Samsung's most unconventional Galaxy Buds finally get an official US ETA and regional price tag
The open-ear Galaxy Buds On are scheduled to go on sale stateside sooner than you may have expected... at a hard-to-stomach price.
The Galaxy Buds On look nothing like any other member of Samsung's earbuds family. | Image by Samsung
Never one to miss the opportunity to join an emerging trend or fledgling market segment, Samsung added a radically new type of true wireless earbuds to its already rich and eclectic portfolio of AirPods alternatives nearly a month ago.
But while the Galaxy Buds On launch didn't exactly catch me off guard after months of detailed leaks and reliable rumors (many of which had pointed to a different Galaxy Buds Able name), I was certainly surprised to see this ambitious product unveiled exclusively in its manufacturer's homeland.
Of course, the Galaxy Buds On were always expected to expand beyond South Korea fairly soon, and that's precisely what's now confirmed to happen in "early November."
The spec sheet is complete
- 11.3mm TwinBoost speaker;
- Audio Leakage Reduction technology;
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound Platform;
- High-efficiency Class-D amplifier;
- Intelligent Clear Call technology;
- Three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU);
- 61mAh battery (earbuds) rated for up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 9.5 hours of music time;
- 530mAh battery (charging case) capable of boosting the battery life to as much as 38 hours in total;
- Bluetooth 6.2;
- IP54 water and dust resistance (earbuds only);
- Head Gestures;
- Gemini Live;
- 6.65 grams weight (per earbud);
- 41 grams weight (charging case);
- Black color.
The price doesn't feel right
At $229, the clip-on Galaxy Buds On are obviously more affordable than the "conventional" Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, but not by much, which sounds like a big problem and a potential deal-breaker for a lot of holiday shoppers.
Both the earbuds themselves and their accompanying charging case are undeniably stylish and lightweight. | Image by Samsung
Samsung's most advanced in-ear buds to date, mind you, are normally priced at $249.99, but in recent months, they've become pretty easy to find at $199.99, $179.99, and even less than that... with a couple of important compromises. Despite what their name might suggest, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are also very cool, offering active noise cancellation, surprisingly high-quality sound, and a bunch of other premium features and capabilities at a decidedly "unpremium" $149 price point you'll certainly be able to take down to $109 or $99 around Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year.
Because they can't pack ANC functionality for fairly obvious reasons, Samsung's first-ever open-ear buds should be compared to similar products from other brands, which include the $299 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), $199 Bose Sport Open, $199 Shokz OpenDots 2, $170 Soundcore AeroClip 2, and the just-unveiled OnePlus Buds Clip, which don't have an official price tag yet and are unlikely to ever be released in the US.
What do you think about open-style earbuds?
26 Votes
As you can easily notice, the Galaxy Buds On are not the costliest earbuds on that list, but they're clearly not the most affordable either, and although their spec sheet above looks pretty solid, I believe a sub-$200 price was needed for this unorthodox model to hope to steal the spotlight away from the aforementioned Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3 FE, not to mention Apple's massively popular AirPods Pro 3 and brand-new AirPods 5.
Who are the Galaxy Buds On for?
In short, for anyone who's ever felt uncomfortable wearing in-ear buds for an extended period of time. The idea here is for the Galaxy Buds On to clip around your ears, which will naturally keep you more connected to your surroundings as well.
Prolonged comfort in any environment is clearly the Galaxy Buds On's number one selling point. | Image by Samsung
With the help of bone conduction technology, an absolutely massive "TwinBoost" speaker, a bunch of microphones, and other neat tricks and cutting-edge capabilities, Samsung promises to deliver "premium" sound and crystal clear calls, as well as excellent battery life without unnecessary heft.
If you don't mind the... quirky design and undeniably extravagant pricing (for what ultimately remains an experimental product for the time being), I think you should definitely keep an eye on Samsung's official US website and major regional retailers like Amazon in the weeks following the Galaxy Buds On's "early November" commercial debut for a holiday discount that might make this a very intriguing value proposition.
Popular stories
Latest News
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: