Samsung is throwing its hat into the ring with the announcement of the Gear IconX. The $199.99 IconX are the first truly wireless headphones from a major manufacturer, while they echo many of the same features and design of other models we’ve seen already.
Samsung says the IconX is meant for people who have a more casual relationship with exercise (the new Gear Fit 2, meanwhile, is meant for the truly dedicated). Still, that doesn’t mean Samsung skimped on the fitness tech here. Each bud weighs 6.3 grams — a hair or 2 heavier than a U.S. quarter. The device tells you how far you’ve run, how fast you are going and how fast your heart is beating. Yes, there’s a heart-rate sensor built into these things. More importantly, there is a voice coach feature (which I didn’t get to test), which is meant to help runners trim their lap times and surge into higher intensity zones.
Streaming music to your earholes without any wires getting in the way may be a just dream of many people, but Samsung’s actually pitching the IconX as a fitness tracking device first and personal music product second. The new IconX has sensors to monitor movement, heart rate, and can calculate calories burned, and distance traveled, just like a wrist-worn fitness tracker. It syncs all of that data to Samsung’s S Health app, that can export to a handful of other fitness apps.
Other Features of IconX are :
- Provides a lightweight, secure and comfortable fit with 3 different sizes of eartips and wingtips, and can be activated by simply placing the earbuds in the user’s ears
- Includes a Voice Guide feature that provides instant voice feedback on the user’s workout progress and offers a standalone music listening experience
- Enables tracking of fitness data such as distance, speed, heart rate, duration and calories burned, and easily syncs with S Health
- With Bluetooth capability and an internal storage which can play up to 1,000 MP3s, users can simply tap or swipe the earbuds to easily control the music.