Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: light ’em up

Oct 09, 2024 09:00 PM - 4 months ago 151678

Two things tin beryllium existent astatine once. Yes, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro person the astir derivative creation yet of immoderate of the company’s earbuds. Apart from gimmicky LED strips, there’s thing peculiarly original aliases eye-catching astir their stemmed look. But the $249.99 Buds 3 Pro besides hap to beryllium the best-sounding, astir polished earbuds that Samsung has produced. Their audio value ranks pinch immoderate of my favourite wireless earbuds for illustration Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4 and the Technics AZ80. And the Buds 3 Pro see genuinely useful sound commands that don’t require saying a aftermath building beforehand. 

That’s a sterling start, but their imaginable is held backmost by clumsy creation decisions, a lack of multipoint connectivity, and progressive sound cancellation that’s simply capable astatine this $250 price. Over the summer, Samsung besides had to pause shipments of these earbuds to reside value power issues aft early buyers managed to easy rip the silicone receptor tips. I ne'er knowledgeable that problem pinch my reappraisal pair, and the Buds 3 Pro are now wide disposable again.

Samsung’s latest earbuds don’t travel successful immoderate nosy colors for illustration the bora purple Buds 2 Pro. Your options are achromatic — wherever the AirPods resemblance gets a small uncanny — aliases gunmetal gray. Samsung has tried to create immoderate ocular region betwixt these earbuds and the AirPods by going pinch a much angular stem and putting a seethrough lid connected the charging case. And past location are those achromatic LEDs, which you tin ray up by squeezing some stems erstwhile the buds are retired of your ears. 

You’ll ne'er spot this touch of flair erstwhile wearing them, of course, but different group will. The lights tin beryllium group either to glow steadily aliases do a pulsing effect, but what the LEDs can’t do is show adjuvant things for illustration the remaining artillery level for each earbud. That seems for illustration the astir evident intent for these and yet… nope! The lights do move connected erstwhile you’re trying to find the Buds 3 Pro pinch Samsung’s Find My feature, astatine least. 

A hands-on photograph of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds.

The LEDs don’t really do much.

The move to a stemmed creation mightiness consciousness for illustration Samsung lazily joining the pack, but what matters much is that it results successful a much secure, unchangeable in-ear fit. I’ve recovered the Buds 3 Pro to beryllium very comfortable, and they haven’t fatigued my ears moreover erstwhile I support them successful for astir of a time astatine the office. Voice telephone capacity is besides rather impressive; you tin sample the mic value of the Buds 3 Pro (and different caller earbuds) successful a Vergecast episode from earlier this month.

Speaking of voice, the astir convenient characteristic of the Buds 3 Pro is their sound controls. At immoderate time, you tin opportunity elemental commands for illustration “volume up” aliases “next song” and the earbuds will execute those requests done your telephone — without requiring immoderate annoying aftermath building first. It conscionable works, and you don’t person to speak peculiarly loudly for the buds to observe sound commands. They only screen the fundamentals, but I’m now utilizing them daily. If you for illustration beingness controls, Samsung has fundamentally lifted the AirPods Pro power scheme, pinch pinch gestures for play/pause, skipping tracks, aliases toggling betwixt ANC and transparency modes. You tin besides descent your digit on the stem to set volume. The angular style intends the gestures aren’t quite arsenic foolproof arsenic connected the AirPods, but I’ve gotten them down reasonably well.

The Buds 3 Pro connection terrific sound quality, pinch a tuning that intimately follows the Harman target curve, which astir group find pleasing. That intends you’ll perceive accent connected bass and treble, but the mids still travel done without sounding recessed. Samsung’s flagship earbuds sound afloat and detailed, bringing retired the champion successful the latest albums from Waxahatchee, Post Malone, and Billy Strings. 360-degree / spatial audio pinch caput search is coming for those of you who A) ain a Galaxy telephone and B) bask that benignant of thing. I proceed to (mostly) disregard it.

A hands-on photograph of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds.

The Buds 3 Pro are much angular than Apple’s AirPods Pro.

A hands-on photograph of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds.

There are bluish and orangish indicators for the near and correct earbuds.

I’m usually not personification who gets hung up connected Bluetooth codecs, but I committedness my ears can show a quality erstwhile listening to the Buds 3 Pro pinch a Galaxy S24 Ultra, which tin pat into Samsung’s Seamless Codec Ultra High Quality (SSD UHQ) for richer audio — particularly if you’re playing lossless tracks. There’s conscionable an other furniture of item and fidelity that’s little pronounced erstwhile utilizing these buds pinch a non-Samsung device. But moreover pinch my Pixel 9 Pro XL, they sound great. The Buds 3 Pro are a punchy, crisp perceive that present crossed each genres. 

The progressive sound cancellation, however, has disappointed maine astatine times. It’s conscionable not rather arsenic robust aliases arsenic powerful arsenic the AirPods Pro, Pixel Buds Pro 2, aliases Bose earbuds. Can it trim backmost connected immoderate of the mundane life clamor? Sure, but I was hoping for Samsung to person a amended showing successful this category. The Buds 3 Pro do person a fantastically clear transparency mode, truthful I person zero complaints there. You tin besides alteration an “adaptive” mode that, for illustration pinch Apple’s earbuds, will dynamically blend ANC and transparency based connected your surroundings truthful that important sounds (like sirens) tin quickly get your attention. 

A hands-on photograph of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds.

The case’s lid is see-through.

The Buds 3 Pro don’t support existent multipoint, truthful you can’t link them to 2 devices astatine once. Just for illustration Apple, Samsung is pushing its ain ecosystem pinch an “auto switch” characteristic betwixt its various Galaxy laptops, tablets, and phones. But I’ve noticed that moreover if your different devices are extracurricular Samsung’s walled garden, enabling auto-switch makes it overmuch quicker to hop betwixt them without having to disconnect from the existent root each time. Some earbuds are very stubborn astir holding onto a relationship pinch the last-paired instrumentality until you manually disconnect, but pinch these, you tin conscionable prime them successful the Bluetooth settings of the instrumentality you want to use, and they’ll move complete without immoderate fuss.

Agree to continue: Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro

Every smart instrumentality now requires you to work together to a bid of position and conditions earlier you tin usage it — contracts that nary 1 really reads. It’s intolerable for america to publication and analyse each azygous 1 of these agreements. But we started counting precisely really galore times you person to deed “agree” to usage devices erstwhile we reappraisal them since these are agreements astir group don’t publication and decidedly can’t negotiate.

Like astir Bluetooth earbuds, you tin usage Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro without agreeing to thing successful software. But by utilizing the basal Galaxy Wearable app, you’re agreeing to:

  • Samsung’s Terms and Conditions
  • Samsung’s Privacy Policy

The last tally is 2 agreements that are fundamentally mandatory to usage each of the earbud’s features and settings.

I’ve had nary complaints astir artillery life complete respective weeks of usage, and you tin agelong it further by disabling immoderate features for illustration the aforementioned sound controls. The earbuds are rated IP57 particulate and h2o resistant, though the charging lawsuit lacks immoderate specified protections. That’s unfortunate erstwhile competitors are progressively making their cases much durable.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro mightiness not person a unsocial creation personality anymore, but pinch improved comfortableness and sound telephone performance, they’re an illustration of usability dictating form. I tin return aliases time off the gimmicky lights, and the angular style seems for illustration Samsung taking pains to debar these being branded arsenic AirPod clones. They are, but you could make a lawsuit that they sound amended than Apple’s buds. And they’re dependable performers by astir each metric isolated from for sound cancellation. That’s wherever the inevitable Buds 4 Pro person room to amended — hopefully while bringing backmost immoderate characteristic (or color). For anyone pinch a Samsung phone, these are the de facto choice, and they’re a awesome one. But different Android owners should besides springiness the Buds 3 Pro a agelong look for their sound fidelity and mic clarity. Unless multipoint is simply a must-have, there’s not overmuch to find responsibility with.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

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