Samsung Galaxy Buds Review (2)

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Review (2)

For a first-gen product, these earbuds are jam-packed with features. Whether or not the features are useful, however, is another matter entirely. First, let’s dial back to the ambient sound mode we mentioned earlier.
Both the left and the right Gear IconX earbuds feature a microphone. As you’d expect, this microphone can be used for taking calls (but not making them yourself, since the earbuds feature no voice control options), but its use also extends to the ambient sound mode, whereby the microphones record what’s going on in your surroundings and play this over your music.

Seeing as the most appealing use for the Gear IconX – as well as most true wireless earbuds – is during exercises, this can be an invaluable feature. Whether you’re out for a jog and need a healthy dose of spatial awareness to avoid a potential accident, or you’re in the gym and don’t want to pause your jam while someone’s speaking to you, the Gear IconX has got you covered.
It even sports some water resistance, which is always great because you don’t need to worry about sweat or a sudden shower destroying it.

These earbuds also have a cool way of powering on. There’s no power button, but the earbuds feature a heart rate measuring system and automatically turn on once a heartbeat has been detected. Frankly, this is an awesome feature that we’d like to see more devices use.
However, you don’t equip your earbuds with a heart rate monitor just to have them automatically power on. The Gear IconX can also be used to track your heart rate, as well as distance, pace, and calories during exercise.

We have to commend the heart rate monitor for being highly accurate (it does tend to take a couple of wild swings over the course of a workout, but for depicting the general state of your heart rate during exercise, it’s as accurate as it needs to be). The distance, pace, and calorie trackers aren’t to be trusted, though.
All of these features function under the assumption that you’re a Samsung Galaxy user, since they require the Samsung S Health app to work. Contrary to popular belief, however, these earbuds can be paired with iOS devices. It’s just that all the extra features will be inaccessible in this case.

For this segment, the last thing we want to focus on is how the Gear IconX allows you to manually assign which earbud is the dominant one. So if you’re a lefty who hasn’t been run down by society to the point of feeling like a right-handed person anyway, you’ll appreciate this feature.