Apple AirPods vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds: How to choose?

If you're searching for bluetooth earbuds, two brands probably come to mind first. We're comparing Apple's AirPods with Samsung's newest Galaxy Buds to see which ones come out on top. [MUSIC] This is AirPods versus Galaxy Buds. [BLANK_AUDIO] So first things first let's talk about price, the Airpods sell for $159 in the US while the Galaxy Buds are $130. The Airpods come in white while the Galaxy buds come in a black, white, or a yellow finish. The ear buds magnetically clip to their cases for storage and to recharge the battery. So Vanessa, you and I have both been using the Airpods and the Galaxy buds for about a week now. What are your impressions and what do you like about the design of each of these? Well, glad you asked. I brought props. Essentially, I feel like I'm choosing between this and this so earplugs or toothbrush. I would say that I'd rather go with the earplugs In this case, the Galaxy Buds, just because they are a little bit more discreet than this thing. But I feel like the Air Pods at this point have become so socially acceptable that we have kind of forgotten how ridiculous they look. Yeah, I think I'm the same. I like the comfort level of the Galaxy Buds a little more just because of that secure fit. and the air pods, especially if you are some on like me with longer hair, I'm always worried that I'm going to flick the air pod out. So, that's something that is totally avoided when you have the galaxy buds because of that seal, they just stay in. I know that the air pods can present Problem depending on your ear shape. What's good about the Galaxy Buds is that you have the multiple wing tips to kinda switch them out and best fit your ear. [MUSIC] Both pair automatically, with their matching phone as soon as you open the case, but you can also pair them manually with any other Bluetooth device. The Air Pods use a lightning cable to charge, while the Galaxy Buds have a USBC port. The Buds also support wireless charging. Tap controls on both let you change tracks, play or pause music, or activate your voice assistant. And if you lose either of these buds, you can find them again with your phone. I gotta say, Lexie, I really liked having all the options to customize on the Galaxy buds, the ability to kinda tune your music. To determine what commands you're going to use to play your tracks, to up your volume. Although in all honesty I kind of forgot what I had programmed for each one. So, I just kept tapping and was it tap to hold for volume, was it triple tap. So, it got a little bit confusing, but I have the feeling that with a little more practice and more use I would get it down. Whereas the Airpods They have the basic functionality of plain pods, which is great. But you are more limited in what you can do. And that might not be a bad thing, if you just wanna kinda wear them and forget about it. Yeah. What about you? Exactly, I mean, I have to say, the customization from the Galaxy buds is second to none. I really did love how I could tweak it so I could change say I really love being able to adjust the volume from my buds. You can't do that on the airpods, I really miss that when I did make the switch. That said, the one feature I would probably miss the most, Lexi if I was using the Galaxy buds on an iOS device or the airpods on a Galaxy device is the ability to ping your tiny little devices because I don't know about you but I. I'm very forgetful [LAUGH] and I lose things. I know that feature would definitely come in handy for me. Bear in mind, if you are connecting the Galaxy buds to a Galaxy or an Android device, you're not gonna be able to find their location on a map in that app like you can if you're looking at the Air Pods with a Find My iPhone feature, which I kind of missed. I thought that was a really nice thing. Both ear buds have dual micrphones. Sound on the Galaxy Buds is tuned by AKG, and you have the option to customize your sound profile in the Galaxyware app. The app also gives you an ambient sound setting that brings in more outside noise when paired with Android devices. The Airpods don't have a native app, but you can use an equalizer in your music app to adjust the sound. Now when it comes to sound quality, I think it's important to keep in mind what you're actually gonna be using them for most. Obviously, music is the number one choice for a lot of people, it is for you. Yes, I use them for music but it's not my primary concern. So I'm not kind of an audio snob like other people. She's saying me, she's basically saying that I'm a snob. Yes, pretty much. So I didn't mind that the AirPods didn't have the best sound quality mainly because I like having the ambient noise when I'm walking down the street. On my commute to work I don't wanna get run over. I use them for podcasts and for calls. That being said, I did like the fact that the Galaxy buds Kind of blocked out the noise when I was listening to music, but you are the music expert, Lexi. So tell us what you thought of the audio. So much weight on my shoulders. So much. Okay so when you listen to the AirPods, you don't really notice that there is not as good as Sound quality as you could get elsewhere. And then you put the Galaxy buds in and you go, yeah! Actually it's way better. That's in part, due to the isolation because of the sealed design of the Galaxy buds. And it's partly to do because the audio has been tuned differently. I did connect the Galaxy Buds to three other devices so a Galaxy phone and an Android phone that was a Pixel 3 and an ios device and I found that that was pretty much the order in which it sounded the best. So the best quality I got was from the Galaxy device for the same track. But on ios it was still really good. I didn't have any complaints. And compared to the airports it was. Way better for me. I did notice though, when I was using the AirPods, as you mentioned, when you're outside, you obviously wanna have a lot of awareness of your situation, but then you also wanna hear your music and your tunes. So you have to pump that volume. Volume up really high. I was just a little bit concerned that perhaps it could potentially be damaging my hearing because that volume was so high a lot of the time. Now the call quality is kind of a different story, Lexi. We ran this test where we called each other on the different devices. You were on the The other end what did you experience? So I noticed that when you were talking with the iPod your voice sounded a lot more isolated and Clear. So I didn't notice there was much external noise or anything ambient going on. It just sounded like you were in a nice quiet room. The galaxy bugs though were a little noisy it just picked up a lot more of that ambient sound. Your voice was still clear but not as clear as it was on the iPods. And I think in part that's to do with the actual physical design of the ear plugs with the stems sticking down and it's just pointed towards your mouth. The toothbrush. The toothbrush. It works for sound and for inoise isolation and sort of making your voice stand out for calls. I think for calls the AirPod kind of wins pretty much hands down but for everything else music and sound wise, I love the Galaxy buds. Give us both, guys. Please, yeah. One in each ear, why not? The Galaxy buds support bluetooth 5 while the airpods have Apple's W1 chip. So to test out the range, we are gonna leave the friends right here rugged up on this cold day and I'm gonna take the Galaxy buds and Vanessa is gonna have the airpods. And we're essentially just gonna walk off until they cut out so basically Whoever cuts out first is going to stop, and then the other one continues going until it stops as well, so let's see who lasts the longest! They both go up pretty far, but the AirPods made it a few steps further than the Galaxy Buds. Bye honey. Bye! Bye. And I'm out. You were like, Destin, she was like five steps in front of me. AirPods win. That's nothing. It's something. She wins, but it's still not much. I'll take the lead. [MUSIC] Samsung says you'll get six hours of playback before you need to charge the buds. Well, Apple puts the iPods at about five hours. So when it comes to real world battery usage, I actually found I got a little bit more out of the galaxy bugs than Was stated, so I got around seven hours of playback time. You used these for seven hours? I did. I had them in my ears for seven hours and I was like- That's commitment. Can I get on with my day already? Are these gonna die? I thought I was only gonna get six hours, but I got seven, which was great. I'm very impressed with your commitment. I know. [LAUGH] I really commit to these things. Five hours for the AirPods. I used them on a flight from takeoff to landing. Landing pretty much five hours straight, as it said on the box. Yeah and it's also nice that the Galaxy Buds have that wireless charging feature that the AirPods don't, at least not yet. It's also nice that if you have an S10 you can charge them right on the phone. Now it is important to bear in mind that we are talking about the AirPods, which are two years old at this point, compared to the Galaxy Buds which are brand new. So it's in that sense it's kind of unfair and I have the feeling That once we get airpods too which maybe coming sooner than we think, we'll have to kind of reevaluate the whole thing because they might actually get the wireless charging along with some of the other features but that said it hasn't happened yet, so right now Lexi which one would you choose? Easy it's the galaxy buds like there's really not much of a contest there. I don' t make as many calls as I do like when I listen to music so the sound quality is what I really appreciate. I think the ambient sound feature is something that a lot of people are going to find really useful. I don't find it that useful but I just like the design and the feel of the Galaxy buds in the ear a little bit more just because it isolates more of that sound. So I would have to agree with you for different reasons. I'm kinda cheap and I like the price. I like the fact that they are cheaper and you don't sacrifice features because it still has a lot of the great features and more at a cheaper price. My opinion may change in two months, three months, or whenever Apple decides to launch the Airpods too, but for now I think Galaxy buds also win it for me, but that's me. What about you guys? Let us know on the comment section below and also let us know what else you'd like to see us compare next.