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Samsung takes another shot at wireless earbuds with the Level U
Samsung is back with another addition to their Level audio line with their new Bluetooth headphones dubbed the Level U Wireless headphones. At first glance, they seem to have drawn the majority of their design inspirations from the Gear Circle. Upon closer inspection however you begin to notice slight differences, or dare I say improvements.
Gone is the plastic neck guard that came with the Gear Circle for added support. It seems to have been replaced instead with a flexible neckband that should make it way more comfortable to wear around your neck regularly. Even the earbuds are slimmed down, though this comes at the price of losing the touch functionality in favor of the more common playback buttons on the inside of the neckpiece.
Though the touch functionality was definitely cool, it was slightly too ambitious and I think sacrificing them in favor of sleek and slimmer earbuds is a great decision. Luckily they opted to keep the magnetic earbuds that allow them to clip together when you’re not using them. To further ensure that the ‘buds actually stay in your ear Samsung also included winged ear grips made for long term comfort.
The new Level U headphones also feature 12mm speaker drivers that promise to deliver high-quality sound. Also on the spec sheet are two mics (one on each earbud) to aid in ambient noise reduction while enjoying music and also for echo cancellation for when you have to answer a phone call. As far as battery life is concerned the Level U’s will get you around 10 hours of constant playback and 500 hours of standby, which is useful in case you forget to turn them off after using them. I’ve left the house in the morning more times than I care to admit with a pair of headphone that I thought I could use, only to find that I had accidentally left them on overnight and the battery died. Take it from me, headphone-less commutes are the longest commutes.
Overall, these appear to be a promising second take on wireless earbuds from the Korean technology company. Samsung appears to have ironed out everything we didn’t like about the Gear Circle showing that the company is actually listening to customers, which is not something that can be said about many other companies as large as Samsung. The Samsung Level U wireless headphones are available for $69 in two colors: black sapphire and white. If those colors don’t impress you, keep an eye out for the gold and blue versions that are sure to be announced soon.