Amazon’s Echo Buds are the company’s first attempt at a truly wireless earbud and they come in punching hard. However, the Samsung Galaxy Buds still hold their ground.
Amazon Echo Buds
Excellent battery life
$130 at Amazon
Pros
- Up to 20 hours of total listening time
- Great support on both iOS and Android
- Compact charging/carrying case
Cons
- Micro-USB for charging
- No wireless charging
Just because they are new and a first-generation device doesn’t mean they’re bad. Amazon’s Echo Buds have managed to nail the fundamentals such as battery life, convenience, and portability. However, Micro-USB in 2019 is downright embarrassing.
Samsung Galaxy Buds
Super convenient
$120 at Amazon
Pros
- Long, 15-hour battery life
- Customizable on Android
- USB-C wired and Qi wireless charging case
- Good sound with decently neutral frequency response
Cons
- Case battery life is mediocre at best
The Galaxy Buds from Samsung are a solid pick if you have an Android phone, even a non-Samsung one. They’re solid overall, but suffer when it comes to battery life.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds and Amazon Echo Buds are great in their own right. However, Amazon’s newest Echo Buds easily beat out the Galaxy Buds in several ways including much longer battery life, better support on iOS, and active noise cancelation.
Break it down now…
Pictured: Samsung Galaxy Buds.
Being truly wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds and Echo Buds have many things in common. They both feature auto-pause/play when you remove an earbud or put one back in respectively and have a required charging case that is relatively small and should fit in most people’s pockets. Both buds feature in-ear designs, which require silicone tips and include several different ear tip sizes in the box.
Battery life will be the biggest differentiator between the two earbuds.The Galaxy Buds last up to six hours on their own while the Echo Buds net you five hours. A one-hour difference isn’t a huge deal, but where the Echo Buds pull ahead is with its charging case. The Echo Buds case is able to give you up to 15 additional hours of listening time while the Galaxy Buds only adds seven.
However, the Galaxy Buds has the edge when it comes to how you charge your earbuds. It offers USB-C for wired charging and is wireless charging capable, while the Echo Buds uses the outdated Micro-USB connector and doesn’t offer any type of wireless charging.
| Bud battery life | 5 hours | 6 hours |
| Case battery life | 15 hours | 7 hours |
| Wireless charging case | No | Yes |
| Active noise cancelation (ANC) | Yes | No |
| Ambient sound mode | No | Yes |
Pictured: Echo Buds.
Here’s where it gets kind of funny. The Galaxy Buds feature an ambient sound mode that let you hear your surroundings without removing a bud. However, the Galaxy Buds don’t feature active noise cancelation (ANC) at all. The Echo Buds are the reverse, where they feature ANC but don’t include an ambient sound mode.
The ambient sound mode on the Galaxy Buds is excellent. It amplifies the sound around you without making it sound unrealistic. While the Echo Buds aren’t out yet (they’re due out Oct. 30, 2019), the ANC feature is expected to be excellent given it’s powered by Bose, which makes the popular QC35 II and Noise Canceling Headphones 700 headphones. Obviously, it won’t be as good as the aforementioned headphones as those are over-ear and the Echo Buds are truly wireless, but are promising given Bose’s track record.
At the end of the day, the Amazon Echo Buds are the better option here. Battery life on the Galaxy Buds is simply not good enough for a truly wireless earbud. The Echo Buds feature up to 20 hours of listening with the included charging case and that’s with ANC enabled.
Amazon Echo Buds
Great Battery Life
$130 at Amazon
Great if you live within Amazon’s ecosystem!
The Amazon Echo Buds feature superior battery life, active noise cancelation, and an overall portable design. However, Micro-USB in 2019 should be a sin.
Samsung Galaxy Buds
Super convenient
For those who are looking for ultimate portability and convenience.
$120 at Amazon
Samsung hit it out of the park with the Galaxy Buds. It features great sound, wireless charging with USB-C, and solid customization on Android. Battery life and better support on other platforms would be a nice change.
