Samsung Galaxy Buds

It’s a big year for true wireless earbuds

With new chips promising more compact designs and better battery life finally making it into real-world products, you’ll soon have more reasons than ever to cut the corAmong the first of the next-gen true wireless headphones to hit the market, Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds showcase the cutting edge of technology.

With six hours of battery life, a wireless charging case, and a light, nimble design, there’s a lot to love about the company’s latest set of buds.d on your listening life. The Galaxy Buds come in a small box with the charging case, a long USB type-C cable, three sets of silicone eartips and sport fins, and a small user guide.

The case of the Galaxy Buds is also well designed

It’s quite a bit smaller than the IconX earbuds from last year and charges the buds through magnetic induction. The case is made of a glossy plastic that feels very sturdy, but also scratches and stains fairly easily.

I’ve been using the Galaxy Buds for about two weeks now, tossing them in my pockets, backpack, and other modes of transportation and the case still looks decent, save a few scuffs on the top and a slight tinge that isn’t quite the original white color. Samsung clearly designed the Galaxy Buds for Samsung devices. 

When you want to use the buds, simply put them in your ears

They’ll only pair once they’re seated tightly in your ears, and you’ll hear a low hum indicating when they’ve connected. When you first open the case of the Galaxy Buds near a Samsung Galaxy phone you’ll be greeted with a setup menu that asks you if you want to pair them to your device.

From here, you’re taken to another page with tutorials on the touch controls and options for setting an equalizer on the buds. As a way to listen to your favorite music in all styles on the go, the Galaxy Buds absolutely serve their purpose, and the lightweight design really accentuates the luxury of having no strings attached.

Cool features onboard

That said, plugging in your headphones after 13 hours of play time isn’t a huge deal for most of us and it’s a small price to pay for all the Buds’ other qualities. In addition to great battery life and a wireless charging case, the Galaxy buds come with a number of cool features onboard.

Changing songs or adjusting volume, for example, is accomplished via intuitive touch controls that can be customized inside the Samsung Wear app. The app also allows you to pick between five different equalization settings, letting you tailor the sound of the headphones for your ears and musical tastes.

The Galaxy Buds are particularly impressive in the way they use the two onboard microphones built into each earphone

When making a call, the headphones can analyze how loud the sounds around you are, using the microphone on the outside of each earphone when ambient sound is quieter, and the mic near the inside of the headphones when it’s louder.The mics also allow you to pipe in the sound of the outside world while you listen using Samsung’s ambient sound mode, which even includes a feature that uses filtering to highlight the sound of human voices.