Samsung is preparing for a major product lineup overhaul for its second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, which is rumored to be held next month.
These include the new Galaxy Watch 7 series (includes the Watch 7 and Watch 7 Ultra), the updated foldables: the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, and the Galaxy Ring. However, it seems that Samsung has more in store for us.
It helps to remember that Samsung’s audio lineup hasn’t received a flagship refresh in almost two years now, with the now-aging Galaxy Buds 2 Pro having been announced in August 2022, and only the Buds FE have been launched since. However, it seems that the company is now finally bringing its successor, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, to the upcoming Unpacked event.
It seems that the new design of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro has been leaked by the popular tipster Evan Blass (via @AsianGeekSquad on X/Twitter), which confirms a radical departure from previous Galaxy Buds.
Nooooo!! Say it isn’t soooo @evleaks, not the Galaxy Buds3 Pro looking like airpods 🤢 pic.twitter.com/f3KFSZdlfo
— Asian Geek Squad (@AsianGeekSquad) June 10, 2024
It now looks like many other true wireless earbuds on the market, with an elongated stem that serves as a stabilizer for the ear canal and will probably also house the touchpad for gesture control. While the leaked picture is quite pixelated, this new design is inspired heavily by Apple’s AirPods Pro.
Furthermore, this new design will address the biggest issue of the previous bean-shaped design of the Galaxy Buds: comfort. Many users find Samsung’s older Galaxy Buds quite uncomfortable to wear because the bean-shaped earbuds would dig into the ears and actually fall out of some users’ ears. The new stem design is expected to not face such comfort issues and will significantly improve it.
However, this design comes with a major disadvantage: while this design is an improvement, it is no longer an original, distinct Galaxy Buds. I feel they could’ve done more to differentiate its design from the AirPods Pro.
The prime examples that come to my end are the new Nothing (ear) and the new Moto Buds: they, too, are stem-design earbuds but look quite distinct from AirPods. I feel this is a big missed opportunity for Samsung to make the design stand out a bit more because the new Buds 3 Pro design just looks like a lazy AirPods ripoff so far.
Regardless, this design is a much-needed change for many users that might improve the sales prospects of Samsung’s flagship audio products compared to the dominant AirPods.
