The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus have some competition… from Samsung

With hordes of us working from home, noise-cancelling headphones are more important than ever. The AKG N400 ANC true wireless earbuds have arrived just in the nick of time, and could outshine the parent company’s Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus.

The earbuds are water-resistant and can even be submerged up to 30 minutes as proven by the IPX7 rating, which is more than either generation of Galaxy Buds can withstand. This makes the AKG earbuds a great option for athletes as other must-have features like Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes are supported.

According to the product page, a single charge yields 12 hours of playtime with noise-cancelling on. If this proves true, the AKG N400 earbuds will have some of the best battery life among the true wireless competition. Fast and Qi wireless charging are both supported by the case. Just 10 minutes of quick charging supplies one hour of playtime.

Unlike the Samsung-branded earphones, you’re afforded three pairs of silicone ear tips and a pair of comply memory foam ear tips to further optimize noise-cancelling effectiveness. AKG’s N60NC and N700NC noise-cancelling headphones are top-notch, so we’re excited to test the earbuds’ ANC performance.

The earbuds take on a vaguely familiar shape with stout wing tips and rounded housings. AKG uses touch panels on its earphones which may be used to toggle noise cancellation on or off, cycle through listening modes, access your favorite virtual assistant including Siri and Google Assistant, and control playback. Spotify integration isn’t mentioned with the AKG N400, so for that you’ll have to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus.

The AKG N400 earbuds are available in black, blue, and silver. As of March 30, 2020, they only appear on Samsung Korea’s website and cost approximately $187.