Samsung Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro hands-on

11 July 2024

Samsung introduced a whole galaxy of smart devices at its Unpacked event in Paris yesterday. The stars of the show were the new foldables, Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 but we also saw the Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro – the first time Samsung launched two sets of TWS buds at the same event.

Another first for Samsung is that those buds come with stems, but the company wants you to call them blades. We were at the event in Paris and got the chance to handle both sets. Here are our first impressions.

The cases have been redesigned and now come with a transparent top. Samsung made them from recycled plastic from discarded fishing nets, the most widespread item polluting the oceans.

The decision to go transparent (instead of solid color) aims to raise awareness but also helps tell them apart from previous Galaxy Buds; transparent plastic is also lighter and cheaper than solid variants.

Opening the case reveals a nice surprise – Samsung color-coded the left and right buds, making it slightly easier to know which earbud goes in the left slot and which in the right. The buds themselves are fairly light, but the Buds3 Pro has a light strip that runs down the edge of the stem, pardon, and the blade.

The Buds3 do not have this feature, and they also lack a 2-way speaker, which is visibly missing from the top part of the bud. We will share impressions of the sound quality when we spend more time with them as the noisy environment wasn't the best for judging that.

The Blade Lights of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro can also have their lighting style changed in the app, and some features can also be turned on/off - adaptive EQ, adaptive ANC, and Ambient Sound.

Time will tell if the redesign was the right choice, but Samsung might be looking at improved sales especially with Galaxy AI embedded in them and the Live Interpreter mode.