Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: More than just AirPods Pro look-alikes

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are a wonderful addition to Samsung’s 2024 lineup. They hit all the right notes (pun intended) while offering tech that is competitive with other products at this price point. This year’s Galaxy Buds iteration features a complete redesign reminiscent of Apple’s AirPods Pro, with a stem, although I think what they offer overshadows the brouhaha over the Apple-inspired redesign. Let’s talk about that!

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: Price and availability

Available for preorder now in white or silver, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro delivery date has been pushed back due to some quality control issues. Going to their site right now and trying to preorder, the page shows I can pick up a pair in one of my local Samsung stores on August 13th for $249.99. Having it shipped currently shows that the buds won't get to me until August 28th. We'll keep you posted as these QC issues shake out. 

This price places them $50 below some of the top-performing ANC earbuds, like Sony’s venerable WF-1000XM5 and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. However, the price is in line with other smartphone manufacturers, like Apple and their AirPods Pro.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: What's good

Let’s deal with the white elephant in the room: AirPods. Previous generations of stemless Galaxy Buds fit in my ears just fine. AirPods and AirPods Pro, on the other hand, never have unless I added Comply foam ear tips to keep them from falling out. So when I found out I would be reviewing the newly redesigned Buds 3 Pro, I was less than enthusiastic. 

From a microphone perspective, stems make sense, but even Soundcore’s Liberty 4 NC doesn’t stay in my ears without Comply foam ear tips. However, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro do stay in my ears just fine. In fact, they are quite comfortable, although when I get sweaty, their silicone ear tips dislodge a bit, diminishing the ANC. 

Eventually, I’ll add Comply foam ear tips to make their fit more secure during exercise.

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I have the Silver model for review. The case is small and easily pocketable, and I really like the look of the entire unit. I like the color-matched left and right, blue and orange pops of color. As a lover of swords, I find the blade-style stems quite cool in how they look and light up. For me, those lights are giving Tron, and I’m here for it.

Beyond the sound — we’ll get to that in a second — my favorite aspect of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is the Samsung ecosystem connectivity. For my review, I used them connected to a Galaxy S22 Ultra and the new Galaxy Watch 7. The ability to control the most important features directly from the GW7 is wonderful. Getting notifications read in my ear from the S22 Ultra and being able to take advantage of the SSC codec makes the Buds 3 Pro experience a joy.

The stem-based controls are easy to learn and responsive when in use. Pinching or holding the lower end of the stems switches noise controls by default, but they can be customized for the left and right sides. This includes the ability to deactivate pinch controls altogether.

The single/double/triple pinch media controls, which play/pause music or move forward/back a track, aren’t customizable but can also be deactivated. The ability to slide your finger along the stem to control volume is quite responsive without being easy to accidentally activate when you’re pinching and holding. I never had that happen during my time with the Buds 3 Pro.

There are also Voice Controls now that you can use without having to wake Bixby or Google Assistant. Going into the app and activating voice controls allows you to control simple functions by saying things like "Play music," "Next song," or "Previous song." Though there aren't many commands available, they do provide enough options to control the most important music-listening interactions, and they work very well! I was highly impressed. 

Let’s talk sound now. First, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro achieve their ultimate sonic form when paired with a newer Galaxy phone like a Galaxy Z Fold 6 or an S24 series device. As noted, I tested with an S22 Ultra, and the sound experience was excellent, and I could still experience Samsung’s proprietary Samsung Scalable Codec in action. The Buds 3 Pro are the first Galaxy Buds with a two-way speaker featuring a planar tweeter and dual amp, and when you combine that with the app’s EQ and 360 Audio, you get crisp, airy sound that still has powerful bass cannon tuning and satisfying mid-frequency punch.

Activating 360 Audio increases the soundstage but boosts high frequencies and upper mids at the expense of bass response, so I activated the equalizer and used the Bass Boost preset. I figured that out after playing around with all the settings for a while. With those settings and the new driver tech, the opening acapella intro to Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” sounds as airy and big as it should be. Charles Mingus’ “Moanin’,” which is one of my favorite tracks to test how well stereo imaging is reproduced, sounds terrific through the Buds 3 Pro, which have an enjoyable musicality to them while also giving you a deep thumping bass response as that upright bass thumps in Mingus’ masterpiece.

Be careful, though, because with some vocal-focused tracks and wailing guitars, 360 Audio becomes a bit stilted in the highs and can take on some sibilance.

Jamiroquai’s “Starchild” was presents quite well. Jay Kay’s vocals are bright and crisp, and the guitar, bass guitar, and other instrumentation are reproduced just as well through the new two-way speaker system.

Bass heads won’t need to worry! Skrillex’s “Mumbai Place” has nuclear bass and sub-bass, which was well represented through the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. There is definitely some amplification of the bottom end with the Buds 3 Pro, but not at the expense of the other frequencies. I didn’t feel like the bass response bleeds into mids or overpowers vocals at any time. 

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Your mileage may vary before you play with it and find the right sound for you, but I can also say that the default tuning out of the Buds 3 Pro is a good experience as well. Minus having 360 Audio turned on — as was the case when I paired the phone to a Pixel 7 Pro, which doesn't support the feature — the Buds 3 Pro still present a highly satisfying listening experience. While you may not have the SSC codec on a device like the Pixel 7 Pro, Bluetooth LE is supported. Overall, the quality is much warmer without 360 Audio, but the soundstage is still surprisingly large for Bluetooth, closed-back listening devices.

Rounding out the audio experience, you’ll get adjustable ANC and ambient sound modes and an adaptive noise-canceling mode. Airplane cabin noise of 80dB was hushed wonderfully, with only the top-end frequencies present but greatly dulled.

Ambient mode is very transparent, with no hiss, and gives one of the best balances of music to ambient noise I’ve used in a pair of earbuds in recent memory. It’s one thing to have a great hear-through mode, but another to play music with it at a level that is still enjoyable while being able to hear quality detail from the world around you. A+ for Samsung on its implementation of Ambient mode.

Also, the microphone quality on these is really good. I tested them in quiet places and in urban settings with all of the ambient traffic, cars honking, and construction noise, and while they don't kill background noise like some others, they do a great job of making sure your voice comes through strong over any background noise. The problem with noise cancellation on many Bluetooth earbuds is that they make you sound like you're in a tunnel, or your voice cuts out as the AI works overtime to try to cancel out background sounds. I appreciate what Samsung did here.

One last note on what I like. Living in a very beach-friendly state, I’m glad Samsung finally added dust resistance to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. The Buds 2 and Buds 2 Pro were water resistance rated only.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: What could use improvement

Though the touch controls are intuitive, and responsive, they still make me feel as though I’m unseating the earbuds when manipulating them. Despite the fact that often, that isn’t the case.

As for the design, getting the earbuds into their wireless charging-supported case is my only issue, as they’re a bit of a pain to place. That said, the colors on the case are a nice touch, as seeing that light blue at the bottom of the left stem can be a bit rough at times for those whose vision isn’t 20/20.

Having access to all of the features of the earbuds at your fingertips requires also having the last two generations of Galaxy S-Class devices or Flip and Fold devices. More devices could be added in the future, but as I always say, you need to be happy with exactly what you’re getting today because feature upgrades, if they do come, could be a way off.

This isn’t necessarily something I don’t like, but it’s worth mentioning because it could be a pain. Voice Detect is an awesome feature that automatically turns on Ambient mode when the earbuds detect speaking. The problem you may encounter is that if you’re like me and start to sing whatever song is amping you up during your workout, your audio will dip.

I forget about this feature sometimes when I’m having a brisk walk and getting into my music, then I’m slightly annoyed that I have to be quiet. I’d love to see a future software update that adds a Galaxy Watch Buds Control shortcut to activate or deactivate this feature during workouts.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: Competition

Much like AirPods, there isn’t any direct competition because of the Samsung ecosystem integration. Outside of that integration, at a similar price point, check out Jabra’s new Elite 8 Active Gen 2. They have similar dust and water resistance, great ANC, and are very comfortable. The JBL Live Beam 3 is another great alternative. They have around 10 hours of battery life with ANC on, as well as a very cool touch screen. 

For $100 dollars less, Nothing Ear (2024) are worth a serious look and are the other stem-style buds that work for my ears.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro: Should you buy them?

You should buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro if...

• You own a Samsung phone (and watch)
• Your phone supports Bluetooth LE
• You like stem-style earbuds

You shouldn't buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro if...

• You want Hi-Res audio with no Samsung phone
• You don’t have a Samsung Wear app compatible device

Great sound, a robust feature set, and brilliant Samsung ecosystem connectivity make the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro the ideal pair of Bluetooth earbuds for newer Samsung Galaxy and Z-series device owners. That and the microphone call quality are why I recommend them and have called them a "must-have" for Samsung owners.

Even if stem-style earbuds don’t work for you, like me, these are worth trying. Plus, they have a great, understated look with design elements that grab you. If you live a very active lifestyle, I recommend installing a pair of Comply foam ear tips for an extra secure fit.