Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Review: Innovative design, but how the hell do you make them fit?

I’m pretty fair when it comes to giving a product a red-hot go, and my first experience with the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live wasn’t great, so I took some time before passing judgment here in my full Samsung Galaxy Buds Live review.

I don’t like them. But there is a lot to like, I suspect I just have strange shaped – and potentially large ears?

My first go with these earbuds was on national TV, and one of them fell out of my ear. So yeah – I wanted to use them a bit before assuming that was my fault or the design.

Sound Quality on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

Credit to Samsung and to AKG these things sound amazing. Really rich full sound, and as I’ll mention later, great EQ and sound controls within the app.

There’s a little outside leakage, but the noise cancelling really gives you a great overall sound and with that little tiny speaker hole pointing right into your ear it’s a really good feeling without prodding something down into the ear.

Overall I don’t think anyone could fault the sound quality coming from these – it’s impressive, not just for the price, but overall.

That design – what is it?

These little peanuts, kidney beans or whatever the hell they are certainly are something different.

Think about all the earphones you’ve seen. I’ve tried them all.

You’ve got ones that go right in the ear, and then you’ve got Apple’s original earbuds which formed the design for the first AirPods too.

They sit on your ear – not in your ear. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are the same, they are sitting on the ear, not pushed into it.

A shiny surface makes them a touch slippery to handle, but they are minimalistic overall.

And they don’t stick out, at all, they really do look hard to see from front on, if they were the colour of your skin they’d just be part of your ear. I think that’s the human like design Samsung were going for here.

How do the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live fit?

Badly – in my view.

I wore these mowing the lawn, one fell out. I wore them walking, I kept having to push them back in.

Then I checked the instructions. Am I wearing them wrong?

I don’t think so, they aren’t flat and in, they are upright and in, but how the hell do I get that to happen? I think these were designed for people with little ears. My mum always said I had big ears – and here it is coming home to roost.

Check out this shot of a model on the Samsung website:

Either those are BIG BUDS or LITTLE EARS.

Here’s another – look past the hair and piercings and tell me these are normal-sized ears?

I just don’t see how these fit well in a big ear like mine. I guess it’s that simple.

The “Wing Tips” aren’t the hook style you might have seen before, they are just this little nodule on the top half.

Offered nothing. I could never get them in an upright position – or even close to it.

Sitting at my desk, no drama, but at no point did I feel they were not at risk of falling out. Similar to my view on the original Apple AirPods to be fair – so, I think it’s my ears.

Touch Controls and app features:

Great touch options, single, double, triple , long press etc and customisable.

But a bit too sensitive, A quick adjustment of the earbud and you’ve paused your music.

The App is this product’s standout feature, and all others should look at it’s design, options and features for an example of how to build your headphone app.

Overall – should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live?

If you’ve experienced issues with products like the original AirPods – no. I have to assume my ear design is at fault with my dissatisfaction for the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live.

Otherwise, if you’ve looked at reviews and recognise your ear in other people’s photos – go for your life.

These are amazing for their music quality, and the fantastic app for control is a breeze.

Sorry, they’re just not for me.

Web: Samsung