Jaybird Vista vs. Galaxy Buds: Which should you buy?

Jaybird Vista

The Jaybird Vista feature Find My Buds, which help you if you ever get lost, are built for athletic use with its super long battery life and has strong water resistance.

Samsung Galaxy Buds

The Galaxy Buds are for those who want a general-purpose truly convenient earbud. They aren't as great for workouts, though.

The Galaxy Buds are for everyday use and maybe for light workouts. However, the Jaybird Vista are designed for fitness buffs and those who want earbuds that can take a beating. Usually, our comparisons aren't black and white, but this one definitely is.

What are the major differences?

The biggest differentiator between both buds is that the Jaybird Vista are IPX7 rated while the Galaxy Buds are IPX2 rated. In layman's terms, the Vistas can practically withstand heavy amounts of water contact (sans swimming), while the Galaxy Buds can withstand light splashes such as rain but that's pretty much it.

Both earbuds feature a truly wireless design and last up to 6 hours on a single charge. Where the Vistas pull ahead is with the charging case. The case itself gets you an additional 10 hours of battery life, bringing the total audio time to 16 hours. The Galaxy Buds, on the other hand, can get roughly a full charge from the case. The Galaxy Buds' case offers up to 7 hours of charge with the case, giving you a full charge and then some. Despite this, the Galaxy Buds' case is much better overall thanks to its more compact design and wireless charging capability. Both cases offer USB-C for charging, which is a plus for both the Vista and Galaxy Buds.

Comfort-wise, both earbuds are extremely comfortable with no issues wearing them for 6 hours straight. We didn't experience any fatiguing nor feeling of heaviness with either earbuds. However, both the Vistas and the Galaxy Buds are large earbuds. If you're looking for small, discreet earbuds you may want to look elsewhere as it'll be obvious you're wearing earbuds with either.

The other major difference comes down to control: the Galaxy Buds use touch gestures — taps and swipes for play/pause and volume up or down — which can be finicky. The Jaybird Vistas each have a single physical button on each side, which makes it easier to press but more limited in what you can do. The Jaybird app lets you customize what a single press, double-press or press-and-hold can do (as does Samsung's Galaxy Wearable app) but the control scheme is ultimately more limited.

The sound quality will likely be the determining factor between the two. The Galaxy Buds goes for a much more flat and neutral sound signature while the Jaybird Vista goes for a more fun V-shaped sound signature. This translates to boosted bass and treble, which means slightly recessed mids. However, most workout earbuds go this route as it makes your music sound more energetic and lively.

So which should you buy?

At just over $100, the Galaxy Buds are a bargain, especially if you consider that Samsung has continued to update the product throughout its year-long lifespan and will likely continue doing so for a long time to come.

But the Vistas are better for sport and other sweat-based activities, and while the sound signature is a bit more bass-heavy, I actually prefer my music that way.