Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Review

On the face of it, Samsung's Galaxy Buds Live are almost comical. Bean-shaped earbuds that Samsung wasn't brave enough to call Galaxy Beans. Yet despite the company's reluctance to lean in, the bet on an unusual form factor paid off. The Galaxy Buds Live are genuinely great wire-free headphones.

Anti-AirPods

In a way, Samsung's musical beans are an antithesis to the vast number of AirPods inspired wire-free headphones floating around the market. We've seen countless permutations of Apple's "white stick" design, from manufacturers including Huawei, OnePlus and Realme, just to name a few. It's a functional design, but it's far from original.

On the other hand, there's nothing quite else around like the Galaxy Buds Live, and at a minimum, Samsung gets points for originality. While the jelly bean shape may look a little odd on the face of it, it's surprisingly subtle in your ear. The Buds Live don't jut out like AirPods, Sony's WF-1000XM3s, or even Samsung's Galaxy Buds+. Instead, they sit in your concha - the hollow of your ear, and are partially obscured by your tragus and antitragus. It's still pretty evident you're wearing earbuds - both from on and from the side - but not outrageously so.

The Galaxy Buds Live are also pretty comfortable, even with extended listening sessions. When I first put them in, I may need to give them a gentle push to get them sitting just right, but they're among the better wire-free buds I've tested in terms of fit and feel.

I've also found the Galaxy Buds Live to be surprisingly secure. You've got two different-sized stabiliser options in the box; the smaller one felt a little too small for my ears, but swapping to the larger pair did the trick. I've not had any issues with the Buds Live trying to flee my ears while running, even when sweaty (which can affect the seal when it comes to other wire-free headphones). The pair also managed to stand up to my vigorous headbanging without falling out.

No one:

Me: How do the Galaxy Buds Live handle vigorous headbanging? pic.twitter.com/3CHoHqncEc

— Alex Choros (@a_choros) August 13, 2020

Every ear is different of course, so your mileage may vary.

The black and bronze Galaxy Buds Live come in a glossy finish, while the white option is matte. I would have preferred matte across the board, to be quite honest. I'm not the biggest fan of high-sheen, reflective finishes on headphones, but hey, it might be your jam.

In terms of battery, the Buds Live last about six hours per charge, and up to 21 with the case. If you turn off noise-cancelling, you'll get eight hours per charge, and almost 30 with the case. That's better than what a lot of wire-free headphones offer, although Samsung's Galaxy Buds+ can do up to 11 hours of straight listening per charge. The bundled battery case is downright tiny and comes in a cute square form factor. While it's a tad thicker than the case you get with the AirPods Pro or Pixel Buds, the Buds Live case feels more compact overall.

There are two niggles worth pointing out: the Buds Live aren't very water-resistant, and the touch controls are overly sensitive.

The Buds Live are rated IPX2 for water resistance, which should be enough to handle sweat. Rival buds like the AirPods Pro are rated IPX4 however, which means they're also resistant to splashes. While I've not had any issues with the Buds Live and sweat on hour-plus workouts, they might not be as ideal when it comes to longer or more intense exercise sessions.

And as with most wire-free headphones, the Buds Live use touch-based controls. Personally, I find these a little too sensitive. Even gently trying to adjust the fit, you can end up pausing your tune or skipping to the next one. Thankfully the great fit means this is rarely necessary, however.

Musical Fruit

Of course, an innovative design wouldn't mean much if the Galaxy Buds Live didn't have the audio quality to match. Thankfully that's not the case. While Samsung's latest certainly aren't audiophile grade, they genuinely sound great. The mix skews warm - there's some bass emphasis, but it's not over-powering - and there's more than enough detail. When it comes to everyday headphones, I'm thrilled with how good the Buds Live sound given their form factor.

The Galaxy Buds Live are technically noise-cancelling headphones, but the open-fit means this doesn't work in practice (rather than having a silicon tip that creates a seal, the Buds Live speaker points directly to your ear canal). The Buds Live can cut out some lower frequencies - such as the rumble of an elevator - but they won't reduce the sound of people speaking or a car driving past. It’s not the same noise cancellation you’ll find in other wire-free headphones like the AirPods Pro or Sony WF-1000XM3s, although Samsung says this is by design. That may be true, but it can be problematic at times. I've found I have to crank them pretty loud at the gym just to hear my tunes over the sound of the treadmill. If you need headphones that drown out the world, these aren't for you.  

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live - Final Thoughts

The Galaxy Buds Live are a triumph for Samsung. While I was initially pretty damn sceptical about the bean-shaped form factor, Samsung's new earbuds deliver both comfort and sound. The lack of noise isolation means these won't be right for everyone, but otherwise, the Buds Live are easy to recommend. 

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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