A whole decade ago, Samsung was already a regular earbud maker. A lot has changed in that time (although a lot hasn’t changed), but its old products are a mix of now-expected features, and some specs that really age them. And some of them have features that I’d love to see in earbuds nowadays.
4 years after its release, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 still hasn’t left my wrist
The only gadget I haven’t upgraded in ages
The Samsung Gear IconX
A decade of the Gear
Recently, for another piece of coverage, I stumbled upon Samsung’s newsroom posts announcing the Gear IconX. This was back in July 2016, almost 10 years ago.
This was an earbud released as part of its Gear line of fitness products, like the Gear Fit fitness band and Gear Sport smartwatch.
Samsung’s news post is awash with breathless descriptions of features that we take for granted nowadays. It’s “a truly cord-free earbuds design,” apparently, while later expressing shock that “you cannot find a power switch,” and explaining how “the charging case serves as a case for the earbuds” — good to know.
But beyond these time capsule descriptions about wirelessness, automatic turning on, and the case being a, uh, case, there are a few more interesting mentions. In fact, I was surprised to discover that the Gear IconX has a few features that I’d love to see in modern earbuds.
Built-in music storage
No need for your phone
Most of us have become too used to always keeping our smartphone with us when we’re using earbuds. You use your mobile for Spotify, or Tidal, or Qobuz, or whichever of the best music streaming services you choose to use, and your buds aren’t doing anything without them.
I’m a frequent runner or cyclist, and I’d love to exercise without my smartphone stuck in my band. However, all of the earbuds I test require a phone to play music from.
However, that wasn’t the case with the Gear IconX. As detailed in the blog post, they have storage space for 1,000 songs, or 4 GB. If you uploaded your music files onto the case via USB cable from a Samsung phone, they’d be sent to your earbuds next time they were inserted (or from a PC).
With this feature, you can easily go without your phone yet still enjoy your music. Just what I’d like.
There was a time when onboard storage was a common feature in gadgets like earbuds and smartwatches. There are a few niche options like the ATH-SPORT90BT from Audio-Technica, but that’s basically the only option I can find (and it’s also six years old).
In our streaming service world, relatively few people have their own music files, so it’s understandable that built-in storage isn’t a major feature anymore. But you’d hope for some options, for the few people who would find it useful.
On-ear workout tracking
Who needs a smartwatch?
As mentioned before, the Samsung Gear range was designed for fitness, and so its earbuds had a health tool: they could track a walk or run, and provide you with real-time data on your activity.
For example, when running, a regular notification could let you know your duration, distance, heart rate, pace, or calories burned. You could also choose how regularly the guidance would be provided, either by distance or time.
I’m sure it wouldn’t exactly provide you with running watch levels of data; as far as I can tell, there’s no built-in GPS, or even connected GPS if you’re not running with your phone. However, it does have a heart rate monitor, unlike most buds.
But as with the music storage, this seems like a lovely tool to let you work out without using your smartphone. Even the AirPods Pro 3, with their popular in-ear heart rate sensors, only tell you heart rate when you’re exercising.
It’s a shame that we don’t see this tool more. With an entire industry of workout earbuds out there, and brands that only make that kind of device, it’s a little surprising that no one’s tried to emulate Samsung’s tool.
A wing for better fit
No more falling buds
I’m now going to list a feature that we do see occasionally on modern earbuds, but would love to see more.
The Samsung Gear IconX had a small wing, which would help it lock into your ear better when you were running or walking. You got multiple options in the box, to fit differently sized ears, like how you get various tip sizes nowadays.
I’ve used earbuds with ridges or fins like this before, most prominently on buds like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 and Skullcandy Method 360, and they do exactly what they should. These are often the most reliable buds for sticking in my ear, even if I’m running or at the gym.
That’s a stark contrast with the fit issues that modern Galaxy Buds have had, and I think it’d be a smart piece of design for Samsung to reintroduce in this day and age. Frankly, the brand has offered poorly fitting buds for a few years now, and it’s a problem that needs fixing.
While Samsung no longer makes fitness-specific earbuds, it still markets its Galaxy Buds toward fitness users, and I’d love to see some of these tools make a comeback. And maybe they could: Samsung’s rumored Galaxy Buds 4 counterparts could be its best earbuds yet, and these Gear IconX features could make them even better.
