Got both of them for free from Samsung with my preorders of the Note 10+ and the Note 20 Ultra.
Home Screen Widget
Animation When Connected
Animation When Connected
Buds
Buds Live
USB C
Buds Live
Gear App
Gear app
Gear app
Wireless Charging
Buds Technical Specifications
Buds Live Technical Specifications
Using them daily, the Old Buds at work for over a year and the New Buds Live(Beans) at home/travel since August 2020.
This is my own personal experience, telling it to you as it is based on my preferences that might not necessarily be exactly the same as yours.
There's also the [Buds +] that were released after the Old Buds(in this review) and Before the Buds Live(in this review) but I'm not going over them now.
First of all i love both of them, orelse i wouldn't be using them daily.
I pasted below the technical specs sheets and some pics of the pairs i own.
They are both small, barely visible in the ear compared to the competition, and for the price you pay, a really good bargain.
The old Buds have 'noise isolation' which happens without technology involved, but instead through the way they are designed and go in-ear. Automatically reduces maybe 40% of all the sounds around you. This is not noise cancelation. Many did not feel comfortable with them as they kind of fit and creat an air tight environment as if you are underwater. The ambient sound option of turning on the mic so you can hear your surroundings helped many people overcome this issue. The Bluetooth range is very good in open spaces, around 15 meters max. Battery is fair, very good build quality, usb c, and wireless charging. Fit in the ear is great and they lock inside it, they don't fall easy. The reason I use them in the office is because the noise isolation, where i don't have to turn the music on, and all the noise sounds less annoying.
The New Buds Live look great, and definitely sound great and better than the Old Buds. They have a longer lasting battery and case, and noise cancelation. Which is not the best in the market, if you are looking for noise cancelation as the primary thing you need, those are not the ones to buy. The reson is that they do not go in-ear as deep as the Old Buds because of the design, they will feel a bit loose, even though they have 2 different tips size, so you will still hear your surroundings, and the cancelation happens for sounds like car engin, airplane engin, ac sound, mainly, noise at certain frequencies that they capture and filter. Once the music is on, you won't need the anc(active noise cancelation) on, the benefit is during a call, where they cancel the noise for you, and for the people you are talking to, for example washing your hands while talking, the water sound is captured and suppressed. Their range is 5 meters less, and weaker when there are walls.
Both connect through Galaxy Wear app, with different options inside. They also have widgets for your home screen. They both show animation when connected, the Live animation on is much better and cooler and faster, it also shows the case battery percentage, unlike the old buds where u need to look at the small LED color, Green, Orange, Red.
Both have touch controls, but i find my self accidently turning on the music player on the Buds Live due to the design that cause accidental touches while adjusting. You can turn off the touch control, but it's a hassle if you need it on, many times i try to adjust the earpiece in my ear and it pauses/plays music.
For the price, i still think they are a good buy. I got them for free, so if i had to pay for one... I would go for the old buds as they fulfill my need which is suppression of sounds around me, as a personal preference for usage at an open space office. Pending the tryout of the buds+ which i got with an s20+ i bought, but forgot them home and covid happened :)
Thia doesn't mean the Live are not good, on the contrary, they're good for when I'm home on calls or traveling. I'm happy i have both, hoping to have 1 pair that covers both needs, then I will surely buy 2, one for the office and one for home/travel backpack.
