Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs. Apple AirPods

[69Mustang]

Are these the same as the gear icon X ones from last year? I love my AirPods so good to see the Samsung crowd get a similar experience.

Yup. The Buds are just 3rd iteration of Samsung's wireless headphones. The Icon X's were pretty big when they came out in 2016, got a little smaller in 2018, and now even smaller as Buds. I guess Samsung is just trying to bring everything (Buds and Watch) under the Galaxy brand instead of the Gear branding.

 

[That70sGAdawg]

Koreans copied Earphones?

They look almost the same as air pods- sorry you didn't catch that, The case and in white??

 

[nviz22]

Where are the "wait for the AirPods 2" comments?

 

[1050792]

They look almost the same as air pods- sorry you didn't catch that, The case and in white??

They look the same as AirPods? Are you sure you looked at them?

White is Apple's property now?

The case looks exactly like the Gear IconX case which came before the AirPods were even announced.

 

[44267547]

As elsewhere in electronics for years- Samsung just copies a successful USA product instead for inventing something on their own...

Can you be specific, what exactly did Samsung copy from Apple with the AirPods? (And I’m not referring to the design), but the earbuds are completely different from the AirPods alone even with the customizable features, they’re more discrete, offer additional colors, so what exactly are you indicating that they copied?

 

[mi7chy]

It wirelessly charges at 4.5W. Similar to the 5W charger you get with an iPhone. But I can't imagine much more than a trickle charge being available for some emergency juice. Reverse wireless charging isn't meant to fully charge the buds... or anything else for that matter.

Reverse wireless charging accessories like earbuds, earbuds case and watch with Galaxy S10 PowerShare should be fine since they have relatively tiny batteries. Mr. Mobile on YouTube demonstrated using a Galaxy S10+ to wirelessly reverse charge a Pixel 3 with 2,915mAh battery +12% in 30 minutes. Interpolating that result, Galaxy Buds with 58mAh battery would charge in ~5 mins, the 252mAh case in ~21mins and Galaxy Active Watch with 230mAh in ~20mins. Very convenient for travelers since they now only have to carry one charger instead of three. Would be nice to see actual test result numbers though.

 

[69Mustang]

They look almost the same as air pods- sorry you didn't catch that, The case and in white??

Are you visually impaired? I ask because neither the Buds nor the case resemble AirPods or the AirPod case. The only flimsy connection you can make is they're both white in color. One case looks like a big pill and the other case looks like a dental floss container. The design language of the Buds is the design language of basically all of the other major truly wireless buds, in-ear nuggets. None of the major brands look like AirPods.

 

[I7guy]

I enjoy my AirPods, but I *really* like the ‘in-ear’ design with the earbuds from Samsung. That’s really what I want, is more of a discrete look, I think Samsung did nice job executing that. Plus, fairly nice that you can charge the Samsung earbuds directly from your Galaxy phone.

I actually don't like 'in-ear' designs, especially since one of my uses is my airpods my work day as I have calls forwarded to my phone and can roam around as needed. Easy in and easy out and comfortable.

The share-charge is cool, but I wonder how it eats at the battery.

 

[Juicy Box]

While I have not tried to he AirBuds, in ear designs are uncomfortable to me and would never buy them.

I wouldn't mind the AirPods, except I hate that you cannot adjust the volume on phone calls.

 

[0388631]

In-ears are not for everyone. I personally prefer wired Shures or Klipsch if I'm running. The best brands offer multiple plugs for your ears with the original package. Ideally, you ought to wipe away oils and dirt with a 50:50 solution of alcohol and water once or twice a week depending on use to avoid any oddities with the skin in your outer ear.

I enjoy in-ears because it means they silence 90% of external noises.

 

[BobVB]

At about 6:40…

yeah my bad. I don’t to watch long videos for small amounts of information. Takes a minute to read an article. Why bother with a written version that doesn’t cover the same information?

 

[0388631]

The share-charge is cool, but I wonder how it eats at the battery.

Should be fun to compare in the near future if Mingo Dingo is correct. The next-gen iPhone will come with reverse Qi charging, too, and the Air Power is a Qi charger. We already know slow and low charging helps keep batteries lasting longer.

The fast charge systems, and I'm not talking about Sammy's 15-20 watt system, but the ones the Chinese are putting out should be placing more stress on the batteries. AFAIK, in the One Plus phones, the battery suppliers are either LG or Samsung chemical divisions. Should be the same for most phones on the market.

My quick research points me towards two Chinese battery makers that made the XS's L shaped battery. The X and beyond seem to rely more on Chinese companies than Korean, including chassis. I think the only American developed/made product is the Corning glass, which gets shipped out of the US in crates. I guess you could throw the A series SoC and T2 in there, too, even if TSMC makes it for them.

 

[DNichter]

Yup. The Buds are just 3rd iteration of Samsung's wireless headphones. The Icon X's were pretty big when they came out in 2016, got a little smaller in 2018, and now even smaller as Buds. I guess Samsung is just trying to bring everything (Buds and Watch) under the Galaxy brand instead of the Gear branding.

Makes sense. Yea I thought they looked the same, but a little slimmer and sleeker. Moving everyone under the Galaxy brand is definitely a good idea for Samsung. Create a similar ecosystem to Apple’s.

 

[boccabella]

What happens if you put one Bud and one AirPod in your ears?

 

[1050792]

What happens if you put one Bud and one AirPod in your ears?

The world as you know it ceases to exist.

 

[deebinem]

STILL disappointed that name has nothing to do with marijuana...

 

[69Mustang]

What happens if you put one Bud and one AirPod in your ears?

A Technological Singularity.

 

[JGIGS]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

I'll just assume you are referring to Apple copying Samsung who both released wireless ear buds and a wireless chargeable case before Apple did.
[doublepost=1552006326][/doublepost]

Funny that Dan says this. Apple fanboy, UrAvgConsumer did exactly that. Switch to Galaxy Buds for use with his iPhone. Says AirPods don't fit his ears.

From reviews I've seen sound isn't mind blowing but slightly better than airpods, you get more touch controls, and wireless charging. Though airpods may catch with the last two on the next version hopefully released at the end of the month. I'm also not sure all those touch controls work with ios?

I think it mostly will come down to what ecosystem you are in or your preference on how the two fit in your ears.

 

[deebinem]

In my experience ..... Galaxy Buds vs AirPods

Sound quality ... Galaxy Buds.

How did you test this? What type of audio? Compressed? FLAC/ALAC? Spoken word? Phone calls? Genre of music?

I only ask because garbage in, garbage out. I'm not expecting these to compete with Shure in ear monitors but you gotta have at least a decent audio source to begin with, right?

 

[JGIGS]

In my experience ..... Galaxy Buds vs AirPods

Sound quality ... Galaxy Buds.

Fit ... Galaxy Buds.
Should vary with different sized ears, but Samsung includes differ sized tips and wings(for lack of better word).

Design ... Galaxy Buds.
Cotton balls are better than Q-tips.

Ease of putting in and out of ear ... AirPods.
You just grab it and throw them in your ear, and just as easy when taking them off. When placing the Galaxy Buds in your ear, you have to also twist it so the wings will lock in your ear. It's also not as easy to take out of the ear as the Airpods.

Reliable fit ... Galaxy Buds.
AirPods are much more likely to fall out my ear vs the Galaxy Buds. The Galaxy Buds are a pretty solid fit.

Case ... I'm going to call this one a draw.
Both cases are tiny and very pocketable. The shape of the AirPods case and higher battery capacity gives it the edge. But Galaxy Buds case has USB-C charging port, wireless charging, and an external led light.

Battery Life ... Galaxy Buds

What are you doing posting an non biased Apple review in here? But seriously good review for people trying to decide on either.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

How did you test this? What type of audio? Compressed? FLAC/ALAC? Spoken word? Phone calls? Genre of music?

I only ask because garbage in, garbage out. I'm not expecting these to compete with Shure in ear monitors but you gotta have at least a decent audio source to begin with, right?

Yes, I tested it with lossless music formats, old MP3s, streaming services (including video streaming), Podcasts, games, and calls. On the app, there is no point to select any other equalizer setting, as only Dynamic sounds the best for me. Without the Dynamic setting (which is what it's set to by default), I might have sung a differ tune.

BTW ... Both don't sound better than the JBL buds.

 

[JGIGS]

watch the video. The article is just a partial recap of the video.[/QUOTE]

Ok but that's a pretty big miss in a summary. It should be the most important thing reviewed and in the written summary IMO
[doublepost=1552007443][/doublepost]

As elsewhere in electronics for years- Samsung just copies a successful USA product instead for inventing something on their own...

Do your research Samsung released wireless buds before Apple. Plus these designs look nothing alike. But if anyone copied it certainly is the company that was first to market. Hint Hint

 

[cppguy]

Sorry, but these don't look anything like the AirPods. When the technology gets to the point that we can squeeze a wireless receiver and a speaker in our ear, such products get inevitably released. Apple is not even the first company that has created wireless earphones. The Galaxy buds are more like the in-ear variant, whereas the AirPods sit outside of the ear canal. To be honest, the Samsung version may actually stay in the ears, whereas the Apple pods fall out easily.

This is not another shameless copy-cat product. Some people like in-ear speakers, others prefer something that doesn't go into the canal. It's totally personal.

 

[allenvanhellen]

I enjoy my AirPods, but I *really* like the ‘in-ear’ design with the earbuds from Samsung. That’s really what I want, is more of a discrete look, I think Samsung did nice job executing that. Plus, fairly nice that you can charge the Samsung earbuds directly from your Galaxy phone.

All good points, but why in the World did they have to copy so much of the design?
[doublepost=1552007940][/doublepost]

watch the video. The article is just a partial recap of the video.

Ok but that's a pretty big miss in a summary. It should be the most important thing reviewed and in the written summary IMO
[doublepost=1552007443][/doublepost]

Do your research Samsung released wireless buds before Apple. Plus these designs look nothing alike. But if anyone copied it certainly is the company that was first to market. Hint Hint[/QUOTE]
"Nothing alike"? There are so many similarities. Yeah, the Samsung buds are in ear, but the case especially looks so similar.

 

[Khedron]

Deluded bias.

Samsung case supports charging with USB-C and wireless.

AirPods case has a proprietary lightning charger.

But they give Apple case the edge because the magnets are a little bit stronger.