Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: why I consider them one of the best Bluetooth earbuds

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are the long-awaited successor to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. They bring new features and a new design that at first glance resembles the Apple AirPods Pro. I was able to test them extensively on my vacation. This is my personal hands-on.

Design and controls

The Buds 3 Pro come in an elongated case with a transparent lid. I like that a lot. They come in white and silver. Silver is by far the better color for me, because then they no longer look like AirPods clones. At the Unpacked event, I also saw the color on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, and I think: silver is the color of the season.

In my opinion, the design with a round head, silicone tip, and stem is really well done. The stem is more angular than round, and that helps with the controls. They work exclusively through this stem:

• press once, twice, or three times
• press and hold
• swipe from top to bottom with your finger

With that, you start and stop music, skip between tracks, adjust the volume, or switch between transparency mode and active noise cancelling. The gestures can be changed in the app. Your fingers automatically come to rest on the edge, which I haven’t experienced like this with any other buds. Every grab at the stem is a hit.

Modes and Galaxy AI

There are four modes. Besides “Off” and Ambient sound, where the microphones slightly amplify the surroundings, there is “Adaptive”: the buds detect the volume of the surroundings and dampen it more or less. Then there is classic ANC. That is useful on a plane or at a kids’ birthday party, and it is really good. That is also thanks to the silicone tips, which seal the ear canal well.

Galaxy AI brings new features:

• Automatic switching to ambient mode when the buds detect a conversation or a siren or when a call comes in.
• Sound adjustment: The sound is automatically adapted to your individual ear shape and the fit of the buds.
• Interpreter: You hear something in another language and get it translated into your ear. For that, you need a Galaxy smartphone with the Interpreter app. I tried it on vacation with an Italian children’s fairy tale, and it works excellently. Like any AI translation, the translation is more or less accurate, but for following a movie or a talk, I find the feature almost genius.
• Seamless audio connection: Switching between devices works automatically.

I personally find the 360 Audio feature terrible and always turn it off. Maybe you will find it handy.

Sound and calls

I’m not a sound expert, but in my opinion, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro beat the Apple AirPods Pro 2 by a mile. Lows and bass are full, the highs are clear and don’t distort. In the equalizer of the Wearable app, you can adjust the sound, even during calls.

There was a clear optimization of the microphones. The first time I made a call from my vacation, the person I was talking to asked whether I wasn’t already back, that’s how clear and close I sounded.

Using them with other smartphones

Via Bluetooth, the buds can be paired with all devices. For the settings, you need the Samsung Wearable app from the Play Store. I paired them with my Xiaomi 14 Ultra and had access to all features, only the Interpreter is missing. The app is not available for iOS. So with an iPhone or iPad, you can pair the buds but not configure them. That excludes many users.

Specs

	Galaxy Buds 3 Pro
RRP	€249
Battery	up to 7.5 hours
Charging	wireless
Protection	IP57 (dust, temporary immersion)

Verdict

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are a more than successful update in the Samsung lineup: great sound, extremely good call quality, and cool AI features that will surely be expanded. In silver, they can no longer be mistaken for AirPods. In terms of sound and features, I find them better than the AirPods Pro 2, and they are cheaper too. For me, they are currently one of the best, if not the best, Bluetooth earbuds with AI on the market.