The redesigned of Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro looks cooler, with a diamond-shaped erbud stem and LED light bar, full of technology and e-sports elements. The sound quality and noise cancellation performance are better than the previous model, but not very much.
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Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro charging case has a very obvious design change from the previous Galaxy Buds – larger size and transparency lid. Compared with the past Buds Pro series, the charging case has a much heavier plastic feel. Although the surface has a metal-like treatment, it feels like plastic and even sticks to fingerprints. There is an indicator light on the front of the case, and the pairing button and USB-C charging port are at the bottom.
The lid can be easily opened and closed with one hand, and the opening feels smooth without any damping. The magnetic attraction of the lid and the earbuds is relatively strong, so there is no need to worry about them getting loose.
The design of the Galaxy Buds3 Pro earbuds is very different from previous models. Previously they were “bean-shaped”, now they are shaped similarly to the Apple AirPods Pro 2 or Nothing Ear (2). The new design is an upgrade overall as it makes the earbuds easier to put in and take out, and it’s now less likely to accidentally trigger the controls.
The earbud cavity looks quite full, and the eartips of various sizes can also meet the needs of different users. There are relatively large vents on the back of the cavity, and there are also microphone holes at the bottom of the stem and the top of the cavity. The wearing recognition sensor is located at the back of the cavity. The LED light bar design is definitely the most eye-catching design at night. Whether indoors or outdoors, the light bar on the earbud stem will attract a lot of people’s attention.
The microphone at the bottom of the earbud-stem is closer to the mouth, so Galaxy Buds 3 Pro also has the best call quality among Samsung TWS earbuds. It should be noted that the eartips are thick and need to be pressed when they are put on, otherwise the fit test will prompt “poor fit”. Their noise cancellation also depends on the passive noise cancellation ability of the structure to a certain extent.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is much better to wear than bean-shaped earbuds. Although the earbuds are not light (5.4g), the overall weight is evenly distributed, taking into account both comfortable and stability. Plus, Buds3 Pro also supports IP57 dust and water resistance.
Connection & App Support
The earbdus use Bluetooth 5.4 technology and support SBC, AAC, and SSC codecs. The “UHQ” mode (Samsung Proprietary) is also found in the settings, which currently only supports Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Fold5 and later models. Plus, Buds3 Pro also supports auracast audio sharing and multipoint connection.
Galaxy Buds 3 Pro supports the Samsung Galaxy Buds App or Galaxy Wearable App for iOS and Android. You can adjust the left and right channel balance, hearing enhancement options in the accessibility function. The message notification reading function built into the earbuds can be set up as a separate program in the app. The noise cancellation control, wearing test, firmware update and adaptive options can also be found. Plus, the game mode is hidden in the lab function.
The app provides 6 preset sound modes, and the personalized equalizer and adaptive sound are relatively mature. The equalizer supports free adjustment of nine frequency points within ±10dB.
Samsung’s control scheme is a bit of a misstep, as the controls integrated into the earbud stem take a long time to get used to. The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro’s operation is based on the recognition of two movements – swipe and pinch (press). Swipe up and down to adjust the volume works very well, but pressing to play, pause, skip or perform other actions is awkward – it really takes a long time to get used to.
Battery Life & Controls
The battery capacity of the charging case is 515mAh and the earbuds are 53mAh. The single battery life with ANC off is up to 7 hours, and the total battery life is up to 30 hours. The battery life with ANC on is up to 6 hours. The case charges using USB-C or Qi wireless charging.
The default swiping operation is to adjust the volume and cannot be customized. The default pressing operation is a single press to control playback and calls, 2-press to the next song, 3-press to the previous song, and a long press to switch the noise cancellation mode and reject calls. When not wearing, a long press turns on the lighting effect. A long press can be customized to switch the noise cancellation mode or activate the voice assistant. The cycle of the noise cancellation mode can be set independently for both earbuds, and you can also control the independent switch of each function.
The recognition accuracy and feedback speed of the earbud’s pressing and swiping operations are high enough. The Buds3 series are equipped with wearing recognition sensors and can perform in-ear detection switches. The detection efficiency and accuracy are relatively high.
Calls & Spatial Audio
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro uses a long-stem design, and the sound reception performance is much better than before. Aactual testing in the operator network voice call environment, the call stability performance is quite good. During the call, both parties can hear each other’s voice very clearly.
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro supports spatial audio, which is called 360 audio here. When you turn your head, 360 audio can identify the exact direction of the sound, providing a surround sound effect and a more vivid auditory sensory experience.
After turning on 360 audio, the space presented has a certain height, but it is obviously not as open as the horizontal and vertical directions, and the boundary clarity is OK. The following speed of head tracking is still relatively good, and it can basically achieve relatively accurate following, but there is still a perceptible delay compared with Apple.
ANC Mode & Ambient Sound (Transparency Mode)
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro has 5 levels of noise cancellation depth to choose from. At the highest level, the suppression effect of low-frequency noise is still slightly lower than that of AirPods Pro 2 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. The noise cancellation bandwidth coverage is quite good, and it can basically achieve a good suppression effect on the mid-bass frequency band of vocal.
Except for the highest level of noise cancellation, there is a relatively light ear pressure, and even the highest level is tolerable. There is no independent anti-wind noise mode – no matter which level of noise reduction is used, the impact of wind noise on listening will be felt. However, the impact of wind blowing from the front is smaller than that of the previous model.
The adaptive noise cancellation of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro refers to the adaptive linkage of the transparency mode. When it detects that it is in an environment with low ambient noise, its adaptive result is to turn on the transparency mode and use the previous level setting. In a noisy environment, the headphones will turn off the transparency mode and perform smart ANC. In actual experience, the adaptive response speed is relatively fast, but the logic of scene recognition needs to be further optimized.
“Automatically switch to ambient sound” is the same as Apple’s “Conversation Awareness”. It can detect voice after it is turned on to automatically turn on ambient sound when speaking, but it will not reduce the media volume.
The improvement of the transparency mode (here called the ambient sound) is very large, with a total of 5-level to adjustment. The restoration of the first two levels is relatively close to the actual level of the ambient sound, and the last three levels have an enhancement effect on most frequency bands. Its natural transparency and usability are very high, at least the level of AirPods Pro.
After turning on the ambient sound, you can also turn on the hearing enhancement function independently. Five levels of enhancement are provided based on the existing ambient sound, and the left and right are adjusted separately. This is of great benefit for the daily use of people with hearing impairments.
Overall, the advantages of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are mainly reflected in the adaptive intelligence, the naturalness and usability of the transparency mode, the wind noise control and the noise cancellation bandwidth coverage. The noise cancellation depth and ear pressure feeling are not very prominent.
Acoustic Configuration & Sound Description
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is equipped with a dual-driver unit architecture of “enhanced two-way speaker”. One dynamic unit is responsible for the mid-low frequency, and one micro-planar unit is responsible for the high-frequency, and is driven by independent dual amplifiers. After the frequency division design and DSP adjustment, combined with the coaxial structure, it is subjectively difficult to hear the connection problem between the frequency bands, and the center imaging is still relatively solid.
The low-frequency quantity is moderate, and the thickness and fullness are prominent. The low-frequency extension and elasticity are good. The atmosphere has a slight smudge, not too strong. Compared with the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, its mid-low frequency is fuller and the energy is more condensed.
The distance of the mid-frequency vocals is relatively close, and the mouth shape is basically accurate. The vocal texture and lines are balanced. The tendency between male and female voices is not obvious, the graininess is relatively less, and the overall hearing is relatively smooth.
The high-frequency brightness is moderate, but some peaks can be felt, and the amount of detail is slightly more than that of AirPods Pro 2. The separation between vocals and instruments is good. The ultra-high frequency extension, resolution, dynamics and transients are all acceptable.
Conclusion & Specs
The redesigned Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro gives people a brand new feeling, with a stronger aura and still excellent refinement. The sound quality and noise cancellation performance are still excellent. At the same time, it also has 360 audio, game mode, multipoint connection, etc. The disadvantages may be low cost performance and poor latency.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.4 with SBC/AAC/SSC codec
- 6 – 7 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- IP57 water resistance rating (sweat and dust proof)
- Multipoint Connection & Qi Wireless Charging & Spatial Audio
- ANC & Transparent Mode & Adaptive Noise Control
- $190 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries or AliExpress