.g. to Google Assistant). Since the Samsung Galaxy Buds are in-ear headphones, they isolate the environment. In order to still be able to hear its surroundings, Samsung has added the feature of ambient noise.
It allows the environment to be faded in / out and voices to be filtered out.
I find the feature quite useful, but you can't work with it Active Noice Canceling from Bose or Sony keep up (headsets are from 300 €). The vocal focus sounds nice, but is quite quiet so that you can hear the other person. If you either have to set the music to 10% or turn up the ambient sound volume, which you actually don't want because you want to hide the environment. Even if you turn it up, it's still too quiet for my taste. My recommendation is to take out a bud when you have a chat with someone.
-
- App for the Galaxy Buds (screenshot: TechnikNews)
-
- Settings of the app for the ambient noise (screenshot: TechnikNews)
-
- App settings for the touchpad (screenshot: TechnikNews)
The sound
The sound is quite good, nothing is missing in the middle, even bass creates the small part, but for my taste it could be a bit groovy. Samsung Galaxy Buds are actually quite loud, but not as loud as Apple's Airpods, so your counterpart won't notice anything.
The connection via Bluetooth 5.0
Latency: It's on Samsung Products not noticeable, in my case an S9+, but on an iPhone S6 I could clearly notice them. On my desktop PC, I only noticed them playing video games, but the buds weren't designed for gaming.
Every now and then there are small interruptions when you make a quick movement with your head or have your phone plugged in while running. Is not for me Proproblem and shouldn't be a deciding factor in your purchase, since the connection is very stable with little movement.
I can only say from experience that I hadn't noticed a single interruption after a 2 hour Netflix session in the hammock.
My conclusion
If you like listening to music, have a Samsung smartphone, and if you don't want Airpods from Apple, they are perfect for you. If you want to gamble with it, you should get something else. The features are nice, the voice filter could be highlighted and made louder. The touch functions are successful and the sound is better than with the Airpods.
The microphone is good for quiet places, but the cell phone should be used in noisy environments. All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Buds are worth 130 € in my opinion, as their price has already fallen a bit and can therefore be compared to Apple's Airpods even more attractive.
