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I tried Apple's new AirPods and Samsung's Galaxy Buds - here's how they stack up
I tried Apple's new AirPods and Samsung's Galaxy Buds - here's how they stack up
Paige LeskinMar 28, 2019, 19:00 IST
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
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Apple and Samsung each recently debuted a pair of truly-wireless earbuds: the second generation AirPods and the new Galaxy Buds, respectively.
The two types of earbuds are pretty similar, with their wireless charging cases, touch controls, and voice commands.
However, the two products have some significant differences when it comes to sound quality, and your preferred choice may very well depend on the type of phone you own.
Ever since Apple launched the first-generation AirPods in late 2016, the audio market has been all-in on truly-wireless earbuds.
Since then, major audio tech and wearable tech companies - including Jaybird, Anker, and Xiaomi - have released their own takes on the concept to go up against the AirPods.
Recently, Samsung released its own Galaxy Buds, to go alongside its new Galaxy S10 smartphone lineup. And just last week, Apple announced the long-awaited second-generation AirPods, bringing better battery life and enhanced Siri integration, among other things.
I got to try both the Galaxy Buds and the new AirPods. Here's how they stack up:
The second generation AirPods, announced March 20, have the same design as the original version, but bring additions like "Hey Siri," feature to summon Siri with just your voice. A single charge of the AirPods allows for five hours of music listening time or up to three hours of talk time, up slightly from previous models.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds are smaller than the AirPods, but are slightly heavier. Even with the AirPods' improved battery life, the Buds' charge hold is still supreme: A single charge of the Buds allow for up to six hours of music listening time and five hours of talk time.
One thing that's always bothered me about Apple's earpieces are the fit. Their plastic design means the ear tips aren't flexible to fit to a multitude of different ear sizes. For many, like myself, the AirPods don't fit snugly in the ear, which makes me worry they could pop out into a sewer drain at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Buds come with rubber earpieces and wingtips, which add an extra bit of hold to keep them in place. The Buds box also comes with two sets of alternate buds and wingtips to find the best combination to fit your ears.
One of the best things about both Apple's and Samsung's earbuds are their charging cases, which serve to both store the earpieces and to charge them back up.
The older AirPods needed to be charged via an Apple Lightning cable. The new ones have an enhanced case that can also be charged wirelessly via any mat or cradle that uses the Qi standard. Apple is expected to release the AirPower, its long-delayed Qi charging mat, sooner rather than later.
Similarly, the Galaxy Buds have the best of both worlds: The case can be plugged in using a USB-C cord, and is also compatible with wireless charging. A neat bonus: You can actually charge the Galaxy Buds case from the back of a Samsung Galaxy S10, as pictured here.
One of the biggest issues that may factor into your decision on earbuds, though, may depend on what type of smartphone you own. Both Apple and Samsung have taken steps to make their earbuds most functional and useful when paired with their own phones.
Opening up your AirPods case will prompt them to connect to the nearest Apple device, meaning you can pair them in as little as one click. AirPods work with Android phones, too, but you have to manually connect via the Bluetooth menu.
The AirPods let you adjust the controls, so you can control what happens when you double-tap on each earbud. Locate your AirPods in the list of connected devices under the Bluetooth tab, then click the blue "i" to access the AirPods' settings.
The process for pairing Galaxy Buds with Galaxy phones is pretty similar to that of AirPods. Opening the case will cause a pop-up window to appear so you can connect the devices. For iOS devices, you can select the Galaxy Buds from the list of available Bluetooth devices.
It's pretty easy to connect Galaxy Buds to a Samsung Galaxy phone, as you might expect. However, it gets tricky for other Android phones: You'll need to download both the SmartThings and Galaxy Wearable apps to make it work. No matter which phone you use it with, the controls aren't as customizable as AirPods, either.
When it comes to actually using both pairs of earbuds, I found there were drastic differences in the sound quality. I used a song with heavy bass notes — "River" by Bishop Briggs" — to test out the sound. On the AirPods, the sound quality was great, and in line with other headphones and earbuds I've used over the years.
However, the lack of bass was noticeable when listening to the same song with the Galaxy Buds. Even with the volume all the way up and the equalizer setting in the app set on "bass boost," the bass didn't come through as strongly as I would've liked.
The second-generation AirPods are only available in Apple's trademark white, and cost $199. The new wireless charging case is compatible with older AirPods, as a nice bonus, and can be snagged for $80 on its own.
