Some consider the best wireless earbuds on the market to be Apple Airpods Pro. Not just because it has as its features ‘Active Noise Cancellation’ and a “Transparency Mode”, with the former allowing the cancellation of active noise in the environment. This lets you focus more on what you are listening to. It’s superb for listening to music, listening to a podcast, or deciding to watch a YouTube video or take an online video course when the Champions League final is going on and the men in the house aren’t just allowing noise to be managed.
The transparency mode, on the other hand, does the obvious opposite. It allows a reasonable amount of your surrounding noise to get through, allowing you to take note of what is going on around you. People die by that habit of not being able to be aware of their surrounding while they listen to music on the road, which could cause road accidents.
But these alone cannot be reasons why Airpods are considered the best wireless earbuds. Earbuds come with noise cancellation, and passive listening is now a regular. So why do people believe Airpods are the best?
The Airpods, released some years ago, became the trendsetters with their unique design and features. Since then, it has been a prototype for other earbud makers to want to copy from or compete with. We can say they have served as the reigning champion in the past few years, but we surely now have breath-taking, very competitive earbuds springing out that make us question that dominance. We look at earbuds like Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and Huawei FreeBuds 3.
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These earbuds are quite unique, with superb features, and are totally taking away the envy of the Apple Airpods. But who comes out victorious if they get all compared? Let’s find out.
Apple Airpods Pro
The Airpods Pro is a top-notch earbud that tops the ranks as one of the best earbuds, if not the best. It was released on October 30, 2019, and has since then been a great force in the earbud market.
It comes with a revamped design from the past releases, having a rubber tip that gives a better fit in the ear. The stems are also shorter with a smaller charging case, as more portability is a welcome development.
With Apple willing to remain dominant, a feature called the “Ear Tip Fit Test” was launched. It allows you to know the exact earbuds that fit in your ear via a software algorithm, getting you the right size needed. Not every time this is done, by the way. But without it, you are very likely to get very comfortable ear-fitted earbuds with the design of the Airpods Pro.
The Airpods Pro come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency mode, which is unique in having both. With Siri, you can also achieve voice commands and control or voice assistance.
If you love using your fingers to do things, the Airpods Pro come with a force sensor that detects when you touch the stem of the Airpod. With one press, you play; with two, you fast-forward; three for rewind; press and hold is to switch from ANC to Transparency mode and vice versa.
The battery life of the Airpods Pro is reliable, though we can see a better span. It has a fast charging time of less than 40 minutes and a 4–5 hour usage time.
Its sound quality and performance are very high-rated.
Huawei FreeBuds 3
The Huawei FreeBuds 3 is an open-fit tip earbud with Active Noise Cancellation. This makes us wonder how it was attained, as making noise cancellation may work with technology! But it is still safer to have a firmer in-ear bud. One that fits into the ear like the rubber tip, increasing the ability for noise cancellation. This defiled that and gave us a nice looking open-fit active noise cancellation earbud.
The FreeBuds seem bigger than the Airpods, with a longer stalk also. They come in black and white colour options, and perfectly fit in the ear so that even your daily workout isn’t likely to make them fall off.
The microphones of the FreeBuds are at the base of the stem, and they are able to deal with movements well when you are on a call, but a noisy environment will impair them.
The ANC is quite great, cancelling noise of up to 15db while still able to allow some background noise to get in-so you feel safer walking down the road knowing what’s going on around you.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live
The bean-shaped Samsung Galaxy Buds Live design is quite innovative. thought it might be mistaken for an actual bean by a 2-year old and maybe bury it in the ground or throw it into the field.
Launched during Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event, the Galaxy Buds Live packs great sound and audio quality. The battery life is better than the Airpods Pro, and it looks so cool in your ears without sprouting a stem.
Having a battery that spans up to 6 hours with ANC enabled and about 8 hours without ANC is huge compared to its competitors. Yet the case adds 22–28 hours of more time. That is more than a day of listening to whatever you desire, even with ANC active.
The Buds Live case charges wirelessly. The beans have a good noise cancellation feature, but some will argue it’s not better than the Airpods Pro. With good audio quality that matches the Airpods Pro-bold, classic bass, appropriate midrange, and well detailed high ends, all together you have one of the best sounds you can get in an earbud.
No matter how good they seem to be, they must still have some cons. I can see your kid throwing this into the thrash can thinking it’s a bean, LOL! Not a premonition, though. They also might not fit all ears due to their bean shape, and may require adjusting them regularly if that happens. which can accidentally trigger touch controls. And do not forget that the noise cancellation is not the very best.
Let’s take a look at the features and specifications of the Huawei FreeBuds 3, Galaxy Buds Live, and Airpods Pro compared.
Specifications compared
Specifications | Airpods Pro | Huawei FreeBuds 3 | Samsung Galaxy Buds Live |
---|---|---|---|
Design | White with rubber tips and stem | Open-fit tips with stem | Bean shaped with 3 colours options |
Earbud weight | 5.4g | 4.5g | 5.6g |
Charging case weight | 45.6g | 48g | 42.2 g |
Water and sweat resistance | IPX4 | IPX4 | IPX2 |
Battery | 4 hours with ANC on 5 hours with ANC off Fast charging and Qi wireless charging. | 4 hours with earbuds With charging case 20 hours. Fast charging and Qi wireless charging. | 6 hours with ANC on 8 hours with ANC off Fast charging and Qi wireless charging. |
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) | YES with Transparency Mode | YES | YES, with HearThrough mode |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.1 | Bluetooth 5.1 |
Sensors | Force sensor | Bone sensor | Infrared sensor |
Compatibility | iPhones | All smartphones | Best for Samsung phones, but works for others. |
Other features | Dual beamforming microphones. Siri Voice assistance Customization | Wearing detection Customization Voice assistance. | Three-microphone array. Bixby Voice control Customization Touch controls AKG tuneup HearThrough mode |
Price | $249 USD | $225 USD | $169.99 USD |
Conclusion
We have on our hands three amazing earbuds. It is hard but doable to compare. With Airpods Pro leading in audio quality, and others very close to even matching such quality. The AirPods Pro offer better ANC that can completely block out your environment and also allow for transparency mode. With this, it possesses a better ANC than Galaxy Buds Live and Huawei FreeBuds 3.
The battery life of Samsung Galaxy Buds Live tops both FreeBuds 3 and Airpods Pro. This makes it a great preference if you prefer a longer-lasting battery. The low price in comparison to the other buds also gives Galaxy Buds Live an edge. But it is most suitable for Samsung phones and Airpods Pro for iPhones. They are the most compatible and offer even more features when matched that way.
Due to its Android and iPhone compatibility, the Huawei FreeBuds 3 is a great choice. makes it very suitable for all smartphones. Regardless, it gives similar audio quality as others.
Therefore, for Android phones generally, the Huawei FreeBuds 3 seems like a better choice. It is also an alternative for iPhone users.
For Samsung phones, the Galaxy Buds Live is superb and has compatibility with Android 5.0 and above. It also uses AAC to pair with iPhones.
The Apple Airpods Pro only edges out the quality slightly, but for compatibility, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and Huawei Freebuds 3 win.