Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Review: The Only Earbuds You Should Have in Your Pocket

Last updated on 2022-09-20
By Yvonne

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Review: These are the only earbuds you should have in your pocket. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is a new Bluetooth headset that combines innovative design and Bluetooth technology. They come in three colours and provide up to 7 hours of talk and listen time. They were tested for one week.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

We like this

It's comfortable in the ears
Decent noise-canceling
There are many options for equalizers
Case for quick charging

The Things We Hate

Universal fit
The battery runtime is too short
Windy day cutouts

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live provides a rich audio experience, with booming bass and tons more equalizer options.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live was purchased by us so that our expert reviewer could fully test it and evaluate it. Continue reading to see our complete product review.

Since I work from home, my exercise routine has been indoors. I need the best headphones for workouts and listening to podcasts. Samsung Galaxy Buds Live was the perfect choice. The design of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is not as conventional as other earbuds, but it does offer noise cancellation, six equalizer options and simple touch controls. The Galaxy Buds Live are now my favorite earbuds for music listening on-the-go after a week.

Comfort and Design: A unique look

The Galaxy Buds are my favorite earbud. The Buds are designed to be tucked into your ear's concha, instead of resting on your intertragal (the part that is the most groovy in your lower ear) and acting as a stabilizer. Although the Buds measure 16.5x27.3x14.9mm (HWD), I wasn't sure if they would fit in my ear. However, it is large enough to tuck into my ear without feeling like it will fall out. The Buds come only in one size.

My biggest complaint about the old wireless true wireless earbuds I had was their design. Every time they were used, my ears would hurt. The Galaxy Buds Live changed that. The ergonomic design of the Galaxy Buds Live allows them to fit comfortably in my ears, so I can wear them for hours with no discomfort.

The windy weather caused me to miss my chance at lunch at my favourite pasta place.

You can switch between songs using the touch controls without having to reach for your phone. Tap once to pause the Buds. Two taps will fast-forward and three taps will rewind. You have to be quick about tapping three times though—I found that sometimes when I tapped to go back and listen to some K. Flay, the Buds registered my tapping on the main interface as a fast-forward.

Importantly, dry your hair if it is long. As I was leaving the shower, I tried the Buds Live on and discovered that they detected my wet hair by pressing the Buds. This controls noise cancellation. You can turn the touch function in the app off if you don't want to use them with wet hair.

Software and Sound: There are many tweaks to make great audio

After connecting to Bluetooth 5.0 you can download the Galaxy Wearable App and follow the prompts for information about the Buds and the features available. This app is essential for all phones. The app is basically the hub for the Buds and offers six equalizer options that will maximize your audio experience. The Buds can only be moved approximately 20-30ft away from Bluetooth connections.

Those six equalizer options—normal, bass boost, soft, dynamic, clear, and treble boost—really give you true audio customization. Samsung claims that the Buds have 12mm speakers and a bigger driver.

The bass was almost too good for me when I put on Childish Gambino. I was a big fan of the bass boost and didn't find it annoying. However, for people who do not like bass there are many options. Some equalizer settings didn't interest me. The Treble Boost feature didn't make my music sound any better—if anything, it reminded me of listening on some cheap wired phones I used to pick up at my local pharmacy.

If you prefer using the Buds to make voice calls, they have three microphones as well as a voice pick unit that can capture your voice to ensure crystal-clear phone conversations.

Clear equalizer is a great option for clearing out ambient sounds on audio tracks. The Dynamic setting, which boosted both the bass as well as the treble, was by far my favorite equalizer option. It didn't allow the bass to overtake the treble noises, such vocals. The sound was smoothest as the Buds explored different genres such as Lady Gaga's pop synthesizers and Rimsky Korsokovs solo violins.

While it would have been impossible to integrate a touch button into the buds to slip between the equalizer options—or even volume—Samsung did make it easy to flip through songs through a combination of taps and long presses.

If you prefer using the Buds to make voice calls, they have three microphones as well as a voice pick unit that captures your voice to ensure crystal-clear phone conversations. You can also connect to your Bixby voice assistant, as I did. However, keeping Bixby connected will result in a higher battery drain.

Noise Cancellation: An assortment of options for day-to-day use

Galaxy Buds Live are UL Verified to reduce noise levels at 172Hz. They work in the same way as other noise-canceling headphones by piping sound into the ears to cancel out any background noise. The Buds helped me to focus my listening while I walked around campus. They also reduced background noises and traffic. They didn't reduce loud sounds like construction or blaring horns, but they focused on my true crime podcasts to provide a more enjoyable listening experience.

These should not be used in windy conditions. The windy weather caused me severe cuts when I tried to get lunch at my favourite pasta shop. Even worse, the Buds tried to keep up with me when they registered my cutout. This resulted in songs that seemed fast-forward. You won't get as much noise cancellation from the Airpods Pro than you would with over-ear headphones such as the Sony WH1000XM3 and Bose Headphones 700.

The Buds helped me to focus my listening while I was on campus.

Battery life: Long live the case

Buds Live had a maximum of 8 hours battery life with a lithium-ion batteries and an additional 29 hours when you add the charging case. The Buds were turned on and I let them do their thing during my workday. Samsung's projections for battery life were a bit off the mark, with only 7 percent.

I was able to get another hour of battery time by spending just 15 minutes charging the case. Although the battery life is a bit short, it still gave me around 20 hours worth of Spotify. To check battery life I opened the box, put the Buds in and then checked the indicator light. This indicates the remaining battery charge.

Reasonable Prices

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live is available for $180. Although the price seems high, it is actually quite affordable compared to the $250 Airpods Pro and the approximately $170 Sony F-1000XM. This is a good price for audio quality. If you shop Amazon regularly, they can be purchased for $139 (which was at the time this review was written).

Samsung Buds Live vs. Apple Airpods Pro

Apple Airpods Pro is the main competitor to the Buds Live. The Apple Airpods Pro is the most expensive earbuds from Apple at $250. The Airpods offer a customizable fit and seamless pairing with iPhones, unlike the Galaxy Buds Live. Although the equalizer settings can't be customized as well and the touch controls don't have the ability to be remappable like the Buds Live, the Airpods are a step ahead of the Buds Live in noise cancellation.

Samsung is the clear winner in battery life, even though it failed to perform well during my tests. The Airpods have a shorter life expectancy than Samsung's 8-hour battery life, and 29 hours listening time when using the case. The Apple Airpods are able to run on a single battery for 4.5 hours and 24 hours when charged with the case. These numbers are enough to show that Samsung has the best option for extended listening. This is great for long-haul flights.

Apple offers personalization via initials or emoji engravings for their Airpods. Samsung, however, offers the standard buds package with no personalization. The Galaxy Buds Live will give you an extra two hours of audio time. The Airpods Pro may be better if fashion and style are your main interests.

Are you still unsure what you need? This roundup of wireless earbuds that are the best can help you to find exactly what you want.

Final Verdict

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live provide a rich listening experience thanks to their 12mm drivers and bass ducts. They also have highly adjustable equalizer settings. The noise cancelling is not as good as the other features and may be too noisy for some people.