The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Truly Wireless are unusually-designed noise cancelling truly wireless earbuds. These sleek and shiny buds have an open-fit earbud design. They don't enter the inner ear or completely cover it. As a result, you can naturally hear some of your surroundings without taking out your buds. However, they also have noise cancelling (ANC), which is a pretty unique and unusual feature for their design.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are alright for neutral sound. They have an open-ear fit, making them prone to inconsistent sound delivery. However, this design also helps them create a more spacious-seeming passive soundstage than their closed-back counterparts. Their default sound profile is well-balanced, but unfortunately, their treble response is a little uneven, which can cause some notes to sound a little piercing. Their companion apps also lack a robust EQ for sound customization, but they offer a couple of different audio presets to adjust your listening experience.
- Soundstage seems wide and spacious.
- Inconsistent audio delivery.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are decent for commuting and traveling. They're extremely portable, decently comfortable, and have remarkably low latency on mobile devices, which is handy if you like to watch movies on your way into the office. While their ANC system does a good job filtering out the low rumble of bus and plane engines, it's less effective when blocking out the chatter of fellow commuters. Their seven-hour-plus continuous battery life will be sufficient for longer trips, though they don't have any power-saving features like a standby mode to help conserve their charge when not in use.
- Soundstage seems wide and spacious.
- Low wireless latency on mobile devices.
- Exceptionally portable, lightweight design.
- Mediocre overall noise isolation capability.
- Control scheme has limited functionality.
- Middling microphone recording quality and noise handling capability.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are a great option for sports and fitness. Their unusual bean-like design helps keep them stable in your ears, even during intense workout sessions. Unfortunately, while their control scheme is fairly easy to use, it's missing some essential functions out-of-the-box, like volume adjustment. Also, they're only rated IPX2 for basic water resistance.
- Soundstage seems wide and spacious.
- Very stable fit.
- Good build quality.
- Exceptionally portable, lightweight design.
- Control scheme has limited functionality.
- Relatively low IPX2 rating for water resistance.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are okay for office use. They don't do a good job of blocking out sounds like background conversations or humming A/C units. They also don't support multi-device pairing, which is annoying if you need to switch between your phone and computer. They're decently comfortable, and their roughly seven-hour battery will easily last through a workday if you pop them back in the case occasionally.
- Soundstage seems wide and spacious.
- Low wireless latency on mobile devices.
- Mediocre overall noise isolation capability.
- Leak quite a bit of audio.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live aren't suitable for wireless gaming due to their high PC latency and incompatibility with consoles. They have a gaming mode that you can turn on with the Android app, but it doesn't lower their latency very much.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are Bluetooth-only earbuds that aren't compatible with a wired connection.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are mediocre for phone calls. Their mic has a sub-par recording quality, making your voice sound understandable but muffled and distorted. It also struggles to separate it from loud background noise. Also, while they do a good job of blocking out noise like a rumbling engine, they struggle with voices, so you may have difficulty hearing a call you take in a busy office setting.
- Soundstage seems wide and spacious.
- Mediocre overall noise isolation capability.
- Middling microphone recording quality and noise handling capability.
Changelog
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Updated Nov 14, 2024:
We've added a comparison with the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation Truly Wireless in the Noise Isolation box.
- Updated Sep 25, 2023: Compared their battery performance with the JBL Tune Flex True Wireless'.
- Updated Jul 17, 2023: We've updated the text of this review to improve its accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Jul 05, 2023: We've updated the enclosure of these buds from 'Closed-back' to 'Semi-open' in Style to reflect their open-type design.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live come in several color schemes, although some are no longer available: 'Onyx', 'Mystic Bronze', 'Mystic White', 'Mystic Black', 'Mystic Red', and 'Mystic Blue'. We tested the SM-R180NZNAXAR model, which comes in 'Mystic Bronze'; you can see their label here. We expect the other variants to perform similarly.
If you come across a pair that's different from the above variations, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are truly wireless earbuds with an unusual bean shape. They're well-built, incredibly portable, and have a very stable fit. Their open design can result in inconsistent audio delivery, and earbuds like the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Truly Wireless have more effective ANC features.
For more options, look at our recommendations for the best true wireless earbuds, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and the best earbuds and in-ear headphones.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and Google Pixel Buds 2020 Truly Wireless have different strengths and weaknesses. The Samsung block out more ambient noise, provide a longer continuous runtime, have more customization options in their companion app, and have far lower wireless latency on mobile devices. Meanwhile, the Google in-ears are comfier, have a more comprehensive control scheme, provide a more consistent listening experience, and leak less noise. Their integrated mic also does a better job of isolating speech from background noise.
The Apple AirPods Pro are better for mixed usage than the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. The Apple in-ears are more comfortable, feel sturdier, provide a more consistent and neutral listening experience, and have a superior ANC system. However, the Samsung have a far more comprehensive companion app, generate a more spacious and open listening experience, and provide much lower wireless latency. They also last longer off of a single charge, though the Apple have a longer total battery life, with twice the number of extra charges in their carrying case.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live have different advantages. The Buds have a more comfortable fit, a more neutral sound profile, deliver audio way more consistently, and leak less audio. However, the Buds Live block out more ambient noise in the bass range and offer similar single-charge battery life, but have a case that stores 2.5 additional charges to the regular Buds' one.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are less well-rounded than the Samsung Galaxy Buds+. The Buds+ are more comfortable, provide a more consistent and neutral sound, have a superior integrated mic, and last almost twice as long on a single charge. Despite lacking an ANC system, they block out more ambient noise overall, though it should be noted that the Live are more effective at filtering out low-end ambient sound. The Live also have lower wireless latency and generate a more open and spacious listening experience.
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You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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