My Samsung Gear Icon X Review

Frenzytom

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Nov 8, 2009
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No sure where to put this since I couldn't find an appropriate category to put it in. Mods, please move to more useful section. Thanks.

Here is my initial impressions and unboxing I uploaded to YouTube:

https://youtu.be/2kbGxG6OcFU?list=PLBFJwxhoCYHv2Lz2i4k4pPiJidb0h-OaE

Hello, I spent some play time with the new IconX today and will be talking about the pros, cons and some things that I won’t fault the headphones for. I spent a good day walking around, commuting and listening to music around the city and the first impression have been good. I also spent some time at the gym and I must say that they are great to keep those cords away from the workout. It was a bit large in my ears and someone mentioned it looked like a hearing aid due to the size. A few times, one of the headphones would pop out of my ears while doing pushups. I have tried a number of sizes and found the one that fits the best (medium #2 size). Also, on my way back on my bus ride, I fell asleep and one of them actually popped out of my ears and fell between the seats. My ear anatomy will take the blame for that one since the headset does a decent job in staying in my ears for the most part. The sound is a big win here and it blows my bluetooth LG headset out of the water. Also the around-the-neck design can be cumbersome when wear scarves or thick jacket. The IconX just doesn’t get in the way when I have it on. The controls are a bit annoying at times since the headset needs to “twist” in my ear to get a snug fit (not sure if it helps pushing all the wax in the ear too). And once it is twisted, the swiping feature is a bit lost since the directions are not as clear (like the volume control). The tapping is not a big issue but it is overly sensitive like when I touch it to adjust the fit in my ears. I wish they had a more custom foam to get a better fit in my somewhat unusual ear shape. I am going to try it a few more days at the gym and give a more through review as the first impression (and YouTube unboxing) have been positive. I just hope some of the other negatives can be resolved once I get use to some of the quirks.

Update 1/8/2017
After testing it out for a few days, i found a weird bug where the headphones wouldn’t connect to bluetooth. It would be disconnected and require a phone reboot and pairing with the Gear software and bluetooth settings. Other then that, my ear has gotten accustomed to the fit and the sound is still very goos compared to my LG bluetooth headphones. The touch controls are still something not very intuitive and sometimes, it does volume control and sometimes song control. A bit annoying after awhile. The battery life is still good after a day or two of standby but it drains pretty when in use (a day and half the most - 4-5 hours).

Pros:
- Great battery life
- Useful charging case for storage
- Amazing sound
- Paired with my Pixel 2 XL nicely

Cons:
- Size to big
- Gear software a bit wonky (Exercise reading coach won’t stop)
- Controls are bit sensitive (kept activating stop, start, etc on subtle touches)

Neutral
- Won’t fit in my ears
- Exercise coach a bit annoying
- Kind of uncomfortable after long period of use
 

jbjtkbw007

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Oct 26, 2009
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I'm going to chime in on this after having these since April of this year.

I owned the original IconX and that horrific battery life left me wanting to go to another pair as I really enjoy having this with a neck harness or wires hanging. So I picked these up when I saw the price drop to $149 on Amazon. I REALLY like these earphones (headset seems like overkill). I like the sound. The bass is acceptable without being overbearing and I listen to a lot of bass heavy music like drum and bass, old school booty music, and breakbeats. Sound is fine.

Battery life has improved massively. I can get through a whole work day plus conference calls. I place them back in the case when not in use to top them off periodically. I take them down to the gym and I, too, have oddly shaped ears, so my left one tends to come out at times, but that's more on me and not the earpiece. I'll also agree on the over sensitive touch feature because it makes adjusting the headset a bit difficult. I wish they had a feature where if you are actively touching the sides for too long (like over 5 seconds), the ear pieces disable the touch features to allow you to make those adjustments without worrying about changing the track or volume. Just a thought.

I like the app features but I'm also using it with a Samsung S9+, so I have better compatibility. Very easy to use and now that you don't have to connect directly to a pc to update or upload songs, that makes a huge difference. Overally, I'm a fan and will wait another 2 years or so for another pair to come out and upgrade to those. I haven't felt the need to try any others, so for now, I'm a satisfied user.