Table of Contents 64q43
At the end of 2016 the Samsung decided to enter heavily in the bluetooth headphones, with the launch of Gear IconX, a direct competitor of the AirPods, announced by Apple in the same period and released shortly afterwards. From there to here, the Samsung worked on improving and adjusting various details of this product, bringing a new version (2018). t5l3k
A Samsung gave in to the shometech um Gear IconX 2018 for testing and after a few weeks we bring you our impressions and the results of our tests.
Strengths 411a58
- Good battery life, compatible with its competitors in the market;
- Good audio quality;
- Good ergonomics (for fans of in-ear headphones).
Negative points 362i2j
- Case, despite having a battery, can leave it in hand;
- Extremely high recharge time;
- Application dependency Samsung for monitoring physical activities.
Design 145g70
The design of the Gear IconX 2018 There were no major changes from its previous version. The top handles are still there, with some swap options in the box. The headphones remain in-ear, which helps to secure the headphones in the ear and increases the sound quality, without the need for additional volume. The rubbers for the in-ear inserts are also included with the device.
The case had few changes, the most expressive being: button for connection bluetooth on the back of the case and switching the connector to USB-C, maintaining the standardization of device connectors Samsung. The LEDs that show the battery of the case and the battery of the headphones are still there, in the same place, making this monitoring easier.
Usability 1h2p1k
O Gear IconX 2018 continues to impress with its ease of use: just put the headphones in your ears to start using it, right? It depends. The smartphone setup Samsung is extremely simple – despite causing a certain dependency: install the application Samsung Gear and from then on the configuration is automatic and assisted, without problems. on other devices Android, install the app and things work pretty much the same.
The device is not Android? In this case it is necessary to use the button on the back of the case, with the headphones inside, holding it until the lights flash to synchronize with the bluetooth of your device. Of course, you discover this after a good use in the Google, since in the manual provided by Samsung there are simply no other options for use other than in a Android.
So far, nothing more. I decided to test it with my iPhone 7 (main device for personal use) to see what would be different and then things started to differ. The phone worked perfectly, with the same quality you get when using a Android. Like their predecessor, the earcups have touch-sensitive controls on both sides. It worked on iOS? Not. but not Android it works perfectly? Unfortunately neither. In my tests, using a Samsung smartphone, several times the controls stopped working. After a few seconds (with the music going), I heard the characteristic sound of the phone indicating that it had connected to the device (!) and the controls started working again. I couldn't identify any patterns, but it happened enough times to make itself noticed.
Like its predecessor, the Gear IconX 2018 It has an internal memory of 4GB for music storage. Thus, you can use the headset without having to have a smartphone or other device connected and close to it. The transfer of songs can be done via bluetooth from your smartphone Android.
You can also use an adapter USB (included in the headset kit) and transfer via cable. For both transfers, it is necessary to use the Samsung Gear app (goodbye other platforms). You can also use your computer (Windows ou Mac OS) for this transfer.
for fans of streaming, unfortunately, bad news: the Gear IconX 2018, like its predecessor, does not have any integration with this type of service. Of course, you can use your smartphone for this, but then the question of using only the phone and being able to leave the smartphone a little aside falls apart.
Another good use of headphones is in relation to physical activity monitoring. But, again, we have the problem of constraints: monitoring is only done by the Samsung Gear. Of course, you can use the S Health to store the data, but without the possibility of using other platforms, including the Android.
sound quality 146w5x
The sound quality, like the previous version, is very good. The frequencies are well balanced, with a greater predominance of bass, largely due to the fact that the headphones are in-ear. For this reason too, you often don't feel the need for a very strong volume, which helps not to distort the sound so much and preserve the quality more.
Battery 554u5p
In the first generation of Gear IconX, the battery was the biggest Achilles heel. Hearing the clamor of consumers, the Samsung returned to the drawing board and managed to deliver in this 2018 version a battery much more compatible with the market.
In my tests, the battery of the headphones lasted, on average, between 05 and 05:30hs. An interesting fact is that the phone notifies you when it is reaching the end of the battery: at 10%, at 5% and at 2%, individually. It takes a little getting used to and it's weird that one side ends up faster than the other, but the difference wasn't that big.
If the headphones battery has undergone a great update, the case battery has remained the same, only giving the headphones a full charge. Specifically for me, who have the AirPods, where the case gives up to 5 full charges, I confess that it took me a while to get used to it and I ended up, at times, running out of headphones outside the house.
What caught my attention the most was the charging time. With the headphones and the case fully discharged, using a standard charger (5w 1,2a) the time to fully charge the case and headphones was over 4 hours! So, a tip: whenever possible, keep your headphones and the case charging, as in an emergency you may not be able to count on them.
Price and final considerations 6u3310
The new generation of Gear IconX It started to be sold here in Tupiniquin lands last November 23, for R$ 1.499, 100 reais more expensive than its previous version. If you own a smartphone Samsung, would like to stay in the same ecosystem and have no problem shelling out that amount, you'll have a great product in your hands.
