Recommendations on wireless earbuds; Iconx 2018 any good?

[Hiomachi]

I'm on the lookout for some good, decently priced earbuds as I'm just so tired of being restricted by wired earphones. Budget is 140+ USD.

I saw that many from where I live are selling the Gear Iconx 2018 for bout 147 USD so that got me interested as its feature of swiping and tapping to change music tracks was pretty cool and it seems only the iconx 2018 is 'high-tech' enough to have it.... even Jaybirds dont offer that feature which sucks..

But then again, 200 is alot to throw away on some earbuds so I wanna know what you guys think of the Iconx 2018?

Pros:
- Average/Supposedly above avg sound quality when paired with a Samsung phone according to Samsung(I use a S8 plus)
-Market leader in battery life for the earbuds
-Cool swiping/tapping features to change tracks and receive calls etc
-Quick charge
-Uses USB C
-Has this hear-through feature which allows the user to still hear his/her surroundings with the earbuds in to prevent accidents

Cons:
-Amazon reviews seem quite bad with 3/5 stars only?! What even
-Many of the reviewers complain about:
1) Connection loss
2) Earbuds spoil after a couple weeks
-No Bluetooth 5, still using the old Bluetooth 4.2 even in 2018

What do you guys think? And any other earbuds I could look at for my budget? I did look at Jaybirds but those top-end models are just way out of my budget =/ Not to mention even the Jaybirds dont have Bluetooth 5.0 *rolls eyes*

I'm primarily looking at earbuds that have BT 5.0 which i understand is the newest standard.

 

[hallux]

Zolo Liberty+ check all the boxes except USB-C charging. However, with 48 hours of play time when you include the power from the case the charging shouldn't be much of an issue.

https://www.amazon.com/Total-Wirele...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6347599

Note that the base version is only Bluetooth 4, need the Liberty+ to get Bluetooth 5. I also suggest you be sure your ears are relatively free of wax, though the second set I received has a different screen than the first set (I got a special edition as part of the kickstarter campaign) that may not plug up as easily so this may not be an issue.

As an alternative, I have the Anker Soundbuds Surge which have taken over as my activity buds, the "hooks" are much more secure in my ears (rubber tips slip with sweat, which is a big issue for me). These don't have USB-C charging either but they charge pretty quick, which isn't unexpected as they don't get much more than 2-3 hours of listening time. The connection has been stable for me, they are Bluetooth 4.1 though.

Sound quality from both is good, the Zolo buds have the pass-through audio (has to be turned back on every time you remove them from the case) and an app with some preset EQ options but no custom EQ capabilities. The prices on these are at 2 ends of the spectrum, the Soundbuds Surge are $24 while the Liberty+ are $150.

 

[Talderon]

Well, I bought me a pair of these IconX 2018 models off Amazon last week ($130 for black) and can tell you that I LOVE them.

Few things that I REALLY like:

• You can use either/or (they are paired independently)
• You can swap them out while on a call or playing music without issue (other caller had no idea I swapped them out)
• Using one at a time with the charging case let me go almost 20 hours without needing to plug anything in
• Added my own MP3 files to the onboard storage and didn't need my phone to play music (longer battery life)
• Ambient Sound mode is WAY under-valued and under reviewed
• They are so comfortable that I forget that I even have them in

Granted, even though these will work with any phone (straight BT headset) for calls/music, using a Samsung Phone will allow you to get ahold of more features. Since I have a Note 9, this isn't much of a Con, but those without Samsung Phones may find this less attractive.

I didn't want to pull the trigger on the Bose (even though I have tried a friends pair) because I had issues with the sync between the 2 buds (thick head?) and could only use ONE by themselves. These just hit every checkbox that I wanted in a pair of BT Ear Buds and then some.