Wireless earbuds have long been a familiar sight in everyday life. You can choose from many shapes and sizes; and so is Samsung. The manufacturer recently presented the Galaxy Buds 3, which we are testing for you!
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 review
Samsung recently announced the new Galaxy Buds 3. This new headset has a completely different design from the previous model. For instance, the Galaxy Buds 2 and also the Buds 2 Pro featured a cap design, where in the new model, there are struts attached to these caps. With this, it follows Apple, which has had quite a market share for years with its AirPods, which also come in different shapes and sizes.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 are available in silver and white. We received the headset in white. Samsung talks about a curved design which should ensure better sound. Thereby, there is an 11mm speaker for a powerful and dynamic sound. There is also a 6.5mm tweeter in the headset. Together with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, the Galaxy Buds 3 forms a new edition of the headset series. There are still some differences between the two models; which we will come back to later in a review of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
What is at least certain is that there is no adaptive noise cancellation present on these earphones. Nor do we see the Blade Lights that the Pro does have on the Buds 3. But what do we find on these buds? One is the wide support for codecs. Including high-quality audio codecs like SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec), AAC and SBC. Samsung's own codec is limited to a few Galaxy models though, think the S24 and S23 series and the Flip and Fold 5/6 models. The Galaxy Tab S9 tablets also offer this support. More products should be supported in the future. Connect to the headset via Bluetooth 5.4 and there is Active Noise Cancelling.
Capabilities
The earbuds have support for various gestures. For instance, you can swipe up or down on the stalk to adjust the volume. Another gesture you can perform is the pinch gesture. This lets you pause or resume music, adjust noise control or launch your favourite app. I have to be honest, adjusting the volume can sometimes be a bit fiddly, as these earphones don't hang incredibly securely in your ear.
Thanks to its IP57 certification, the Galaxy Buds 3 are great for listening to your music in a rain shower. The buds weigh 4.7g, and 46.5g together with the case. Battery life comes in at around 5 hours with ANC. This is an hour longer with the active noise cancellation switched off. Including the use of the case, a battery life of 24 to 30 hours should be achievable (ANC on/off). It's a score in line with most earbuds in this price range. For example, the Sony WF-1000XM5 lasts a few hours longer, but it's a lot more expensive at the same time.
Sound quality
In terms of sound, the Galaxy Buds 3 show a warm sound. The bass is remarkably rich for this type of headphones where your ear canal is not completely closed off. The midrange is well balanced and on the treble, it could perhaps be a touch fresher, but it does not disturb at all. Of course, it can vary by music genre, and we mainly listened to pop, dance and 80s, with these genres the warm sound of these Buds is pleasant.
What I noticed while travelling is that the noise cancellation is not the very best. This is partly because this type of earplug is not an in-ear, where a silicone cap still goes into the ear itself. Those usually seal much better. This is not the case with the Galaxy Buds 3, and I personally find them a little less comfortable; although this is really very personal. During air travel, you can still clearly hear ambient noise through them. The advantage is that you are not completely cut off from the outside world. But if you really want to shut yourself off from the outside world, we would skip the Galaxy Buds 3.
Review
With the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3, you have access to good sound quality. However, the ANC noise cancellation disappointed me a bit. It lets a lot of ambient noise through. Personally, I also find the Galaxy Buds 3 not the most pleasant earbuds to use, but this remains a personal taste. In fact, this just depends on what kind of earbuds you prefer.
Would you like to try the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 for yourself? You can buy them from Samsung itself, Bol.com, Coolblue and MediaMarkt.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3
