As I was the owner of the galaxy buds along with the evaluation, I will also make a comparison of the buds live with them.
First of all, a small tip. If you check ads on various sites during this period, you will notice that sealed galaxy buds live are being given. The reason is simple. They were a pre-order gift for the note 20 ultra. Many people don't need them, so they sell them as they received them at prices much lower than the market. So be careful, whoever wants them, now is the opportunity.
- APPEARANCE -
Perhaps it may not be a basic criterion for many of you when we talk about earbuds, but the buds live have made a leap in this area compared to the buds and buds plus. Refreshed design, really beautiful, especially in the bronze color.
- FIT IN THE EAR -
They are designed in such a way - some call them huggable and beans - to fit easily in the ear. In fact, they are so comfortable that if you pause the music, you can easily forget that you are wearing them. They won't tire you no matter how many hours you have them in your ear. Here I should mention that I had no problem with the galaxy buds, the buds live just took it a step further. You don't realize that there is a foreign object in your ear.
- CONNECTIVITY -
I will talk about Samsung Galaxy because that's what I have (specifically s10). As soon as you put them in your ears, the phone detects them and asks if you want to connect. Then it happens instantly. You don't need to manually open the Bluetooth on your phone to find the earbuds. I don't know how much this may differ on phones from other brands, so I can't say for sure. There is no substantial difference here compared to the first generation galaxy buds, which also connected instantly.
- GALAXY WEARABLE APP -
It is the application through which you control the buds live and other wearables (e.g. smartwatches).
It is available on every Android phone, but I don't know if some of the options are missing on other phone brands. Please note that if you have an iPhone, the app has a different name in the App Store. You will search for it as "galaxy buds".
The app offers the ability to adjust the sound according to your preferences. There is an equalizer with 6 different options: Normal, Bass Boost, Soft Sound, Dynamic Sound, Clear Sound, and Treble Boost. Similar options were also available on the galaxy buds.
The significant differentiation from the previous generations (buds, buds plus) and the innovation of the buds live is called active noise cancellation (ANC). In the app, it is referred to as "active noise reduction". This feature basically isolates and minimizes sounds/noises from the background. It is useful if you are in a noisy environment and trying to relax by listening to music.
Other than that, there is also a touchpad on the outside of the earbud, with which you can do various things without having to take your phone out of your pocket. How exactly it works, you can see in the photos I have uploaded. I have also uploaded a photo that explains the meaning of the colors displayed by the case and how you can check the battery percentage of the case through the app.
Finally, there is also the "find my earbuds" function, which allows the earbuds to produce sound if you are looking for them because you can't remember where you put them.
- BATTERY LIFE AND CASE -
An upgrade from the galaxy buds, which offered 6 hours of battery life and, together with the 6 hours of the case, reached a total of 12 hours.
With the buds plus, you have a total of 29 hours (8 hours for the earbuds and 21 hours for the case). Additionally, just 5 minutes of charging is enough to give you 1 hour of music.
The case can be charged either wired with the provided USB Type-C (or any USB Type-C in general) or wirelessly, if you have a phone that supports wireless charging.
- CALLS -
This is perhaps the most significant upgrade from the galaxy buds. As I mentioned in my review of the buds, they are not designed for calls, so it's better to take them off if you are in an outdoor environment and want to talk.
That doesn't apply here. I tested them in quite noisy conditions (outdoor environment with constant movement of cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians) and my conversation partner didn't complain at all about not hearing me well during the 6-minute call. I will test them again in the future in this area, and if I realize that my initial observation was incorrect, I will come back and update.
---Update---
Today (9/9/2020), a 10-minute call was made in an outdoor environment with 9mph winds and passing cars, and there was absolutely no problem with the call quality.
- CONCLUSION -
Are they worth the money? If you want my opinion, patience is the best advisor. They started at 189 euros and in less than a month, they dropped to 150. If you can wait a little longer, their price will decrease even more. If not, I believe that even at the current price, they are a good purchase.
Is it worth upgrading from the galaxy buds? The first buds have very good sound quality, a good fit in the ear, and many customization options through the app. However, I would say "yes" for the following reasons:
- New design
- Longer battery life
- Active noise cancellation
- Much better call quality in outdoor conditions
If these factors are not important to you, you can stick with the galaxy buds.