The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are good – but not great – true wireless earbuds. They have a number of neat features and offer a combined 28-hour battery life, but their sound isn’t amazing, and the noise cancellation has a lot of room for improvement. They’re certainly unique, but those interested in high-end sound quality and excellent ANC over a conversation-starting design should look elsewhere.

Surprisingly good fit; Extra helping of bass; Combined 20-hour battery life; ;

Middling sound quality; Poor noise cancellation; Low IP rating

Samsung deserves credit for taking the risk on a weird new design with the Buds Live, not least because for the most part these deliver on their promise. They’re extremely comfortable, surprisingly stable, and honestly after a while you do sort of forget the whole beans bit.

Good audio quality; Active noise cancellation; Very comfortable;

Bad touch controls; No passive noise blocking; ANC is limited;

Have had previous models and these seem to last longer and are much more comfortable to wear

The Galaxy Buds Live are an interesting set of true wireless earbuds, featuring an atypical bean-shape design. On paper spec sheet is impressive and matches, if not beats, their main AirPod competition. But sadly, they still fail to fully deliver in one crucial area: audio.

Comfortable fit; Improved audio quality on previous gen’; Decent battery life

Lack detail on complex genres; ANC isn’t terribly effective

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live have a certain charm. Honestly, having received them free of charge from Samsung, I would use them without any problem on a daily basis. They are really classy and the design is the most original on the market today.

Original and ergonomic design; Solid battery life; Good microphone call quality; Comprehensive companion application

Spotty ANC performance; Disappointing and inaccurate audio rendering; Not the best option at this price

The Galaxy Buds Live are an interesting set of true wireless earbuds, featuring an atypical bean-shape design. On paper spec sheet is impressive and matches, if not beats, their main AirPod competition. But sadly, they still fail to fully deliver in one crucial area: audio.

Comfortable fit; Improved audio quality on previous gen’ ; Decent battery life;

Lack detail on complex genres ; ANC isn’t terribly effective;

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are adequate for mixed usage. They're well-built, decently comfortable, and very portable. They also maintain a stable fit and generate a well-balanced sound profile. That said, due to their somewhat open fit, you may have trouble achieving consistent audio delivery.

Well-balanced sound profile; Low wireless latency on mobile devices; Good build quality; Exceptionally portable, lightweight design.

Sub-par overall noise isolation capability; Control scheme has limited functionality; Middling microphone recording quality and noise handling capability; Leak quite a bit of audio.

While the clever new design proves a hit, the Galaxy Buds Live are severely let down by ineffective ANC

Stylish; unobtrusive design; Comfortable fit; Decent bass reproduction

Ineffective noise-cancellation; Restrictive touch controls; Only IPX2 rated

An ingenious design that should inspire some imitators, but sound quality needs to catch up

Surprisingly comfortable; Solid battery life; They have ANC

Sound basic next to the best rivals

Samsung braved uncharted territory with the Galaxy Buds Live, at a time when everyone is following Apple's lead....

Bluetooth 5.0; AAC and Samsung scalable codec Wireless and fast charging (USB-C) Unique design, stable fit App available on iOS and Android Good microphone quality

Just okay noise cancelling Only IPX2 water-resistance Mediocre sound quality