The Ups and Downs of My Wireless Headphones

Earlier this year, I wrote a post on whether or not you should run with music. There’s so many different opinions on this topic and depending on the type of workout, I can be in either category.

For a good chunk of the year, I’ve been running with the wireless earbuds I was given for Christmas. I was given the Samsung Gear IconX which are cord free and track all sorts of metrics during your workout. Honestly I have a love/hate relationship with these things. Although, lately it’s been hate than love.

Right off the bat, I fell in love with this style of headphone. It was completely cord free and the earbuds fit snugly in your ear. The earbuds operate on touch controls to play your music and start your workout. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth but also has the option to store music on the earbuds themselves. That’s pretty cool right?

Problem #1 – What if you use a streaming service?

I don’t buy and download music on my phone. I haven’t purchased individual songs in YEARS. I’ve always used a streaming service whether that’s been Microsoft’s Groove Music or Spotify. That problem with that is, the battery life on these isn’t so great with streaming. Even if I have playlists downloaded to my phone, it still operates as “streaming” and kill the battery. If you like going on runs longer than 45 minutes, these headphones aren’t for you. By the end of my long runs, I end up playing music straight from my phone. Imagine me running through the neighborhood with music coming from my waist. Awesome, right?

Problem #2 – Touch Controls don’t work with Spotify

I know a lot of people who like to listen to playlists curated by Spotify. Well unless you don’t ever want to skip a song, these headphones don’t like Spotify. I gave these a listen with Spotify and when I tried to use ANY of the music controls, it didn’t work. Not fun.

Problem #3 – The charging case doesn’t hold a charge for long

Maybe it’s just me but when I was given these earbuds, I didn’t think I’d have to charge them multiple times a week. I charge my Fitbit and Garmin once a week. Most smartwatches are pretty similar and hold a charge for a good chunk of time. These earbuds? You can forget about that. I have to charge them every night before I play to go on a run. Say I ran on Tuesday for 30 minutes. You would think I would have enough battery for my run on Wednesday. Especially since the chase doubles as a charger! In this case, I would get 10 minutes into my run and the earbuds shut off. This is extremely frustrating and many other earbud owners have the same issue. There may be a fix but this is my number one frustration.

Overall, I’d have to give these a thumbs down. Unfortunately I REALLY hate corded headphones and I carry my phone in my Flipbelt at my waist so it would be a headache to figure that out. There’s other earbuds out there that are specifically made for runners. However they are a pretty penny so I won’t be running out the door to get those anytime soon. Until then, I’ll be trying to find a work around to get through my runs with these headphones!

Do you have wireless headphones?