Immediately after the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro was announced last August, a meme appeared mocking Samsung for copying the AirPods design. I am one of the early ones who felt that Samsung's move to abandon the bean-shaped ear bud design with the stem design was a mistake. But after using the Buds3 Pro for three weeks I'm not ashamed to say that my initial opinion was wrong and it was actually a change that was needed.
SPECIFICATIONS
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro
In-ear TWS type
Drivers Two audio drivers
Microphone 6 microphones
Battery 7 Hours/30 hours without ANC
6 Hours/26 hours with ANC
USB-C charging port
Wireless charging
Wireless charging Yes
CODEC AAC, SBC, SSC(Samsung Seamless Codec), SSC-UHQ
All operating systems are supported
Yes/Bixby virtual assistant support
2X touch pad
2X Pressure
IP57 waterproof capability
Bluetooth 5.4
Selling Price RM 999
Design
Is the design of the Buds3 Pro completely mimicking an AirPods Pro? The answer is no. At first glance, there are two similar moths, but if you look closely, the bud part is bigger and the stem is more square. As a user of the Galaxy Buds series for many years, this change felt a little awkward at first.
But I have to admit the presence of the stem makes it easier to remove the Buds3 Pro from the ear. The process of changing the position of the audio bud is also easier because the touch pad is not pressed accidentally every time a finger touches it.
Buds3 Pro are comfortable in the ear with air tightness according to the size of the silicon bud used. I used the default supplied buds and they felt quite comfortable unlike last year's Buds2 Pro which made the earhole feel like it was being stuffed with a little finger all the time. Therefore, long-term use does not cause pain.
I even fell asleep several times with the Buds3 Pro stuck in my ears while listening to podcasts at home. Despite being larger and with a stem, they are more comfortable to wear while sleeping than the Buds2 Pro. The Buds3 Pro's larger size also solves the difficult problem of finding ear buds that fall out of the ear while sleeping.
On the stem there are two sensors. A pressure sensor that when pressed will pause, play, skip audio and turn off ANC/Ambient mode. This sensor is the same as the pressure sensor on an AirPods. Samsung "takes inspiration" from the best-selling TWS in the market and their implementation is comparable to that offered by Apple.
The second sensor detects the movement of the finger on the stem to increase or decrease the audio volume. These are placed on both Buds3 Pro ear buds. All this time on Buds2 Pro, I have to activate the Samsung Labs feature where audio volume control is done by flicking the outer surface of the ear bud.
This feature works well but is not very user friendly. The use of scroll detection sensors on the Buds3 Pro is a good decision because the controls are more responsive and available without having to use the Beta feature.
The Buds3 Pro charging pod has also been given a new lease of life. Goodbye to the iconic river rock-like square pods and welcome to more oval storage/charging pods like AirPods. The only change is that it is larger with a translucent cover.
Again this is the right choice as without having to open the cover I can see both audio buds are in the storage pod. The second is that finally the physical button to start the bluetooth pairing process is now located on the bottom of the storage pod. This is a more user-friendly way than pressing both ear buds for 5 seconds on previous generation TWS Buds.
The size of the pod is a little big but I feel it is still comfortable when placed in a trouser pocket. The bad news here is that if you've collected Galaxy Buds cases from the past four years, all of these cases will no longer work on the Buds3 Pro.
The lid of the pod also uses a stronger magnet. Throughout the review period the audio bud was not thrown out even if the pod fell on the floor. Die-hard previous Galaxy Buds users will surely agree with me that the previous storage pod lids were not magnetically strong enough to prevent the contents from spilling out.
Finally, the ear buds pass IP57 waterproof and dustproof standards allowing it to play sports without having to worry about damage due to the sweat secreted by the body.
Usage and Audio
In the first week I felt the Buds3 Pro's audio was too bright drowning out the bass and vocals. All audio sounds too sharp to hurt the ears. But based on the experience of reviewing various audio products, I used the Buds3 Pro continuously for a week to ensure that the ears could get used to its audio profile.
The opinion of an audio accessory needs to be used for several hundred to do the "break-in" process. But scientifically this break in effect does not exist and only the user's ears change.
In default EQ mode the audio is clear with a slightly narrow audio stage due to the size of the drivers as well as the buds clogging the ear holes. By changing the built-in EQ in the Galaxy Wearable app, the audio that feels more comfortable can be changed accordingly. Personally the Bass boast setting is my favorite because the majority of what I listen to is in the rock, and hip hop genres. To listen to the podcast I changed the EQ to Clear so the voice could be heard more clearly.
The use of Buds3 Pro is the same as other TWS Samsung Buds. It still doesn't support Fast Pair which is quite strange for a flagship product that supports Android devices. There are various ANC mode strength options as well as 360-degree audio. Activating high-resolution audio support is also possible.
The lighting system can also be turned off if not needed. I feel this light mode is only useful when looking for lost ear buds in the dark. A few times I fell asleep and if it fell off, 566
The ANC capability in my opinion is not as good as Buds2 Pro. This is because the silicon bud used on the Buds3 Pro is smaller. As a result the audio from the outside is not filtered as well as the Buds2 Pro. Samsung sacrifices ANC performance a bit for the comfort of long-term use. On the flight between Bangkok and KL, I felt that the Buds3 Pro's ANC system was not powerful enough to block out the roar of the jet engine. Another unique thing about this ANC TWS is that it takes 2 seconds to activate unlike other TWS. Therefore at the initial stage it feels awkward to have to wait two seconds before the surrounding noise is muted.
Translucent mode still has the effect of white noise when activated. The best passthrough mode is still held by AirPods Pro. One advantage that Buds3 Pro has is the transparent mode and the ANC is of the adaptive type that changes according to the surrounding conditions. ANC will automatically turn off when the user talks or it detects a siren sound. Siren detection is only supported on Buds3 Pro so far as it is a recent feature.
BATTERY
The battery is advertised to last up to 30 hours with the help of the charging pod or 7 hours if ANC is turned off. Usage time goes up to 26/6 hours when ANC is activated. This is the standard usage life of a modern pair of TWS which I feel is sufficient for daily use in the office. Battery recharge time is around 80 minutes wired and 120 minutes wirelessly.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
Here's what you'll get with every purchase of the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.
1x Set of Galaxy Buds3 Pro
1x USB-C to USB-C Cable
2x Install additional silicone buds.
1x Manual
CONCLUSION
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro brings the necessary changes to offer TWS that is more in line with current user needs. The stem design is much more ergonomic and allows for easier and more versatile audio control. The audio quality is also very good and this is the most important thing for a flagship pair of earphones from Samsung. The battery life is also satisfactory with the ability to operate up to 30 hours with the help of a charging pod.
The only drawback is that there is no tracking mode with audio as already given to AirPods Pro and Pixel Buds Pro 2. The tracking of the final location supported by SmartThings is outdated. In Malaysia, Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro is sold at a price of RM999.
Pro
Satisfying audio.
Adaptive ANC system.
Good battery life for its class.
IP57 waterproof and dustproof.
Physical control on a practical stalk.
Cons
Not fully supported on iOS.
Translucent mode is still not very natural.
The ANC is not very energetic.