Samsung Gear IconX 2018 Review

The 3-Minute Samsung Gear IconX 2018 Review

Samsung Wireless Earbuds

By Graeme Messina | September 10, 2018

The Specifics:

Features & Design: 3.5/5 ● Performance: 4/5 ● Value: 3/5 ● Sound Quality 3.5/5

The Best:

Samsung have revamped their original design and brought a different approach to the table with their newly constructed Gear IconX ear pods. They are a wireless Bluetooth system that features an accelerometer and ambient noise filter that can be adjusted to let in the environmental sounds around you so that when you are out on the road walking, jogging or cycling, you can still hear what is going on in your surroundings.

The Bugs:

These ear pods don’t have much integration with Apple products, which is a shame because it would have opened up the product to a much wider audience. The accelerometer controls feel a little inaccurate at times, which can affect the efficacy of your workout tracking.

Is it for you?

Android users, and Samsung Galaxy users, more specifically, will find that the Gear IconX is a great pair of wireless headphones. What separates these earphones even further from their rivals is the fact that they also have their own storage built in, 4GB to be precise.

Meet the Samsung Gear IconX 2018

Because of the on board storage, you no longer have to rely solely on pairing them with a Bluetooth compatible device, so you can take to the gym or treadmill without needing your phone to be too close at hand for your music requirements. This makes for a liberating musical experience for fitness enthusiasts that wish to travel light while exercising.

What we like

Pairing the Gear IconX headphones to your smartphone is an easy affair: simply open the included charging case and check your phone for any nearby devices for pairing. Select the ear pods and you are good to go – easy as that. The case also acts as a charging station for your ear pods too.

Battery life has been greatly enhanced as well, with the Gear IconX easily handling a full day of use from a single charge. The ear pods themselves are designed to be really rugged, yet comfortable. Gestures are easy to setup and use, making mute, volume controls and song skips an easy thing to do.

The sound quality does not disappoint either, with the general output being more than adequate for most genres of music. There is a built in voice coach built in, letting you know how well your workout is going and helping you to track your stats. There are programmable buttons on each of the ear pieces, and you can decide which button controls which feature.  

What we don’t like

The lack of iOS interoperability is somewhat disappointing, but to be fair, Apple has a wireless pod system of their own, so it probably won’t matter too much to iOS users. The touch interface is easy to use once you have gotten used to it, but that can be a little frustrating in the beginning.

Some users have complained of the earbuds being a little too snug, nut this is something that you can only gauge for yourself once you pop them in your ears.

Should you buy it?

If you are looking at a wireless set of headphones to compliment your smart phone or as a workout companion, then these are a really good option. They allow you to go cord free and without the risk of getting tangles up when you are working out or going for a run, which is really convenient. Overall, these are great if you already have a Samsung phone, but Apple users may want to look elsewhere.