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Samsung launched two pairs of truly wireless (TWS) earbuds this year. The Galaxy Buds+ arrived early in the year alongside the Galaxy S20 series. The company then followed with another pair in the second half. The Galaxy Buds Live, which launched alongside the Galaxy Note 20 series in August, came with a completely new design language.
The Buds Live are the first “open-type” TWS offering from Samsung. They also feature active noise canceling (ANC). While both Buds+ and Buds Live are very capable wireless earbuds, they are essentially designed for two different groups of audience. And if you are wondering if they also differ as greatly in terms of features on offer, Samsung has just published an infographic that could help you decide between the two. This infographic compares everything from design and earbud type to color variants, battery life, and audio.
Comparing the Galaxy Buds+ and Galaxy Buds Live
The Galaxy Buds+ sport a canal-type in-ear design making for a tight fit. They offer the ambient sound mode feature that allows you to listen to your environment while listening to music. The ambient sound mode also works with only one earbud in.
The Galaxy Buds Live, on the other hand, feature an open-ear design and offer ANC to reduce outside noise. They are also lighter between the two, with each bud weighing at 5.6 grams. The Galaxy Buds+ weigh 6.3 grams each.
Samsung is also offering two different shapes for the storing-cum-charging case. The Galaxy Buds+ has an oval-shaped case that measures 70 x 38.8 x 26.5mm in dimension and weighs 39.6 grams. The Galaxy Buds Live, meanwhile, gets a rounded square-shaped case with a dimension of 50.2 x 50 x 27.8mm. It’s also slightly heavier at 42.2 grams.
That increase in weight, however, is a result of Samsung packing a bigger battery inside the case for the Buds Live. While the 60mAh battery in the buds can keep them running for up to six hours, the 472mAh battery inside the case offers up to 15 hours of additional playtime, making for a total battery life of around 21 hours.
The Galaxy Buds+ do marginally better, offering 22 hours of playtime on a single charge. The buds themselves pack an 85mAh battery and can last for up to 11 hours, with the 270mAh battery inside the case supplying another 11 hours worth of battery life. Both Buds+ and Buds Live offer fast wired charging as well as wireless charging.
The two pairs of earbuds also equip two outer microphones and one inner microphone each. However, they do differ in terms of the speaker. The Galaxy Buds+ has a dual-driver setup with a woofer for rich and powerful bass and a tweeter for clear high notes. The Galaxy Buds Live only gets a single 12mm driver.
Both the buds feature an accelerometer, IR sensor, hall sensor, touch sensors, and grip sensors. Additionally, the Galaxy Buds Live also features a voice pickup unit and a gyro sensor.
The Galaxy Buds+ are currently selling for $100 and they come in white, red, black, and two shades of blue. The Galaxy Buds Live, meanwhile, are priced at $150. They are available in Mystic Black, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Red, and Mystic White colors. You can check out our Galaxy Buds+ review as well as our Galaxy Buds Live review to know more about how they fare in day-to-day use.
