The new Galaxy Beans, excuse us, Galaxy Buds Live, are a breath of fresh air in the true wireless earbuds world. Instead of stems jutting down from each ear, or chunky buds that protrude out of the years, the Galaxy Buds Live tuck nicely inside of each ear. So much so that looking at someone straight on, you might not even notice they’re wearing earbuds.
But are they more than just a fancy new shape?
Holy Frijoles, These Wireless Earbuds Look Like Kidney Beans
We’ll just come right out and say it, because it’s the first thing you’ll notice when you look at the new Galaxy Buds Live — they look like little beans! But this new form factor is more than just a new way to look different from the competition. The design actually hides the earbuds well inside of the ear. Not only does this make them look discrete in your ears, but it also tucks the buds further into the ear. So even without fitted silicon tips, they manage to produce enclosed sound that makes listening to music a pleasure.
Speaking of enclosure, the Galaxy Buds Live use an “open air” style of active noise cancelation. These wireless earbuds aren’t going to completely block out the outside world, which is ideal for when you’re commuting on your bike to work, and you still need to hear traffic. However, when you want to block out the world, they won’t drown out noisy environments as effectively as Sony’s noise-canceling headphones, for instance. Even so, the two exterior mics do a great job at eliminating outside noise and focusing in on your voice. So the Buds Live aren’t only great for listening to music, but also great for taking phone calls on the go.
Related Stories
And when you’re on the go, you’re going to want earbuds that last. You can squeeze an impressive eight hours of battery life out of these beans (without noise cancelation enabled), and roughly six hours with ANC. Either way, that’s better than a pair of Airpods. Like Airpods, there are also controls that let you easily pause, play and skip songs. These buds also feature Bixby, Samsung’s answer to Alexa and Siri, although Bixby’s not quite on par with these other voice assistants.
Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds Live?
Let’s run through the checklist: awesome new design, check. Great sound quality, check. Snug fit, check. More affordable than Airpods or Google buds, check. These little beans, (dang it), we mean buds, are a new take on earbuds, and Samsung didn’t forgo quality just to create a fresh new design.
Our verdict? Hey Samsung, cool beans.
Of course, you might want to buy these buds in black, which makes them look a little less legume-like.