Samsung Unpacked has come and gone, with the company launching a new Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watches and more. Also on the docket were two sets of earbuds — the Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. I got to go hands-on (ears-on) with the new sets of buds, and I came away with some mixed feelings about them.
Yes, they look sharp — both in style and the stems look like they could literally slice into cheese. They also have some potentially neat AI-based features that could bring real value to your listening time. But they also come with a price tag that is eye-opening these days, considering the competition that’s out there. So let’s dive in.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are both available for preorder now and start shipping on July 24. Those who preorder on samsung.com before July 23 will receive a complimentary clip case along with the buds.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are the company's flagship earbuds that promise location assistance, AI and high-quality sound in an attractive package but with an eye-watering price point.
Great-looking design
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro both have similar designs. The key differences between the two are that the Buds 3 Pro have silicone ear tips and an LED light bar that goes down the stem of the buds. The Buds 3 do not have either of those features. Right off the bat, that means the Buds 3 Pro are going to have far superior noise isolation than the Galaxy Buds 3.
That being the case, both sets of earbuds come with active noise cancellation (ANC), though I didn’t have the opportunity to test either pair during my hands-on time. To say I’m dubious that the ANC works well on the Buds 3 when there is not passive isolation would be quite the understatement, but Samsung included it in both sets.
Moving on, the earbuds have a design that can be described as different yet the same. They’re different from previous generations of the buds that lived in your ear, but they’re the same as most other earbuds that hook onto your ears and have stems that extend down from your ears. Those stems are triangular, which is a very unique look. Like the AirPods Pro 2 and Nothing Ear earbuds, you squeeze the stems in order to control your media. You can also swipe up and down on the stems to control volume, which is a win.
AI on board
Some of the AI tricks that Samsung is bringing are potentially neat too. Specifically, Samsung talked about adaptive noise cancellation, which constantly monitors outside noises and adjusts ANC appropriately according to the situation. For example, if you walk past a construction site with a jackhammer, the buds can detect that signature from a database of sudden noises it has and adjust frequencies appropriately.
Similarly, if you’re walking down the street and a siren calls out on the street nearby, the buds can drown out that sound. But it intelligently doesn’t drown it out as much so you can be aware there is an emergency vehicle nearby and can get out of the way, since they are typically not concerned by such inconveniences as traffic signals. This all works a lot like the AirPods Pro 2’s Adaptive Audio feature, and we’re eager to see how the two compare in head-to-head testing.
When it comes to voice detection, AI is at play there too, simultaneously increasing transparency mode while decreasing ANC so the transition isn’t as jarring as it has been in the past. That is certainly a welcome change. I have disabled voice detection in the past for that very reason, preferring to just take out an earbud instead of dealing with the jarring change.
Finally, an accompanying app on your smartphone can enable interpreter mode. You can speak into the earbuds and display the translated text on your phone, and you can hear the reply played back to you in your own language. This is one of those features that will need to be tested to find out how seamlessly the whole process works. I have been surprised at how well a Google Translate conversation can work, as I learned with an Uber driver in Paris a few weeks ago. If these work anything like that, that’s a pretty killer feature on its own.
Blade lights
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have an LED strip running down the “blade” of the earbud that adds a bit of style to the look. The Buds are compatible with Google’s Find My Device network, and when you’re looking for the buds, the blade lights will light up to help you locate them in a dark room. The top of the earbuds case is transparent so you’ll be able to see the blade lights peeking through if you need to locate them. Otherwise, they’re just decorative, rather like white LED lights on a mouse or computer. It’s a little bit of a shame that the lights aren’t configurable to change colors, but maybe those will come in the Buds 4 Pro.
The Buds 3 can last up to five hours on a charge with ANC on and another 19 hours with the charge in the case. The Buds 3 Pro can last up to six hours on a charge with another 20 hours in the case. Speaking of the case, you get wireless charging in the case, which has always been there, and a pairing button on the case, which has not.
The takeaway
While we’ll have to wait for the earbuds to go through full testing before we can draw any conclusions, it’s hard to see the value proposition with these earbuds. The Buds 3 Pro in particular have a really nice feature set, but you don’t need to look far to find a set of earbuds with great sound, excellent ANC, better battery life and a significantly lower price. It’s very possible that these buds have outstanding sound or that the Adaptive ANC is sensational, but those are really the only ways a $250 price tag can be justified. There are simply too many other options for around the $150 mark, like the Nothing Ear earbuds and the frequently discounted AirPods Pro 2 — one of our best wireless earbuds picks — that the Buds 3 Pro seem to borrow heavily from. But that’s what testing and full reviews are for.
In the meantime, what I can tell you is that these earbuds have good sound and some potentially neat features, including a unique approach to ANC and safety. Plus, they play very well with the Samsung ecosystem, so if you’re interested in checking them out, links can be found at the top of this post.