Introduction and unboxing
The Samsung Galaxy Buds have always been a safe bet for Android users: they’re well-made, sound better than most other earbuds, and have a comprehensive feature set.
It’s safe to say that nothing has changed here, although the earbuds look dramatically different in their sixth generation. This is the first time that Samsung’s earbuds have had a stem design, and it’s made them better, even if it loses a lot of character and moves them closer to the Apple AirPods Pro.
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro cost $250 / €220 / €250 and ship in Silver and White. In the box you will find a USB-C cable and S, M and L silicone ear tips.
Let’s take a look at Samsung’s biggest update to the Galaxy Buds yet.
Design and features
Superficial observers will insist that the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro is a blatant Apple AirPods Pro 2 copies the shape of the buds to the shape of the case. We don’t necessarily agree with this, the Galaxy Buds have a different shape and look different, especially if you buy the Silver model.
Aside from the similarities to Apple, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro sport a completely different design than its predecessor. What were once bulbous, stemless buds are now slimmer buds with long, flat stems.
The case has a clear top and small blue or cyan and orange color accents to show you where the matching bud goes. The buds nestle into the case the opposite way they do with the AirPods Pro 2 — facing outward, while the Apple Pro buds sit as if you were wearing them in your ears.
The orientation in which you insert the earbuds into the case is generally something you get used to after a while. The issue with how the Galaxy Buds3 Pro charge comes down to their flat stems. You have to line up the stem with the angled tunnel in the case, an awkward finger gymnastics that doesn’t get easier with time. Simply put, these earbuds are a pain to put back in the case every time.
On the plus side, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro’s new angular stems open up a world of control options not available with previous models in the series.
Similar to how the AirPods Pro and Nothing Ear work, you squeeze the stem to control playback. But here, you can also slide your finger up and down for precise volume control. The flat side of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro’s stem makes this possible in a way those other earbuds can’t.
A word about the reported quality issues that have forced Samsung to temporarily stop selling the Galaxy Buds3 Pro. It has to do with the swappable earbuds, which attach to the earbuds via a plastic holder, which some users are reporting break on their units. Our Galaxy Buds3 Pro do not appear to have this issue. We removed the earbuds multiple times to make sure, with no hassle.
The buttons themselves
The stems of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro feature a Blade Light that glows when you put your buds back in the case. You can set the lights to always be on with a long squeeze of the stem. It’s a different design, but we can’t say it adds anything to the experience.
The case has a USB-C port and supports wireless charging. There is a small LED in the middle of the case to give you battery and charging indication, and there is a button on the bottom for pairing.
We find this case design more comfortable to use. The smaller lid is easier to close softly than the large flap on the previous Galaxy Buds case.
The earbuds themselves have an IP57 rating for moderate dust and water resistance.
The in-ear feel of the buds is something strictly individual. This editor found them just a tad too loose, regardless of the tips.
They were fine for most activities, but lunch and watching a movie resulted in a few drops. Pushing the earbuds further into the ear helped, but made the fit a little less comfortable.
Voice control is excellent on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro. Tapping on previous models was an annoying experience, and they constantly thought I was tapping when I wanted to reset them.
The stems on the latest model make this a thing of the past. One squeeze to pause, two squeezes to skip to the next track, and three squeezes to repeat the current track worked without a hitch.
With earbuds like the Nothing Ear and Galaxy Buds3 Pro boasting excellent controls, it’s hard to go back to stem-less models.
The stems are also handy for taking the buds out or adjusting them in-ear. Taking the buds out pauses whatever you’re playing.
Sound quality, active noise cancellation and battery life
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro features adaptive noise cancellation — smarter ANC than before. The buds monitor for noise to eliminate it, but can detect your voice and disable ANC if you start a call. The buds also use AI to detect an alarm or siren and stop ANC so you can hear the alert.
You can adjust the strength of the noise cancellation in the Galaxy Wear app. At maximum strength, the noise cancellation is pretty solid. We tested these earbuds in a typical office environment, as well as outside and on a three-hour flight.
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro can suppress the constant sound of a jet engine just fine, but struggles with the frequencies of human voices or random noises.
A good fit helps a lot with ANC.
Before we talk about sound quality, a word about the underlying tech. The Galaxy Buds3 Pro uses a 2-way driver with an independent woofer and tweeter in each bud. On the software side, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro encodes audio at up to 24-bit/96kHz and then decodes the audio at the same quality using what Samsung calls its Seamless Codec.
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro are perhaps the best earbuds for calls. The six microphones deliver excellent quality without the “speakerphone feeling” you get with most earbuds of this kind. All callers were surprised when we told them we were using earbuds.
If you use these buds with a Galaxy phone, you can also enjoy 360 Audio (spatial audio), which simulates a multi-speaker system in a physical room. You can also use the Galaxy Buds3 Pro with Galaxy AI’s Interpreter mode. There’s also a sort of multi-point connection mode, but that apparently only works with other Galaxy devices.
Finally, you can control the buds with your voice with commands like Volume up, Play music, Previous track, Answer call or Reject. Again, this only works with Galaxy phones.
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro sounds impressive. There’s a noticeable increase in volume and an improvement in overall soundstage and dynamics compared to the Galaxy Buds2 Pro.
Bass is present from the sub-bass frequencies and grows throughout the range. Set this to the Bass Boost equalizer setting and you get a nice rumble throughout the range.
But it’s the mid-range where the Galaxy Buds3 Pro shine. Instruments and melodies are beautifully defined. Vocals sound natural, too, and there’s just the right amount of presence and brilliance in the higher frequencies.
One issue with the Galaxy Buds3 Pro is the equalizer. The custom equalizer is quieter than the preset equalizers, even if you make them identical. For example, if you duplicate Bass Boost as a custom EQ setting and switch between them, your custom equalizer will be about 10% quieter.
We expect this to be a software issue that will be resolved with an update.
Conclusion
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro are yet another excellent product from Samsung and a fine, if controversial, addition to a solid line of earbuds.
The AirPods Pro comparisons and the unfortunate quality issues already resolved mean they’re off to a flying start, but they’re still a solid upgrade on the very good Galaxy Buds2 Pro. The Galaxy Buds3 Pro introduce a radical new design, adding multiple levels of functionality and comfort.
In addition to the design changes, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro makes subtle but meaningful updates to the sound quality, resulting in a better-sounding product. In fact, we would argue that the Galaxy Buds3 Pro sounds better than its mainstream rivals like the Apple AirPods 2 Pro and Nothing Ear, with stronger bass and a more dynamic soundstage.
The Galaxy Buds3 Pro cost $250 / €220 / €250 which is on the expensive side, but slightly cheaper than Apple’s AirPods Pro 2.
If you’re a Galaxy owner, these are probably the best earbuds you can buy for your phone, with the added features that make the purchase worthwhile. Other Android users may want to look elsewhere for a similar sound and feature set for less – the new and cheaper Nothing by Ear is worth watching.