Samsung's Galaxy Buds Live are surprisingly easy to fix

Samsung has developed a reputation for repairable earbuds, and that’s carrying over to its just-launched Galaxy Buds Live.

iFixit has torn down the new smart earbuds to discover that the organic design is still easy to repair, if not surprisingly so. After using a vice to pry the buds open, the do-it-yourself service shop found that it could easily access just about everything in each earbud. Samsung mostly relies on light glue and clips to keep things together, including an easy-to-swap battery. Check out a video of the Galaxy Buds Live teardown below.

This extends to the case, where you don’t even need the vice to pop open the design. Just a few screws keep many of the components in place, and reaching the battery involves peeling off the wireless charging coil.

And yes, even Samsung calls them beans — connectors in the buds refer to “bean left” and “bean right.”

See also: The best true wireless earbuds

You probably won’t repair the buds yourself, but it’s good to know that a fix is an option if you have the patience and can track down spare parts. True wireless earbuds like these can quickly become unusable if you wear down the battery or subject them to drops and sweat, so this may be worth considering if you’d rather not pay a premium for service or replacements.

As with earlier Samsung buds, these are also much more repair-friendly than Apple’s AirPods, which are effectively impossible to fix. While Apple does provide options to buy replacement AirPods and recycle the hardware when you’re done, its earbuds might not be your first pick if you’re determined to keep your audio gear running for as long as possible.

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