Galaxy Buds Vs AirPods: Which Is the Best ?

Samsung recently announced its new true wireless earbuds with the Galaxy S10 and is a competitor with the AirPods.  We pit the two wireless earbuds against each other to find out which one is best for music lovers.

Sound Quality

Regardless of the features, earbuds need to sound good and if it doesn’t fit the bill, it completely defeats the purpose. The AirPods generally sound awesome especially for something with small drivers. It delivers clean vocals, has balanced lows and great highs. The overall sound is quite impressive —until I heard the Galaxy Buds.

The Galaxy Buds sound a tad bit better than the AirPods simply because it is clearer and louder. Sound quality is almost at par; however, the lows were a bit muffled. You can adjust it from the gear app; however, it still isn’t as good as the AirPods.

Winner: Galaxy Buds for delivering cleaner and louder sounds.

Design

In terms of design, Apple has made the true wireless earbuds iconic which has resulted in companies copying the design. It has a glossy white finish on the case and has that distinctive design on the actual earbuds. Having said that, the AirPods are not sweat resistant and can slip out with ease. The Galaxy Buds, on the other hand, follows a refined design from the Gear Icon X and is also sweat resistant. It isn’t as slippery as the AirPods and will not fall out as easily. The charging case is a bit bigger than its competitor but also supports wireless charging. If you a smartphone that supports reverse wireless charging, you can keep it charged on the go or use a Qi-certified wireless mat. AirPods, on the other hand, does not support wireless charging and needs to be charged using the lightning cable.

Winner: Galaxy Buds for having sweat resistance and a wireless charging case.

Connectivity

The Galaxy Buds supports Bluetooth 5 connectivity whereas the AirPods use Apple’s W1 chip. Both devices connect to an iPhone/Galaxy S10 seamless the moment you open the charging case. Having said that, the story is a bit different when it comes to connectivity and range. The Galaxy Buds have a very poor range even when the Galaxy S10 would be in our pocket. It would often disconnect or is unable to transfer enough data for seamless music experience. AirPods, on the other hand, can play music up to 5 feet without any loss of data or music.

Winner: AirPods for better connectivity.

Control and Call Quality

The Galaxy Buds have a touchpad in the triangular shell and can be used to control music and make or answer calls. You can tap once to play/pause music, double tap to skip to the next track or tap thrice to go to the previous song. The touch on the Galaxy Buds is a bit sensitive however it was not that hard to operate.

AirPods, on the other hand, have similar controls but are divided amongst the two earbuds. You can map it according to your own liking and even summon Siri by double tapping on the earbuds. It works perfectly with Apple Music and Spotify.

Having said that, call quality is better on the AirPods as audio on the Galaxy Buds were a bit muddy. AirPods has clearer sound and mic quality which gives it the extra edge over the Galaxy Buds.

Winner: AirPods for better call quality and better integration with Apple Music.

Battery Life

The Galaxy Buds can last up to 6 hours on a single charge whereas the average battery life on the AirPods is 4.5 hours.  The Galaxy Buds come with 68-mAh battery and can even be charged on the go via wireless charging (provided you have the Galaxy S10 or the Huawei Mate 20 Pro).

Winner: Galaxy Buds for longer battery life and wireless charging

Overall Winner

Even though it’s a close fight, the Galaxy Buds deliver a better experience and offers more features than the AirPods. It sounds better and is more comfortable to use. It fits snug as a bug and won’t fall out as easily as Apple’s AirPods. The Galaxy Buds are also cheaper than Apple’s AirPods which makes it even more superior than the AirPods.

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