As I started to cross the street at the beginning of this morning's run, I realized one of my Galaxy Buds+ ear buds felt loose...but, before I could reach up to adjust it, it slid out and started bouncing on the pavement. This was one of my biggest fears with wireless headphones, but this was the very first time in over a year I've had them that one actually popped out. And, when I picked it up, I was surprised to discover its shiny white casing was completely unscathed. I just rinsed it with water from my bottle, dried it with my shirt, placed it back in my ear properly, and continued my run.
I have to say that this latest generation of gear (not just the wireless buds, but my Galaxy S21 and Garmin Fenix 5 as well) have exceeded my expectations in terms of durability, performance, battery life, and ease of wireless connectivity...even after a year of ownership. Though I initially complained about being somewhat forced to adopt wireless buds, they have worked out far better expected in all respects. They are certainly less obtrusive than having a wired headset (how quickly I forgot that wired headsets would often get caught on my water bottle as I ran, the buttons on their in-line control would eventually stop working, the connectors would wear out so I'd lose audio in one ear or get muffled audio in both...sometimes corrected by a little jiggle, but not always). I still only need to charge the buds' case once a week (about as often as my Fenix 5). The wired headset's connector used to put stress on the smartphone's USB port when I carried it in my Spibelt (possibly prematurely weakening the phone's USB connector, causing issues for both charging and data transfer). With wireless buds, I can now completely zip up the phone in my Spibelt...which makes the phone feel quite a bit more compact when I run. The Galaxy S21's battery life has been so good that I have not once worried about leaving Bluetooth on when I run, even during a marathon (I'd leave cellular enabled if we had better coverage where I usually run). The phone recognizes the buds almost as soon as I open their charging case, reporting their state of charge and instantly shifting music playback to them. Connectivity between my phone and Garmin watch is also as easy...with the Fenix 5's Bluetooth enabled, data starts to transfer as soon as I open Garmin Connect on my phone (and my workout shows up in Strava shortly thereafter). I used to have quite a few annoying issues when I tried to pair my Fenix 2.
Anyway, it's time for work...
