Samsung’s Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods

Michael Grothaus 21/02/2019 – 2:32pm

It’s a battle of the earbuds!

Yesterday Samsung introduced its new flagship Galaxy phones, the Galaxy S10 line and the Galaxy Fold. But Samsung wasn’t done when they showed off their new smartphones. The company announced it had decided to jump into the hot wireless earbud market, which Apple leads in with its AirPods.

Thus the company announced its own new branded wireless earbuds called Galaxy Buds. Of course, the buds follow in the footsteps of Apple’s own wireless earbuds, the AirPods. That means everyone is going to be comparing the two wireless earbuds deciding which to get. We’ve put together this comparison to help you out in your choice.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Specs

Here are the specs for the Samsung's Galaxy Buds:

• Connectivity: Bluetooth
• Weight: 5.6 grams
• Wireless charging: Yes
• Battery: 58 mAh
• Battery Life: 5-6 hours (with charging case add another 7 hours)
• Sensors: Microphone, accelerometer, proximity sensor, capacitive touch buttons
• Colors: white, yellow, or black

And here are the specs for the Apple AirPods:

• Connectivity: Bluetooth, W1 chip
• Weight: 4 grams
• Wireless charging: Yes
• Battery: 62 mAh
• Battery Life: 5 hours (with charging case add another 24 hours)
• Sensors: Dual beam-forming microphones, Dual optical sensors, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, capacitive touch buttons
• Colors: white

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Design

Physically speaking, each company’s wireless earbuds look radically different. Apple’s looks like a white abstract flower with a long stem and a fat bud that fits in your ear. Samsung’s, on the other hand, looks like a traditional hearing aid—short and squat. Everything is scrunched together. But while the AirPods only come in white, the Galaxy Buds comes in white, yellow, or black. However, Apple’s AirPods are almost 30% lighter than Samsung’s Galaxy Buds.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Controls

Both earbuds have touch controls. Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds both allow you to play and pause music via tap. Both also offer voice assistants when paired with a phone.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: AI Assistants & Translation

Of course, both earbuds offer each company’s AI assistants (routed through your smartphone). The AirPods offer Siri and the Galaxy Buds offers Samsung’s Bixby. So which is better? This is one area where Apple’s Siri comes out on top.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Battery Life

Apple’s AirPods have a slightly larger battery at 62 mAh. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds’ battery is 58 mAh. However, both will get you at least 5 hours of usage on a single charge. In the real-world, AirPods can get you up to 6 hours depending on what you are doing—and Samsung says when using its Buds for music playback only, you’ll get 6 hours.

However, the AirPods DESTROY the Galaxy Buds when it comes to its charging case capabilities. The AirPods' charging case will give you another 24 hours worth of battery life. The Galaxy Buds charging case will only give you another 7 hours of battery life.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Compatibility

Both devices are purpose-built for the company’s other devices. For example, AirPods are designed to be used (and have all its features available too) iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and Macs. Samsung's Galaxy Buds (as the name suggests) are designed to work with the company’s Galaxy phone line. However, since both earbuds use Bluetooth, they will work with other phones–just all of the features won’t be available to those phones.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds vs Apple’s AirPods: Price

Apple’s AirPods cost £159, while Samsung’s Galaxy Buds will cost £139. Which should you get? If you are an iPhone user or a Galaxy user already, your choice is easy.