Things have been leaking ahead of Samsung's next Unpacked event on July 10. The company will be unveiling a whole host of devices at the event, including new wireless earbuds. It has been a while since the Galaxy Buds lineup received a major refresh and the company is set to deliver it alongside its new wearable devices and the new flagship phones.
While a design change was expected, it wasn't expected that Samsung would take a page out of Apple's playbook and be completely inspired by the AirPods. Apple's first wireless earbuds, the AirPods, were launched back in 2016. They had a distinct design element compared to other earbuds of that period, the AirPods had elongated stems with both form and function. The stems brought the microphones closer to the mouth and helped with call quality.
Meanwhile, Samsung came out with wireless earbuds under its Gear brand first with an in-ear design. It wasn't until March 2019 that Samsung really focused on its wireless earbuds when it rebranded the lineup to Galaxy Buds. It has released some decent models since then, but the upcoming iteration brings one of the biggest design upgrades yet for the lineup.
If you've been using Samsung earbuds since the early days, you'd remember very well that the call quality left a lot to be desired. The person on the other end of the phone call wouldn't be able to hear you all that well, and that just defeated one of the main reasons to buy wireless earbuds, which is to take calls hands-free. It become more frustrating as Samsung gradually ditched the 3.5mm port on its phones yet the call quality on its earbuds remained lacking.
Recent models, particularly the likes of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, have significantly improved the call quality. However, this new design change that Samsung is introducing is perhaps a tacit admission that Apple got it right the first time around. Leaked images of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have revealed that they're going to have elongated stems as well, making them appear quite similar to the AirPods. In fact, they look more closer to the AirPods than they do to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.
Naturally, a lot of Samsung fans aren't too thrilled by the company copying Apple's design, but one can certainly hope that this would bring a major improvement in call quality. To play the devil's advocate for a bit, the stem design is associated with Apple largely because the AirPods are so popular, but you'll find countless brands, particularly in China, that have been using similar designs for just as long. Samsung won't find itself being sued over this design change, it's just that it looks odd to Samsung fans, and they'll probably be made fun of by their fans in the Apple camp most likely.
It's very easy to get caught up in the age old debate of Samsung copying Apple but there are some undeniable facts as well that highlight how Samsung has been ahead of Apple in realizing where the market was heading and helping lead it there. At a time when companies weren't to keen on the idea of smartphones with large displays, Samsung rightly understood customers' desire and forged the way for larger displays with the Galaxy Note series.
Samsung has already rightly understood customers' boredom with the conventional style of phones and has ushered in a new era of mobility with foldable phones. It was the first manufacturer to ship foldable phones at a global scale in 2020 and has remained the leader in the segment ever since, while Apple's still undecided on whether it wants to make a foldable iPhone.
Ultimately, what matters the most is providing customers with a better experience and making them feel that the money they've spent on a new device was well worth it. The audio quality on Samsung's earbuds has always been good. If call quality has been significantly improved with this design change, and perhaps more battery life can be squeezed out of it as well, then it doesn't really matter all that much. What matters most is that users will have a better product that provide them with more bang for their buck.
Expect Samsung to unveil the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro at the Unpacked event on July 10, 2024 in Paris, France. We'll be on the ground with the latest updates, so be sure to join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.
