Background information
Leaks: How unpublished material is used as a marketing tool
by Dominik Bärlocher
Samsung Buds: Will we soon be sticking beans in our ears?
12.6.2020
Translation: machine translated
There are more and more rumours about the new true wireless headphones from Samsung: now the earphones are said to be shaped like beans.
Before a new product is launched on the market, there are leaks. We're used to that. But with Samsung's new true wireless headphones, they make us sit up and take notice: Has Samsung revolutionised the shape of earphones and is now making bean-shaped earphones?
A few clues might suggest so. The editors of WinFuture have created a render image that is widely shared and sometimes taken at face value.
Whether the new earphones actually look like this is questionable. This is because WinFuture used an image that reverse engineers found in Samsung's Galaxy Wearable App as the basis for the render image.
Last year, Samsung probably unintentionally leaked the Galaxy Buds itself in its own app. The completely finished product images, including some specs, were visible in the app for anyone who wanted to add a new device.
In the current black and white image, you can see that the earphones have a small hook at the top, which is probably intended to provide a better hold in the ear. However, this detail is not visible in the render images.
What about beans in the ears?
If the rumour mill is right and the new Galaxy Buds X or Buds Live - both names have been repeatedly mentioned in various tweets and articles - do indeed come in bean form, this raises a few questions.
The fact that the new earbuds are so small certainly has some advantages, but probably also a few disadvantages. As a person who often drops things, I can already see myself crawling around on the floor of trams, trains or buses looking for the part that is not even the size of a fingernail. At least Samsung is one of the manufacturers that have built a search function into the app: You can use it to make your earphones whistle so that you are more likely to find them again.
As the earbuds are very small, the question of the size of the battery also arises. There's not much space left. And the call quality could also suffer. Depending on how far the buds are inserted into the ears, the microphones may be able to pick up less of the voice than usual. But it certainly looks better if you don't have a huge lump sticking out of your ear when you're out and about. And the small earpieces are also less likely to fall out as they sit relatively low in the ears - which raises the question of how comfortable this is.
The head leaker Evan Blass, who is usually always in the know about the latest indiscretions, has not yet commented on the new buds.
But we won't have to wait much longer anyway: according to several leaks, Samsung plans to unveil the new beanbuds as early as July. However, there is no official statement from Samsung. Whatever the case may be. We'll know more by 5 August at the latest. That's when the next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place, at which, according to rumours, the Galaxy Note 20 and another Fold model will also be presented.
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.
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