Review: Galaxy Buds easily beat Apple's AirPods but are years late to the game

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 81
    Do they stay in?
    I have trouble with the fit of AirPods. Hoping this is addressed with v2.0 but I may just need some kind of ear surgery...
    Possibly a bit unreasonable to expect  to specifically address my earholes..
    What I do to help keep the AirPods in my ear is to wipe my earlobes with alcohol to remove the excess wax that makes the AirPods slippery in the ear. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 81
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    normang said:
    normang said:
    Sound is subjective, if AI can show that everyone in their office felt the same way about the audio quality they "might" have a point. Also knowing that a new generation of AirPods is around the corner, have anything to do with this largely useless review of a product that most Apple users are not going to buy or shouldn't buy based on the Samsung copied it for the most part rip off principle..
    Why would we need to do that? This is Andrew's article, it doesn't have any other bylines on it.
    Really Mike... a sole perspective is all it takes to make it better?
    Well that's your opinion. If you can show that everyone in your office feels the same way you "might" have a point
  • Reply 23 of 81
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    normang said:
    normang said:
    Sound is subjective, if AI can show that everyone in their office felt the same way about the audio quality they "might" have a point. Also knowing that a new generation of AirPods is around the corner, have anything to do with this largely useless review of a product that most Apple users are not going to buy or shouldn't buy based on the Samsung copied it for the most part rip off principle..
    Why would we need to do that? This is Andrew's article, it doesn't have any other bylines on it.
    Really Mike... a sole perspective is all it takes to make it better?
    Absolutely. Most reviews by committee don't work.

    You're welcome to disagree with Andrew's opinion. The key to reviews is finding a reviewer with similar tastes to your own. Andrew's may not be to your taste, and that's fine.
    gatorguyentropysmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 24 of 81
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    So the lesser battery capacity of the case is a plus because you can recharge it more often in a novel way? Hhhuh. That’s...interesting.
    cornchipmacplusplusMplsPmagman1979pscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 81
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,332member
    As great as the AirPods are it's better for us as consumers that we're finally seeing viable competition hitting the store shelves. What tempers my enthusiasm quite a bit is that Samsung chose to follow Apple's lead (as they typically do) too closely and built a product that is optimized for use with their own products while compromising the level of functionality with other brand products - just like Apple did with AirPods. This makes any claims of "best of breed" for either product very tenuous. Instead, you basically have to pick a side and stick with it if you want the best possible quality of service.

    I have AirPods and love them. However great they are, don't forget that they are still a Version 1.0 product and very few, if any, products reach their pinnacle on their first release. The fact that the AirPods have proven so resilient and popular for so long is quite amazing. The AirPods are also much more than simply headphones, they are a multifunctional peripheral that integrate very nicely into the broader Apple user experience, one that continues to expand into other areas like health monitoring, situational awareness, and personal lifestyle. I fully expect the functional footprint and scope of the next release of AirPods to continue to expand, but I'd still be more than surprised if the audio quality of AirPods ever reaches what you can obtain with a dedicated-function audio device like their Beats branded products. Apple is trying to do much more than simply audio playback with AirPods.

    Because of the expanding functional role of AirPods I expect the brand specificity of AirPods' performance and feature set to go even deeper in the direction of Apple's core areas of focus, making comparisons with other brand "truly wireless headphone" products even less meaningful. It'll be like us comparing call quality between the latest versions of iPhone and Galaxy smartphones. Yeah, they're still both phones, but few people are making smartphone purchase decisions based on the phone function of these devices alone. Future AirPods will likely follow a similar trajectory, with acceptable audio fidelity being an important factor but not the primary differentiator between competing products in what is effectively a new product category pioneered by Apple. If you're buying a straight-up set of headphones based on audio quality, just about any on-ear or over-the-ear wired set from an established vendor will blow AirPods or SammyPods out of the water at one-third (or less) of the price. Heck, my dorky looking and ancient Koss PortaPros sound much better than AirPods and they cost all of $30.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 26 of 81
    geekmeegeekmee Posts: 629member
    The best thing that ever happened to Samsung was Apple. It forces them to go beyond their self. Now if they can just figure out a way to do it and be profitable?
  • Reply 27 of 81
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Samsung should give everyone in the R&D department in Cupertino a raise.

    Another shameless end-to-end ripoff by Samsung.  It's like management literally sits down with engineering after an Apple product release and say "Copy it just like this!" and hope no one calls them on it.

    Are Samsung's engineers really this dense to blindly follow orders?  Is it that hard for them to actually come up with their own stuff?
    cornchipmagman1979anantksundarampscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 28 of 81
    The inferiority of these earbuds is immediately obvious at just a glance.

    The design blocks out ambient noise, and then tries to make up for it by having an 'ambient noise mode' (lol). Apple has that mode enabled all the time, magically, by... not blocking out all of the ambient noise. You don't have to toggle a mode on or off anytime someone tries to say something to you.

    The samsungs are going to bounce right out of your ears with any sort of exercise or as soon as you start sweating.

    How do people not see these things?
    AppleExposedmacplusplusanantksundaramwatto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 81
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    sflocal said:
    Samsung should give everyone in the R&D department in Cupertino a raise.

    Another shameless end-to-end ripoff by Samsung.  It's like management literally sits down with engineering after an Apple product release and say "Copy it just like this!" and hope no one calls them on it.

    Are Samsung's engineers really this dense to blindly follow orders?  Is it that hard for them to actually come up with their own stuff?

    Samsung did write a 132-page manual on how to copy Apple so you're not far off.

    designr said:
    "very late to the race"

    Very late? Really?!

    "AirPods are iconic and wildly popular -- and had a multi-year lead."

    Yes, technically "multi-year" (barely over 2 years ago), but seriously?

    Iconic? Sure, bot also often mocked for their "iconic" design.

    But more importantly, who cares? What about all of the "Apple is rarely first, but they are the best" in X product category? How many "years late" has Apple been with their entry into products?

    I mean they are either offering a good product for a decent price or not. Sounds like they are offering a pretty good product for a decent price. Good for them.


    Like iPhone and Watch, Airpods stopped being mocked shortly after release.

    The problem with "rarely first" is Apple makes the first product everyone copies. Expect more of these AirPods knockoffs.
    patchythepiratecornchipmagman1979anantksundaramwatto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 81
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    What I found most interesting here was the continuation of the trend that I have been seeing:
    Samsung releases new hardware that matches or exceeds that of Apple.
    But, Apple plans on upgrading their hardware, which will put them ahead once again.

     BUT:  where nobody ever beats Apple -- even with their newer, most recent products, is the software and ecosystem.  In this particular product it doesn't make that much difference -- but the trend is still there -- even in those products where it make an enormous difference such as phones, tablets, laptops and desktops...


    tomjunior39cornchippscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 31 of 81
    kimberlykimberly Posts: 427member
    gatorguy said:
    How did this AirPods wannabe get on my AppleInsider feed?
    And why did you read it?
     :D :D  
    cornchip
  • Reply 32 of 81
    kimberlykimberly Posts: 427member

    gatorguy said:
    Wow, talk about a blatant rip-off of the AirPods! Absolutely disgusting!

    Companies like Scamsung and Huawei will never learn, this is their DNA; lie, cheat, steal, defraud until you get caught, then pay the fees, and rinse and repeat!
    These look NOTHING like the AirPods. use a completely different form-factor, and have features and functions Apple's product does not, just as Apple's product has a unique iconic look and Apple-specific features. How are they a "blatant ripoff"? In your haste to comment are you confusing images of the AirPods in the AI article as images of Samsung's product?
    Ignore them.  There are trolls on both sides.  These are Apple trolls.  
    Carnagemuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 33 of 81
    Do people really have difficulty pairing their ear buds with their phone? I just don’t get it. It’s easy. Most impaired ear buds automatically go into pairing mode when turned on. Go into settings, go to Bluetooth, tap the ear buds, done. 
  • Reply 34 of 81
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    geekmee said:
    The best thing that ever happened to Samsung was Apple. It forces them to go beyond their self. Now if they can just figure out a way to do it and be profitable?
    Samsung is very profitable. Maybe not in the mobile phone division but pretty much is in everything else. 
  • Reply 35 of 81
    macplusplusmacplusplus Posts: 2,112member
    There are over 40.000 items on Amazon when searched by “earbuds” and over 7000 from some 50+ brands when those results are filtered by “wireless”. So what is the point of granting Samsung that privilege of occupying AI pages when there is nothing in the article comparing it to Apple AirPods’ distinctive features? If you have anything to compare it to Apple’s W1 chip, ambient awareness, unbeaten excellent sync then you’re welcome. Otherwise don’t waste server bandwidth here with a mere Amazon product review...
    edited March 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 36 of 81
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  • Reply 37 of 81
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    gatorguy said:
    Wow, talk about a blatant rip-off of the AirPods! Absolutely disgusting!

    Companies like Scamsung and Huawei will never learn, this is their DNA; lie, cheat, steal, defraud until you get caught, then pay the fees, and rinse and repeat!
    These look NOTHING like the AirPods. use a completely different form-factor, and have features and functions Apple's product does not, just as Apple's product has a unique iconic look and Apple-specific features. How are they a "blatant ripoff"? In your haste to comment are you confusing images of the AirPods in the AI article as images of Samsung's product?
    Official Google comment?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 38 of 81
    leighrleighr Posts: 253member
    Apple really needs to latent some of this stuff. It’s incredible how so many companies can copy Apple with not so much as a slap on the wrist. Meanwhile, Apple is constantly dragged through the Courts by thousands of non-practicing entities trying to grab their money. Surely there must be a way for Apple to protect their IP.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 39 of 81
    kiowavtkiowavt Posts: 95member
    Confused. "One feature we hope Apple to steal is the ambient audio mode that allows external audio to be passed through to your ears. This is great for talking to people with your earbuds in or walking down the street, still able to hear traffic.” Samsung version plugs the ear for noise isolation and needs this. AirPods are not so isolating and, while that might be nice, need it far less IMHO.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 40 of 81
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    gatorguy said:
    Aloysius said:
    gatorguy said:
    Wow, talk about a blatant rip-off of the AirPods! Absolutely disgusting!

    Companies like Scamsung and Huawei will never learn, this is their DNA; lie, cheat, steal, defraud until you get caught, then pay the fees, and rinse and repeat!
    These look NOTHING like the AirPods. use a completely different form-factor, and have features and functions Apple's product does not, just as Apple's product has a unique iconic look and Apple-specific features. How are they a "blatant ripoff"? In your haste to comment are you confusing images of the AirPods in the AI article as images of Samsung's product?
    The case design is dramatically similar, as well as the the OS interaction when the case opens. They even did the same "card" that pops up at the bottom of the screen with a white background.

    Galaxy Buds pairing process

    Tell me that doesn't look nearly identical to AirPods + iPhone. 
    The case design is "dramatically similar"? What cases are YOU looking at. One is upright and  relatively tall and narrow. The other lays flat, is oval,  and is smaller overall. Yeah, they both have software screens that are white. Gosh nearly twins!
    Dimming the screen background, rounded rectangular white status window with images of the headphones on it, white case with headphone mold inside it (which I'm willing to bet uses a magnetic holding system).  I guess when you don't pay attention to the details and how, if you were designing something from scratch with no reference, they'd be non-obvious choices, you can't see how similar they really are.  Sure there are a couple of differences, but given the infinite possibilities they had for designing them, they obviously chose to make them more similar than different to take advantage of the familiarity Apple has built with AirPods.
    anantksundarampscooter63watto_cobra
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