SAMSUNG GALAXY BUDS LIVE
A unique combination of noise cancelling and bean resemblance
You’d think they’d fall out of your ears but they sit very securely in place
Plenty of true wireless buds have tried to compete with (or rip off) Apple AirPods, and quite a few are close competitors to AirPods Pro. Galaxy Buds Live from Samsung are the first buds we can think of that attempt to do both at once, however. What’s truly impressive is that they have a very good stab at it.
What many people love about AirPods – aside from the look – is that they are much more loose fitting than most earbuds. As a result they let you hear what’s going on around you, and can be worn for prolonged periods, whether you’re listening to music, making calls or communing with Siri. The bean-shaped Buds Live take a completely different design approach but pull off a similar trick. You’d think from looking at them that they would be falling out of your ears but Samsung’s legumeresembling earbuds actually sit very securely in place, without penetrating your ear hole at all.
They sound perfectly alright in their standard mode as well. As with AirPods, the downside to the comfortable fit is that there is a lack of sonic isolation, which means audio is less impressive than on the other buds reviewed here. But they sound good enough for casual use.
The really impressive bit is that when you turn on the Buds Live’s active noise cancelling, everything suddenly sounds much better. Not as good as the Bose or Jabra, admittedly, but certainly better than AirPods. When you consider how much cheaper these are than the Bose or Jabra you realise just how good they are.
Battery life is not bad at six hours with ANC turned on and eight hours with it off. The case adds a further 15 hours or 21 hours respectively. That is not dissimilar to the Bose QuietComfort, but Buds Live are way more compact.
If you’re looking for a good value pair of true wireless buds that can be worn in a similar way to AirPods, but which are also capable of a musical performance that is more comparable to AirPods Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds Live could be just what you’re looking for. Oh, and if you absolutely love Bixby, Samsung’s AI assistant you will love Buds Live even more, as they can activate it without even needing a wake word.