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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless vs Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless
Samsung Galaxy Buds

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 15, 2024 09:04 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 16, 2024 02:00 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Picture

Variants

  • Gear IconX (Black)
  • Gear IconX (Grey)
  • Gear IconX (Pink)
  • Galaxy Buds (Black)
  • Galaxy Buds (White)
  • Galaxy Buds (Yellow)

Our Verdict

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless

Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless and the Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless are very similar headphones. They perform almost the same way and have practically the same audio reproduction. The Gear IconX have 4GB internal storage, which is very useful to load music on them and work out without your phone. On the other hand, the newer Galaxy Buds now support wireless Qi charging and have a noticeably better microphone. They also have a longer battery life, but latency is worse on the Galaxy Buds than the Gear IconX.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.2
7.5

Noise Isolation 
 

7.5
6.8

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Design Picture 2
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Comfort Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

6.3
5.4

Controls Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Controls Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Okay
Decent

Feedback  

Okay
Okay

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

9.0
9.2

Breathability After Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Breathability After Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

1 °C
0.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

9.4
9.6

Portability Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Portability Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Portability Picture

 

1.5"
2"

 

1.2"
1"

 

0.7"
0.5"

Volume  

1.6 in³
1 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

8.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Case Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

2.8"
2.8"

 

1.5"
1.5"

 

0.9"
1.1"

Volume  

4.5 in³
4.6 in³

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Build Quality Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

8.0
8.0

Stability Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Stability Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Angled Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Side Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Front Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Rear Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Top Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless In The Box Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-0.58 dB
1 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-2.11 dB
-0.75 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.6
9.8

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.28 dB
0.04 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.3
9.3

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.27 dB
0.99 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

46.21 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-3.43 dB
0.95 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

0.63 dB
1.36 dB

High-Bass 
 

2.7 dB
0.53 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.9
9.0

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.46 dB
1.4 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.01 dB
0.03 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-1.85 dB
-2.12 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.05 dB
-0.45 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.4
8.9

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.45 dB
1.41 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-2.14 dB
-0.01 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-2.37 dB
0.02 dB

High-Treble 
 

-5.32 dB
-4.85 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.0
8.7

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.19 dB
0.97 dB

Dips 
 

1.18 dB
0.57 dB

Imaging 
 

9.1
9.3

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.1
0.16

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.46
0.07

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.23
1.29

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

2.54
2

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.7
0.9

PRTF  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless PRTF
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

2.5
3.2

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

0.6
0.8

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
No

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.9
7.8

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.213
0.211

WHD @ 100 
 

0.117
0.134

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
R170XXU0ATA2

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Unknown
Bluetooth 4.2

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Off
Off

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

7.5
6.8

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-22.45 dB
-18.62 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-6.74 dB
-3.65 dB

Mid 
 

-20.44 dB
-18.7 dB

Treble 
 

-41.42 dB
-34.99 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.5
9.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

23.96 dB
25.12 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

5.7
6.4

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

493.51 Hz
403.18 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.48 dB
5.27 dB

HFE 
 

3,319.91 Hz
4,902.93 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

5.721
0.403

Gain 
 

40.58 dB
11.03 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.0
5.9

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Speech + Pink Noise  

Speech + Subway Noise  

SpNR 
 

11.32 dB
10.36 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

6.3
7.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

4.6 hrs
7.5 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

1.0
1.0

Total Battery Life 
 

9.2 hrs
15 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.1 hrs
1.6 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Standby mode
Standby mode

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

No
No

Charging Port  

USB-C
USB-C

Show text

App Support 
 

7.0
7.0

App Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless App Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Samsung Gear
Samsung Wearable

iOS  

No
No

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
Yes

Windows  

No
Yes

Equalizer 
 

Presets
Presets

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

Yes
No

Button Mapping  

No
Yes

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

6.6
6.6

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
5.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

89 ft
100 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

280 ms
372 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

71 ms
72 ms

Android Latency 
 

139 ms
51 ms

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless Cable Picture
Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
No

Length  

N/A
N/A

Connection  

No Wired Option
No Wired Option

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Base/Dock 
 

2.2
2.2

Type 
 

Charging Case
Charging Case

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Supply 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Show text

Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless

Samsung Galaxy Buds Truly Wireless

Comments

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Samsung Gear IconX Truly Wireless vs Samsung Galaxy Buds: Main Discussion

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