Samsung's next Galaxy Buds might borrow a design cue from Apple's AirPods

Jay Bonggolto
·2 min read
Samsung Galaxy buds 2.
Samsung Galaxy buds 2.

What you need to know

  • Samsung plans to revamp the Galaxy Buds, adding a stem to make them resemble Apple's AirPods. This will be the company's first major design change since 2019.

  • The new stem design aims to place microphones closer to the user’s mouth for better call quality and to create slimmer earbuds for a more comfortable fit.

  • The redesign could also allow for bigger batteries and more advanced tech, such as AI capabilities.

A new rumor claims that Samsung is planning a big makeover for the next Galaxy Buds, adding a stem to make them look more like Apple's AirPods.

South Korean news outlet The Chosun Daily reports (and SamMobile echoes) that the upcoming Galaxy Buds 3—both the standard and Pro versions—will ditch the current bean-like design for something more akin to "bean sprouts." If this rumor holds true, this would mark the first major redesign of Samsung's earbuds since they debuted in 2019.

The design tweak has a purpose: the longer stem is meant to bring the microphones closer to the user's mouth, aiming to boost the call quality.

Samsung has stuck with the same design for its Galaxy Buds line from the start, and it's often knocked for mediocre call quality because the mic doesn't directly target the sound source. Adding an AirPods-style stem could be Samsung's solution to amp up the audio clarity.

Another potential benefit of the rumored design is a better fit. The current Galaxy Buds can feel a bit bulky for some users, and the slimmer profile with a stem might address those concerns.

The rumored design could also free up more space inside the earbuds. This extra room might be used to fit a bigger battery for longer battery life per charge or to include extra tech needed for AI features.

Samsung has already packed some impressive AI capabilities into their earbuds, like live language translation on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, Galaxy Buds 2, and Galaxy Buds FE. It looks like there's even more advanced functionality in the pipeline.

According to the report (machine-translated), we can also anticipate a significant upgrade in the active noise cancellation (ANC) capabilities of the next Galaxy Buds.

The Chosun Daily says Samsung is set to reveal the Galaxy Buds 3 series at the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event on July 10 in Paris. Along with the new earbuds, we're also likely to see the latest in foldables and wearables.