Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Review

Tom's Guide

In its third iteration, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro brings a slew of exciting features, including hands-free voice controls, interpreter mode integration, and brilliant ANC. While it definitely offers users more than enough control and some spunk in its design to boot, the Buds 3 Pro aren’t without their downsides, namely comfort and better iOS compatibility.

Transcript

00:00The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are here and with them come a slew of questions. Are these the new best earbuds?

00:06Are they good for Apple users? And most importantly, should you buy or skip? So let's jump right in.

00:13This year's set comes in two colors, silver or white.

00:16And I gotta say, that new shiny chrome finish looks sick, which I wish I had. For $249

00:22you get a three mic array system built on an unspecified

00:25chipset with the first of its kind for the Samsung Buds, a two-way woofer and tweeter with a

00:3110.5 millimeter dynamic driver and a 6.1 millimeter planar driver.

00:35So what should I be excited for if I'm itching for a new pair of earbuds?

00:39Well, for starters, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are essentially attuned with exciting AI features.

00:46These best come alive when paired with either an Android or Samsung smartphone in features like hands-free voice controls,

00:53interpreter mode, and several audio enhancements.

00:56Hands-free voice is a pretty sick feature that lets me simply speak aloud a command like stop music,

01:02which is perfect for when I can't use my hands or I'm just being too lazy.

01:06That's pretty sick.

01:08Audio enhancements in terms of AI simply refers to the earbuds ability to read the inside of your ear and best calibrate sound to suit

01:15that environment. And then interpreter mode is by far my favorite of the bunch, allowing me to

01:22translate spoken dialogue in real time.

01:25Genki desu ka?

01:28As someone in the process of learning Japanese, it's a helpful little addition that allows me to test my capabilities on Samsung's AI.

01:36It's great for helping me get the pronunciation

01:39perfect in Japanese. On the audio side of things, sound is crisp and punchy.

01:45Despite its small size, it packs a big punch.

01:48But what makes all the difference is SSC, or Samsung's Scalable Codec.

01:53Essentially the same iteration of Sony's LDAC codec, which supports ultra high quality audio at 24-bit and 96 kilohertz streaming.

02:01For audiophiles, it's a noticeable increase in audio quality.

02:05And then there's the incredible ANC with three levels.

02:08But I was most impressed with its adaptive mode, which uses AI to detect when you or others are talking to lower the audio or

02:16to increase ANC when you're in a louder environment.

02:19Sorry, I put on ANC, I couldn't hear you.

02:23When music was paused, in busier parts of the city, I could still hear faint trickles of sound leakage.

02:29Car horns, sirens, very loud noises. It's obviously far harder to tell when music or general audio is playing, but overall

02:38ANC is still quite impressive.

02:40While its noise cancellation isn't quite to the level of a pair of over-the-ears like the Sony XM5s or the brand new Dyson OnTrack,

02:47check out our other video on that to learn more.

02:50But the Buds 3 Pro still gives other earbuds at this price point a run for their money.

02:55Last, but certainly not least for reasons why you might want to scoop these bad boys up, is in their protective

03:02IP57 rating, which is higher than most other earbuds. The caveat, this is only for the buds themselves and not the case.

03:09Which is such a major oversight on Samsung's part.

03:13Still, the buds can easily handle sweat, water, and even dust.

03:18Just be sure to keep the case in a dry spot. That's all well and good, but what about the bad?

03:24Well, one of its biggest faults is a lack of any iOS support for its app, which really blows for users who want to break out

03:30of the Apple ecosystem for more exciting audio solutions that aren't AirPods Pros or Beats.

03:36In fact, it's so bad that the Samsung app that allows all of its primary functionality isn't available on iOS devices.

03:43Meaning that most of its best features like hands-free voice controls,

03:47interpreter mode, and ANC control aren't available. As annoying as that is, even non-Samsung users are locked out of all the Buds AI features.

03:56Basically, if you want to take full advantage of these,

03:59you're going to want to shell out for the Samsung Galaxy phone with support for Galaxy AI.

04:05With that comes also the issue of its price,

04:07which is pretty expensive in the face of similar options on the market, like the $140 Pixel Buds Pro.

04:13Check out our tech takedown for more on that. Or the newer $150 Nothing Ear, which comes with an IP55 rated case to boot.

04:21It's also going to be hard convincing non-Samsung users to make the switch when most of the best features aren't available to them.

04:28Finally, I think comfort and fit with the Buds 3 Pro isn't the best. Even trying out all of its tips,

04:33I couldn't find one that wasn't too loose. A ton of other reviewers on Amazon also point this out,

04:39so this seems like a major oversight on Samsung's end. These dumb earbuds.

04:43Between jogging, working out, and even riding my scooter to work,

04:46these always felt like they were going to fall out. And a couple times, they actually did.

04:51I was actually annoyed by how much I had to keep adjusting them in my ear, even on a walk, just so they stayed in place.

04:58Even right now, they're falling out. Definitely don't want to fall one down there.

05:03Is the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro worth $250?

05:08Personally, as an iPhone user, these aren't for me. And I'm sticking with my trusty Nothing Ear, which sounds about as good.

05:14But what do you think? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more awesome tech reviews.

05:19Follow us everywhere at Tom's Guide, and thanks for watching. Catch you in the next one.

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