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00:00Hey what's up guys, MKBHD here. So, a pretty general theory I've had going for a while now
00:08is every product category that's well established enough has a go-to. Like an easy to recommend,
00:16checks all the boxes, safe bet, straight shot right down the middle. Like if you want a
00:19mouse, there's the Logitech MX series that's been around. If you want a microphone, the
00:24Shure SM7B is like the standard. For phones, it's like the iPhone. Now, this doesn't mean
00:29that this is the one for everyone. In fact, it usually isn't for everyone. You use that
00:34as a sort of a starting point and then when you find the values you have and the things
00:38you like, then you veer off into the alternatives that you might pay more for. But there's always
00:44that starting go-to. And so for wireless earbuds that aren't AirPods, the go-to is the Samsung
00:50Galaxy Buds Plus for sure, 100%, and they should be. Now, that doesn't mean they're
00:55perfect. That doesn't mean they're for everyone. But they check all of the fundamental boxes
01:00that make them incredibly easy to recommend and enjoy. They're pretty great. So what's
01:05so great about these $150 wireless earbuds? Well, when you look at what you want from
01:11these, they got to be small, check. They got to be lightweight, check. They got to fit
01:16in your ears, and that's a check for me. They do fit well in my ear comfortably thanks
01:20to the rubber tips, unlike AirPods, and they actually create a sort of a passive seal.
01:25Now, they're not active noise cancelling, but at this price, you don't really see that
01:29that much. But the seal is actually enough that I don't miss it that much. And I realize
01:34everyone's ears are different, so different people will have slightly different fits,
01:38but I was really impressed with the fit of these earbuds and how snug they are in my ear.
01:42Now, I'd personally still rather have an active noise cancellation version of these. That's
01:47for my values and what I like. So if they made that like a pro version, I'd be super
01:51cool with that. But even just putting these in my ear, I feel like I'm talking louder
01:56because they create that seal and dim down the environment. And by the time you start
02:00playing music, you don't really hear much else. So for flying and mass transit and construction
02:06and loud stuff, maybe this isn't the way to go, but generally for everyday use, pretty
02:12good. So they're comfortable. Then they have a legitimate best in class 11-hour battery
02:17life for music listening, which is mostly what I do with earbuds, and that's great,
02:21fast charging. But honestly, being able to go a full week of casual listening and not
02:25having any battery anxiety till like the last day of the week is awesome. And then speaking
02:30of charging, the case these sit in are also pretty textbook. You can't forget about the
02:34case. It's small and slim. It's just as pocketable and lightweight as AirPods. And it has USB
02:41type C for charging. And it's also capable of wireless charging. If you want to put it
02:45on the back of your phone or on any wireless charger, it'll do that too. And it even has
02:50a nice hinge weight and magnets for the lid to open and close with a satisfying click.
02:56It's maybe not quite as satisfying as Pixel Buds, but that's a pretty good click. The
03:00buds are built well. They have this sort of a rubber fin around the outside that helps
03:04them seat in your ear instead of like one little piece poking out. That can get kind
03:08of painful. And I found that this is enough to stay in my ears really well. Not quite
03:13as locked in as say the Jaybirds with the full on wingtips on those things, but locked
03:19in enough that I felt comfortable working out in them. It had no problems. They stay
03:23in my ears. And speaking of working out, these are IPX2 rated. So some sweat is fine. Now
03:30I still, I would say they shouldn't be dedicated workout headphones, like maybe Powerbeats
03:35or anything IPX7 certified. But if you wear them every day and you like happen to step
03:40out and sweat while wearing them or do a quick workout, they are fine. And then the touch
03:45controls are also really simple. Both earbuds have that pretty large touch pad surface
03:51and that's where you play pause. That's where you fast forward, accept calls, long press
03:56for assistant, all that stuff. I've been using them with my OnePlus 8 Pro. So they call Google
04:00assistant, not Bixby, but they work fine with any Android phone or iPhone for that matter.
04:06But they do work a little bit better with a Samsung phone because then you can get the
04:09Galaxy Buds app and that gives you a little more control over customizing media controls
04:14and ambient sound pass through. But generally, even without that app, they've been rock
04:18solid, no connection issues, even walking across the studio, leaving my phone over
04:22here, having them in my backpack, no problem. And then the sound from these guys was really
04:29quite good. I was very impressed and happy with the sound from these. They have what
04:33I would call a very full sound. They have a big, rich, full bass, crisp, clean mids
04:39and highs, no background hiss. These are tuned by AKG and they're proud to put their name
04:44on it and I can see why. The only complaint I could see coming from a different pair of
04:48earbuds or headphones is these may actually feel a bit bass heavy if you're not used to
04:53all this, but they can turn that down in the EQ quite easily. But I'll tell you right now,
04:57I won't be doing that. I listen to a lot of music and the way they sound out the box
05:02is great. It's already great for music. I think I'd go so far as to say these are the
05:06best sounding non-noise canceling wireless earbuds I've tried. These are the truth right
05:11now. Honestly, it makes me kind of wish I brought them out on the channel sooner. I
05:15don't really have anything bad to say about these, but I'm going to nitpick because that's
05:20what you do and that's how you get products to be better the next time around. I'm sure
05:25Samsung is working on a next version of these. So what I'll say is these don't really look
05:29that great to me. I feel like they could do with a little bit better of a design. I mean,
05:33I guess almost none really look that great, but to me, Pixel Buds do look really good
05:39and I love the colors. I wish AirPods did colors too like this, but I don't know, for
05:43some reason it looks like, it feels like cheap plastic to me. I think maybe a matte finish
05:47that the more premium ones got going on looks better and I think that could have saved these
05:51a bit too. But look, Galaxy Buds Plus, it's the go-to. Just remember the name. You know,
05:56the battery life I think is their best feature and that's a nice, relaxing, comfortable feature
06:01to have be really good, but the sound is really good. The fit in my ears is really good. The
06:06microphones are pretty good and then the case is great. It just checks all the boxes.
06:10So it's like now that you know about these, you might decide, oh, okay, what I know I
06:15like, I want to spend more because I want noise cancellation and then you can go get
06:20active noise cancellation. You spend a bit more and there's plenty of options for those
06:24like the Sony's and AirPods Pro or you might go, you know what? I like these, but I also
06:28want them to be more workout focused headphones. Then you go for something with better waterproofing
06:33or more of the wingtip fit in the ear stuff like the Jaybirds or Powerbeats. So there's
06:38other headphones that do plenty of things better than these. But if there's anyone out
06:42there wondering what's the de facto set of non-AirPods wireless earbuds, there you go.
06:51Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. Now you know. So there you have it. Thanks for watching. Catch
06:56you guys in the next one. Peace.