Samsung has reimagined its true wireless earbuds in 2024, moving away from the colourful rounded buds to a stem design, much more akin to Apple AirPods.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 are the more affordable of the two pairs launched in the summer, and with an open design, they're direct rivals to the AirPods 4. The pricier set, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, features an in-ear design and so goes up against the AirPods Pro. Both are a convincing pair of noise-cancelling headphones, even though they offer quite different things.
You can buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 for £159 – although we have already seen the price drop to £129 so it'll be worth keeping an eye out for a good deal, especially during sales like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. If you'd rather buy the Pro model, they have an RRP of £219.
Pros
- Comfortable open design
- Adaptive EQ and Adaptive ANC
- Up to 30 hours battery
Cons
- Open design means flawed sound
- Not ideal for running
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 key specs
| Weight | 4.7g per earbud (46.5g with the case) |
|---|---|
| Battery life | 5 hours with ANC (up to 24 hours with the charging case) |
| Wireless charging | Yes |
| Noise cancellation | Yes |
| Water resistance | IP57 |
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 review: Design and fit
Going against the trend, Samsung's Galaxy Buds3 feature an open design, so don't fit snugly in your ear canal like most true wireless earbuds, instead resting on the outer part of the ear. Quite a lot of people will prefer that shape but others may find they feel less secure.
I don't mind that they rest further outside the ear, a lot of the time it did feel more comfortable and meant I could still be aware of the outside world too. Having said that, I didn't enjoy the shape for running or other workouts because it felt like one could fall out at any moment and I was constantly checking they were in place as I went.
The earbuds weigh about 4.7g each so they feel super lightweight, while the case is small enough to fit into even tight pockets or small handbags alongside your other daily essentials.
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Away from that, the Galaxy Buds3 have a futuristic, sharp design with a pointed stem and transparent lid on the charging case. You can buy them in silver (which I tried out) or a more classic white colourway.
As well as the usual L and R markings to let you know which earbud goes where, there's a blue and orange stripe across the bottom of the stem and on the case.
Thanks to an IP57 rating, you'll be able to use these in sudden downpours of rain and they'll also survive a small amount of dust or dirt. That means you can use the earbuds in more environments without worrying about damaging them.
A combination of touch and pinch controls allows you to control the music without unlocking your phone. Swipe up or down on the outside edge of the stem to adjust the volume, pinch to pause or play the track, double pinch to skip to the next song or triple pinch to go back to the previous track.
Pinching and holding will turn noise cancelling on and off by default, but in the Galaxy Wearable app, you can change this to call your digital assistant, open Spotify or enable listening mode for the Live Translate feature.
The controls worked well for the most part and actually were more reliable than a lot of touch or gesture controls – my only problem was that sometimes I knocked the bud from my ear when I used them.
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 review: Performance and features
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 sound nice but won't provide the immersive full-bodied sound you'd get from a pair of in-ear or over-ear headphones. Even so, tracks come across as warm and bassy, although you can't expect super detailed mids and treble. If you're into bouncy dance music, they'll be a good choice but if you tend to listen to more vocal-focused ballads they may not provide the clarity you'd need.
Semi-in-ear buds like this don't often have noise-cancelling built-in, mostly because it's hard to achieve without the noise isolation provided by tight ear tips. But the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 do have ANC and it works surprisingly well considering. Samsung leans on AI to analyse the sound that comes through the inner and outer microphones to block it out in the best way possible.
With ANC switched on, I could still hear my surroundings but it was significantly dulled down in comparison to when noise-cancelling was turned off. It quietened the sound of office chatter, and the noise of the tube was a lot less annoying. It won't win any awards for best-in-class ANC but I did stay more focused on the music than I otherwise would have been.
For those who like to be in control of the sound, there's a detailed manual EQ that runs across nine adjustable bands. Or there's a selection of preset sound modes to choose from, including Balanced, Bass Boost, Smooth and Dynamic, to name a few.
An Adaptive EQ uses AI to automatically adjust the audio, delivering sound tailored to your ear shape and how you wear the earbuds. I found it made music sound noticeably fuller in comparison to when I had it switched off.
When you first take the earbuds out of the case they should automatically be recognised by your phone, but you can also press the button on the bottom of the case to put them in pairing mode.
If you don't have a Samsung device, you'll need to download both the Samsung Wearables app and the Samsung Buds3 Manager from the Google Play Store. Something to be aware of if you're short on storage!
The Samsung Wearables app is very easy to use. You aren't met with endless options and settings, it keeps things simple and stripped-back.
Another AI-powered tool featured on the Galaxy Buds3 is Live Translate, which will interpret a conversation in real-time straight into your ears. You will need a Samsung Galaxy smartphone to make use of it, though.
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 review: Battery life
With ANC turned off, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 will last around six hours of music at a time, and 30 hours with the extra juice provided by the charging case. If you have noise-cancelling turned on, that drops to five hours of listening at one time and around 24 hours provided by the case.
Some true wireless earbuds will last a lot longer, like the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC which provides up to 50 hours of charge from the case. Even so, you'll be able to go a few days without having to plug the Galaxy Buds3's case into power.
The Galaxy Buds' charging case supports wireless charging. Or, using a cable, Samsung estimates the charge time to be around 135 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 review: Verdict
For those who prefer the open design, you won't find many better pairs of true wireless earbuds than the Samsung Galaxy Buds3.
Firstly they look super sleek and futuristic, they're lightweight and they seem durable. Secondly, the pinch controls make it easy to change the music or volume without reaching for your phone. Thirdly, considering the lack of passive noise cancelling, these do a good job of keeping your focus on the music with solid AI-powered ANC.
You can't expect to be completely cut off from the outside world like you would with earbuds that sit inside your ear canal. But these do go some way to dulling distractions.
Similarly, the listening experience won't be as rich or as immersive as with a pair of in-ears like the Sony WF-1000XM5, although these make up for that in bass production and if you're used to open earbuds then these will trump a lot of the competition.
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 review: Also consider
The obvious competition is the Apple AirPods 4, especially if you are an Apple iPhone user. The ear fit is similar to the Galaxy Buds3 with the semi-in-ear design, and they cost about the same, although you will have to pay extra to add noise-cancelling so in that sense the Galaxy Buds are a better deal.
If you don't mind splashing out on a pair of earbuds with top-level noise cancelling, and a snug in-ear fit, then you should get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. No other earbuds cut out distracting noise like Bose's, and that's paired with impressively balanced, clear sound quality.
