Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Review
Pros
- Enjoyably warm performance
- Strong noise-cancelling
- Comfortable fit
- Solid battery life
Cons
- Very Samsung-heavy focus
- Noise-cancelling is bettered for the money
- Below-par call quality
- Fiddly controls
Key Features
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Review Price: £219
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Galaxy AI Uses Samsung's Galaxy AI to boost performance
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Samsung Seamless Codec Can encode audio up to 24-bit/96lHz
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Blade Lights Flashes that indicate earbuds' current state
Introduction
Samsung has flooded the headphones market without truly making its mark, even though it’s only behind Apple in headphones sales. But that could change with the Galaxy Buds Pro 3.
The Galaxy Buds Pro 3 help Galaxy smartphones in the same vein AirPods have done for iPhones. To become your go-to headphones whenever you need to listen to your tunes, and like a great number of devices, the Buds Pro 3 come with AI features, improved sound and forward-facing features like Auracast streaming.
These earphones are bursting to the seams with features, but is their performance enough to put them up there with the best wireless earbuds?
Design
- Touch and pinch controls
- IP57 waterproofing
- Silver and White finishes
You can’t escape the AirPods-esque nature of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which is both a good thing and perhaps something of a disappointment. They look stylish and fit well into the ear but also lose something of their own identity. Samsung hasn’t been shy in exploring different forms and looks for its earbuds, but the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro feel safe.
They are available in more than one finish, though disappointingly this only extends to black/silver (along with the white finish). The ‘Blade Lights’ bring something different, but other than flashing lights, they’re not especially helpful.
Controls are of the touch and pinch variety, and cover playback, track skipping, and volume but require some conscious thought to use. The use of a pinch is inconvenient in having to locate the area in the first place. With my big digits, I’m usually dislodging the earbuds (and affecting the fit and seal in the process). It’s another area of the design where it seemed as if Samsung were more concerned in aping Apple.
The fit is good, and comfort levels are high, though. You’ll want to make sure you’ve got the right sized ear-tip (a choice of small, medium, or large) as that can affect the noise-cancelling performance.
The case is compact, and the top part features clear plastic so you can see inside, which aesthetically is nice but ultimately rather meaningless. More helpful are the colours on the bottom of each earbud (red for the right, blue for the left) to let you know which ear to place them in. The white finish is prone to picking up dirt but it can be wiped off.
A strong IP57 rating protects from sweat, water, and dirt, and makes them waterproof in water up to a metre for 30 minutes (and no longer). That’s the same level of waterproofing as the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2, and stronger than the usual level IPX4.
Features
- Galaxy AI-supported features
- 26 hours battery life with ANC
- Galaxy Wearable app for customisation
The Samsung earbuds offer two flavours of noise-cancellation – ANC and Adaptive – which you can choose in the app. The latter monitors external noise to manage the balance between the noise-cancelling applied and ambient sound so you only hear what you need. This relies on Galaxy AI, which is only supported by specific Samsung devices.
Other features that rely on AI (and Samsung devices) include the Samsung Seamless Codec, which encodes audio up to 24-bit/96kHz. Adaptive EQ optimises the sound in accordance with how the earbuds fit.
Voice Detect recognises when you’re speaking and switches the ANC/Ambient modes so you can hear what’s said without taking the earbuds out. You can also have a conversation translated in real-time through a Samsung Galaxy smartphone with the earbuds Listening mode/Conversation mode.
The non-AI but still Samsung-specific features include the TV 360 Audio that provides a spatial surround sound experience with compatible Samsung phones and TVs. The PC Auto Switch knows when audio is being played from one of your Samsung devices and instantly switches to it.
Auracast which allows you to connect to nearby devices – like, for example, a tannoy announcement at an airport – only works with other compatible Samsung devices with the Galaxy Buds Pro 3. By now you get the picture; to make the most of the Galaxy Buds Pro 3’s features, you’d need another Samsung device. For those of you not in the Samsung ecosystem, it’s a bit of a put off.
When it comes to battery life, Samsung claims six hours per charge and 26 in total, and in the battery drain test I carried out, that’s about right. An hour of streaming audio at 50% volume resulted in a 15% drop in battery life, which is about six and a bit hours, all told.
Charging can be done over USB-C (there is fast-charging support) and wireless charging.
Bluetooth connectivity is up to date with the 5.4 version, and with non-Samsung devices, you get SBC and AAC streaming. There’s no multi-point in the true sense of the term – multi-point only works with other Samsung devices, which again locks you into their ecosystem.
The Galaxy Wearable app allows you to customise the performance by adjusting the ANC and ambient sound modes, altering the EQ (a custom EQ is possible), and carrying out an earbud fit test. You can enable the ‘Find my earbuds’ mode and toggle controls on and off, but you can’t change what they do – which is slightly annoying. Then, there are various other features to toggle on and off (voice controls, in-ear detection, etc).
I don’t find there’s much to actually customise aside from the sound itself. Compare it to Apple’s philosophy, and there’s more freedom, but compare the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro to a Sony WF-1000XM5, and they feel as if they’re lacking.
Call quality is mixed – in fact, it’s below average. While the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro’s ability to cancel out noise during calls is excellent, voice pick-up isn’t great as words sound mumbly and not every word can be heard. A bit of a disappointment.
Noise Cancellation
- Strong enough with the right ear-tips
- Ambient Sound mode
The noise-cancelling performance is strong once you’ve got the right ear-tip connected. It’s stronger than the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, inviting a much calmer experience when used on public transport or walking around the streets of London. That said, they’re not as good as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which are around the same price.
The Ambient sound mode is clear and natural-sounding one. No sounds around me come across as if they’re distorted and noisy, so it’s a thumbs up for the Galaxy Buds Pro 3.
Sound Quality
- Rich, warm sound
- Wide soundstage
With its enhanced two-way speaker, Samsung has its iron sights on delivering rich bass and crisp, clear treble. That’s sort of what you get from these earbuds, but not quite.
It’s tuned to be warm-sounding paired with bass that is rich and big in size, a soundstage that’s wide in scope – but crisp and clear treble? Not quite, but it is clear and well-defined. Of all the Samsung earbuds I’ve heard in the last few years, these are definitely the best ones I’ve put in my ears.
They’re not as detailed or insightful as the Bowers & Wilkins Pi6, which are price rivals, but I do like the balance when listening to the GoGo Penguin’s Erased by Sunlight. The treble could be sharper as the edges of notes sound a little dulled, but the bass comes across as strong and weighty, giving the track a heft that ensures it doesn’t sound lightweight.
It’s the low frequencies that feel most prominent when listening to any track. If you like rich and warm bass, then the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro provide that in spades. It’s not to the extent that it overwhelms any song I listen to, but there’s a nice depth and sub-bass tones with test track favourite Warren G’s Regulate. There’s enjoyable heft and power to those basslines.
It’s perhaps with the midrange where the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro aren’t as insightful or as clear as other similarly priced efforts. There’s a decent level of dynamism in terms of flowing from quiet to loud, but the warmth of the sound results in a midrange that’s not the most detailed or defined you’ll come across.
Vocals are handled well, though. They are smooth, clear, and detailed enough to be within their own pocket in the middle of the soundstage. However, at this price, I was hoping for more emotion to be drawn out from the singers’ voices.
Should you buy it?
If you’re a devout Samsung fan
These earphones are designed to work seamlessly with other Samsung devices, and if that applies to you then they work as audio extension of what you have.
You don’t have a toe in the Samsung ecosystem
No Samsung Galaxy phone? No Samsung TV? No Samsung tablet? Then there’s not much of a point forking over money for these headphones considering the focus on all things Samsung.
Final Thoughts
There’s more than a strong resemblance to the Apple AirPods Pro 2 with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that might be good or bad depending on where you stand.
The Samsung buds adopt Apple’s approach of emphasising connectivity with other Samsung devices over any other. If you have plenty of Samsung devices, these earphones fit seamlessly in. If you don’t there’s not much of a reason to spend over £200 / $200 on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
It’s slightly disappointing that Samsung has taken this approach but regardless, the Galaxy Buds Pro 3 are another solid pair – arguably Samsung’s best yet on a pure performance level.
They sound good, cancel noise well, are comfortable to wear, and feature solid battery life. Call quality is below average though, and I don’t love the controls, which I feel are fiddly.
There are stronger alternatives such as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra, Technics EAH-AZ100, Sony WF-1000XM5, Sennheiser Momentum 4 True Wireless and Bowers & Wilkins Pi6. While the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are another pair worthy of highlighting, the competition is super-strong.
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every pair of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Tested over three months
- Tested with real world use
- Compared to similarly priced models
- Battery drain carried out
FAQs
These earbuds do not support LDAC, but they come with Samsung’s Seamless Codec for high-res audio on Galaxy smartphones.
Full Specs
| Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £219 |
| USA RRP | $249.99 |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| IP rating | IP57 |
| Battery Hours | 26 |
| Wireless charging | No |
| Fast Charging | No |
| Weight | 57.3 G |
| ASIN | B0DB8217N9 |
| Release Date | 2024 |
| Audio Resolution | SBC, AAC, Samsung Seamless Codec |
| Driver (s) | Enhanced two-way |
| Noise Cancellation? | No |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Colours | Silver, Black |
| Frequency Range | – Hz |
| Headphone Type | True Wireless |
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