Samsung is a brand better known for its smartphones. And televisions. And... you get the idea. The company has some notable smartphones like flagship Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus in its collection. But of late, the company has been getting into the business of making headphones. And as it is customary for any company to launch an upgraded version of its existing line-up every year, Samsung has launched U-Flex wireless Bluetooth headphones in India this year.
U-Flex headphones are the successor to Samsung's Level-U headphones which cost Rs 2,999. U-Flex, on the other hand, costs of Rs 4,999. Just like Samsung's smartphones, these headphones are available in three classic colours-- Black, Blue and White.
As far as the design and performance are concerned, while Level U headphones may have failed to impress the critics, U Flex headphones offer a significant improvement over its predecessor, at least on the performance front. On the design front, however, U Flex headphones are a cross between Level U headphones and Audio Technica's Bluetooth headphones, which I reviewed last month. Basically, in terms of looks they are neither here, nor there.
As far as the design and performance are concerned, while Level U headphones may have failed to impress the critics, U Flex headphones offer a significant improvement over its predecessor, at least on the performance front. On the design front, however, U Flex headphones are a cross between Level U headphones and Audio Technica's Bluetooth headphones, which I reviewed last month. Basically, in terms of looks they are neither here, nor there.
That said, U Flex headphones are not entirely unfortunate looking. Samsung's jazzy colours do somewhat compensate for the boring design. And they offer decent audio quality. Apart from this, U Flex headphones come with some really interesting features which include a micro USB port, magnetic heads and a support button for Samsung's personal digital assistant Bixby.
On the performance front, U flex headphones work well with most Bollywood numbers. They are particularly good with soft and lyrical songs like Arijit Singh's Bolna, AR Rahman's Maahi Ve and Tere Bina and pop songs like Jessie J's Flashlight and Backstreet Boys' Downpour. That's the gist. However, there are many areas where U Flex could have been better given its 5k price tag. As they say devil lies in the details. So let's dig deep into the details.
Samsung U Flex wireless headphones sport a simple yet boring design. As mentioned earlier, the design seems a crossover between its predecessors Level U headphones and Audio Technica ATH-ANC40BT headphones. The headphones features a water-resistant silicone neck band, which houses a giant battery on one side and volume controls, play and pause buttons, power button and micro USB port on the other side.
The two ends of the neck-band are connected with two delicate-looking wires that connect with the magnetic ear pieces. While the magnetic heads are a nice feature to have in a pair of wireless headphones, it's the overall design that failed to impress me. For starters the two wires connecting the neck-band with the ear pieces, besides getting entangled easily, are extremely delicate and it seems that they will snap any moment. Moreover, the placement of the controls doesn't inspire much confidence in the headphones either. You either have to access your smartphone to adjust the volume or turn the neck band to a more comfortable position to be able to access the controls- all of which don't make it a comfortable piece of gadget to keep around your neck.
To add to the list of things that seem amiss with its design is the shape of the ear plugs. Samsung claims that its brand new pair of wireless headphones are ideal for usage at the gym or during a high-powered workout session. However, in my nearly two-weeks of experience with the device, the earplugs came out easily even while I am typing out a quick news story sitting on my workstation.
By comparison, OnePlus's Bullets wireless headphones, which I reviewed earlier, offered better stability and an easier access to the controls. They also offer an auto pause feature when the magnetic heads are joined, that too at a marginally lower price of Rs 3,990.
Performance I tested Samsung U Flex headphones for nearly two weeks and during my usage I found that these headphones offer a decent sound quality. For most parts, the sound is pretty balanced. Be it acoustic numbers like The Piano Guys' A Thousand Years and K-pop singer Kim Hyung Joong's Because I'm Stupid or melodious Bollywood songs like Lata Mangeshkar's Agar Tum Sath Ho and Arijit Singh's Bandeya. The sound is immersive and for most parts you'll enjoy the music in your ears. But this is also the point where the problem arises.
