It's been a while since we've had new wireless earbuds from Samsung and that wait has ended now. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3 today at Unpacked in Paris. We now have a Pro variant for its wireless earbuds which already signals a major rethink for the product line, but it doesn't stop here. Samsung has also introduced a bold new design that certainly grows on you the more you look at it.
This is one of the more significant upgrades for the Buds lineup that we've seen in recent years. In addition to the design revamp, Samsung also made notable improvements to the sound quality and has particularly focused on improving the call quality, which are quite noticeable if you're coming from one of the earlier models.
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Stems are in, we love stems now
The Galaxy Buds have always had stemless designs but that changes with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Buds 3. The new earbuds now have stems, which Samsung says is in response to the feedback from its customers who prefer this design language.
What's great to see is that Samsung has added its unique touch to this otherwise common design by opting for a bladed, triangular look that looks super modern and sleek. It kicks up a notch on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that boats Blade Lighting, tiny light strips on each earbud that illuminate based on what the user is doing or as beacons to locate lost earbuds.
The fit for both new earbuds is snug and secure, even as the Buds 3 have an Open Type design that sit more on the ear compared to the Canal Type design of the Buds 3 Pro that sit in-ear and provide enhanced sound isolation. You do feel that different on the Pro as it does a much better job of weeding out background noise.
We found the best sound quality on the Buds 3 Pro, understandably, given the Dual Amps and higher frequency response range. The software does some intelligent sound amplification individually on each earbud for a more bespoke level of control. Features that we already know and love on Galaxy Buds, such as ANC, EQ, Voice Detect, etc, are all present.
What I was most looking forward to try was the improved call quality, and it did feel much better during the short hands-on session where there was a lot of background noise, but we'll put it to the test comprehensively in our full review. The first impressions are solid, particularly of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and there wasn't much that jumped out during the session that we didn't like.
You can pre-order the $249.99 Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and $179.99 Galaxy Buds 3 starting today. Samsung will release the new earbuds on July 24.
