Apple’s wireless earbuds face some new competition from Samsung’s cheaper Galaxy Buds, but a new water-damage test shows the cheaper price tag comes at a cost.

Neither AirPods or Galaxy Buds boast waterproofing but do have some water resistance. The folks at CNET pitted the two earbuds against each other in a new real-world test along with the new Powerbeats Pro and the results were pretty bad for Samsung lovers.



CNET put all three buds in the laundry to see if they’d survive. I’ve done this on accident to my Apple Earbuds and they’ve still worked after a trip through the dryer but the sound is a bit degraded. The AirPods come out with the same results. Considering we’ve already seen AirPods survive a trip through a man’s stomach, we’re not really that surprised.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds had some problems pairing with the Voice Memo app after the test and only one of the earbuds’ speakers worked. The test doesn’t include the case too, which would have been another good scenario to see what would happen.

The Powerbeats Pro faired the best in the test. They have the highest water-resistance rating and didn’t lose much functionality and audio quality after the washing machine test. They also have the highest price tag at $249 compared to the AirPods’ $159 price and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds cost of $129.