Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: light ’em up

Two things tin beryllium existent astatine once. Yes, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro person the astir derivative plan yet of immoderate of the company’s earbuds. Apart from gimmicky LED strips, there’s thing peculiarly archetypal oregon 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 prime ranks with immoderate of my favourite wireless earbuds similar Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4 and the Technics AZ80. And the Buds 3 Pro see genuinely utile dependable commands that don’t necessitate saying a aftermath operation beforehand. 

That’s a sterling start, but their imaginable is held backmost by clumsy plan 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 code prime power issues aft aboriginal buyers managed to easy rip the silicone receptor tips. I ne'er experienced that occupation with my reappraisal pair, and the Buds 3 Pro are present wide disposable again.

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

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

The determination to a stemmed plan mightiness consciousness similar 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 precise comfortable, and they haven’t fatigued my ears adjacent erstwhile I support them successful for astir of a time astatine the office. Voice telephone show is besides rather impressive; you tin illustration the mic prime of the Buds 3 Pro (and different caller earbuds) successful a Vergecast episode from earlier this month.

Speaking of voice, the astir convenient diagnostic of the Buds 3 Pro is their dependable controls. At immoderate time, you tin accidental elemental commands similar “volume up” oregon “next song” and the earbuds volition execute those requests done your telephone — without requiring immoderate annoying aftermath operation first. It conscionable works, and you don’t person to talk peculiarly loudly for the buds to observe dependable commands. They lone screen the fundamentals, but I’m present utilizing them daily. If you similar carnal controls, Samsung has fundamentally lifted the AirPods Pro power scheme, with pinch gestures for play/pause, skipping tracks, oregon toggling betwixt ANC and transparency modes. You tin besides descent your digit on the stem to set volume. The angular signifier means 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 dependable quality, with a tuning that intimately follows the Harman people curve, which astir radical find pleasing. That means you’ll perceive accent connected bass and treble, but the mids inactive travel done without sounding recessed. Samsung’s flagship earbuds dependable afloat and detailed, bringing retired the champion successful the latest albums from Waxahatchee, Post Malone, and Billy Strings. 360-degree / spatial audio with caput tracking is contiguous for those of you who A) ain a Galaxy telephone and B) bask that benignant of thing. I proceed to (mostly) disregard it.

I’m usually not idiosyncratic who gets hung up connected Bluetooth codecs, but I curse my ears can archer a quality erstwhile listening to the Buds 3 Pro with 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 with a non-Samsung device. But adjacent with my Pixel 9 Pro XL, they dependable 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 oregon arsenic almighty arsenic the AirPods Pro, Pixel Buds Pro 2, oregon Bose earbuds. Can it chopped backmost connected immoderate of the mundane beingness clamor? Sure, but I was hoping for Samsung to person a amended showing successful this category. The Buds 3 Pro bash person a fantastically wide transparency mode, truthful I person zero complaints there. You tin besides alteration an “adaptive” mode that, similar with Apple’s earbuds, volition dynamically blend ANC and transparency based connected your surroundings truthful that important sounds (like sirens) tin rapidly get your attention. 

The Buds 3 Pro don’t enactment existent multipoint, truthful you can’t link them to 2 devices astatine once. Just similar Apple, Samsung is pushing its ain ecosystem with an “auto switch” diagnostic betwixt its assorted Galaxy laptops, tablets, and phones. But I’ve noticed that adjacent 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 precise stubborn astir holding onto a transportation with the last-paired instrumentality until you manually disconnect, but with these, you tin conscionable prime them successful the Bluetooth settings of the instrumentality you privation to use, and they’ll power implicit without immoderate fuss.

I’ve had nary complaints astir artillery beingness implicit respective weeks of usage, and you tin agelong it further by disabling immoderate features similar the aforementioned dependable 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 plan individuality anymore, but with improved comfortableness and dependable telephone performance, they’re an illustration of relation dictating form. I tin instrumentality oregon permission the gimmicky lights, and the angular signifier seems similar Samsung taking pains to debar these being labeled arsenic AirPod clones. They are, but you could marque a lawsuit that they dependable amended than Apple’s buds. And they’re dependable performers by astir each metric but for sound cancellation. That’s wherever the inevitable Buds 4 Pro person country to amended — hopefully portion bringing backmost immoderate quality (or color). For anyone with a Samsung phone, these are the de facto choice, and they’re a large one. But different Android owners should besides springiness the Buds 3 Pro a agelong look for their dependable 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