Folks at all times take a look at me weirdly once I say that I take advantage of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live with my iPhone 12 Professional. Nevertheless it’s a pairing that is smart for me: First, I would like one thing that sits totally inside my ear, with no stem that’s going to threat being knocked about by a motorcycle helmet’s strap. Second, they work with Samsung’s companion Galaxy Buds app on iOS, so I can nonetheless entry their superior options. And third? I simply love that they’re formed like little kidney beans.
However in the event you had been to strive the identical factor with Samsung’s newer Galaxy Buds Pro or Galaxy Buds 2 you’ll discover Samsung’s iOS earbud companion app hasn’t been up to date to assist them. Samsung needs you to purchase a Samsung telephone, so it seems to be locking you out of quite a few little options, very similar to how Apple’s AirPods Professional are equally restricted in the event you attempt to use them with an Android telephone, or how OnePlus’ earbuds were missing key features when used with non-OnePlus Android devices at launch.
Whereas I can fortunately use the iOS companion app to tweak and replace final yr’s Buds Reside, the identical app received’t be capable of acknowledge Samsung’s newest buds. When you’re an iPhone person, it’s an annoying sufficient state of affairs that it looks like Samsung isn’t interested by your cash.
However how dangerous is the ecosystem lock-in with Apple and Samsung’s newest earbuds actually? Listed here are the particular methods you’ll miss out.
Earlier than we get into the main points, right here’s a chart exhibiting which options you get with the AirPods Professional and Galaxy Buds 2, relying on whether or not you utilize the earbuds with iOS or Android:
AirPods Professional vs Galaxy Buds 2 ecosystem lock-in
Function | AirPods Professional – iOS | AirPods Professional – Android | Galaxy Buds 2 – Android | Galaxy Buds 2 – iOS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Function | AirPods Professional – iOS | AirPods Professional – Android | Galaxy Buds 2 – Android | Galaxy Buds 2 – iOS |
Noise-cancellation / transparency mode | Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Customise gesture controls | Sure | No | Sure | No |
Voice assistant | Sure | No | Sure | Not by default |
Computerized match take a look at | Sure | No | Sure | No |
Displaying battery life on smartphone | Sure | No | Sure | Sure |
Seamless pairing course of | Sure | No | No | No |
Spatial audio | Sure | No | No | No |
Firmware updates | Sure | No | Sure | No |
Computerized switching between telephone/laptop and many others | Sure | No | No | No |
System-level EQ adjustment | No | No | Sure | No |
Misplaced earbuds locator function | Sure | Through browser | Sure | No |
The excellent news is that fundamental performance, like having the ability to hearken to music and entry playback controls from the buds themselves, is out there no matter whether or not you utilize the earbuds on iOS or Android. So can also you management options like noise-cancellation and transparency (aka ambient) modes, which purpose to dam out and let in exterior noise, respectively.
However missing a companion app or native working system assist means you merely can’t entry sure earbuds’ options in the event you’re not utilizing the earbuds on their very own platform. Most AirPods Professional controls are constructed immediately into iOS, for instance, whereas Samsung’s Galaxy Buds companion app doesn’t assist its latest true wi-fi earbuds on iOS. Which means you’re out of luck if you wish to replace both earbuds’ firmware on a competing working system.
These are the sorts of options that you possibly can develop to overlook in the long run, particularly in the event you ever must troubleshoot any issues. In case your earbuds encounter a bug, there’s no probability of getting up to date firmware to repair it in the event you’re on Android. Or in the event you suspect that your AirPods Professional’s battery is draining too shortly whereas listening to music on an Android telephone, you don’t have an official battery indicator to troubleshoot what’s going unsuitable (though iOS’s system-level battery indicators imply this isn’t an issue for iPhones).
In some instances there are third-party apps designed to fill within the blanks. For instance, the Android apps Assistant Trigger and AndroPods promise to point out your AirPods battery life and permit you to entry your telephone’s voice assistant resembling Google Assistant with a squeeze or faucet of the AirPods’ stem. However person opinions of each apps are combined, and so they’re clearly no alternative for official native assist.
It’s additionally technically potential to make use of a tap-and-hold gesture to activate Siri when utilizing Samsung’s Galaxy Buds with an iPhone. However so as to take action it’s a must to customise the earbuds’ gesture controls, which default to activating noise-canceling and ambient modes. And customizing these controls depends on a companion app that doesn’t exist on iOS. It restricts quick access to a function that, relying in your wants, you would possibly depend on each day.
Apple and Samsung’s capability to lock you into an ecosystem extends to options that aren’t immediately comparable as properly. First is that the AirPods’ capability to mechanically swap between audio sources solely works on Apple units like iPhones and iPads. It’s not in a position to mechanically swap between an iPad and an Android telephone, for instance. Samsung’s Buds 2 don’t have a comparable function, though the corporate included a model of it on the Buds Professional the place it may mechanically swap between Samsung telephones and Samsung tablets.
Subsequent, each Apple and Samsung technically have options that allow you to discover their respective earbuds utilizing an app, however they’re very totally different. Apple’s is known as “Discover My” and at the moment it may present you the place you might need left your AirPods on a map, primarily based on the final time they had been linked to your personal telephone. With iOS 15 this functionality is expanding by tapping into Apple’s Discover My community, that means different individuals’s Apple units will even be capable of report the situation of your headphones. Both approach, the function is technically cross-platform because it’s accessible through a browser, even on Android. Samsung doesn’t have any of this map-based performance, though like Apple its companion app features a easier choice to have your earbuds play a sound that can assist you discover them.
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There are additionally variations in how the earbuds deal with pairing. On iPhone, merely opening an AirPods case close to your telephone is sufficient to get the pairing course of began. However even once you’re on a Samsung telephone it’s a must to head into its companion app earlier than you begin the official pairing course of. Google has its personal model of the AirPods’ pairing course of called Fast Pair, nevertheless it’s but to change into ubiquitous virtually 4 years later.
None of those lacking options will essentially cease you from utilizing both pair of earbuds to hearken to music on the “unsuitable” platform. Nevertheless it’s a trouble to must hunt the Play Retailer for unofficial third-party apps to unlock fundamental performance, or borrow a pal’s telephone simply to do a firmware replace. Particularly when you’ll be able to keep away from these issues with a unique pair of earbuds.
And that could be what Apple and Samsung are banking on: if they will persuade you to pair their earbuds with their smartphones in blissful concord, then they know they’ve given you another reason to stay round of their ecosystem. Sure, it’s simple to exchange that outdated iPhone with an Android by itself, however then your AirPods, and perhaps even your Apple Watch, and HomePod all received’t work as properly. Ultimately, it makes it look simpler and simpler to stay round in iPhone land. Certain, Apple would possibly promote just a few thousand extra AirPods in the event that they labored higher on Android, however on the threat of shedding much-costlier iPhone gross sales. It could be why Samsung not too long ago revealed its new flagship Google watch won’t work with the iPhone, both.
In transportable audio land, all of it implies that, until you’ve got a very sturdy desire for Apple or Samsung’s earbuds, you’ll get a extra full expertise with much less trouble by pairing like with like. You’ll be able to combat ecosystem lock-in all you need, however generally it’s simply simpler to float.