The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are the 2024 follow-up to the previous Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, as the brand's top-of-the-line buds are mainly aimed at the Android and Samsung ecosystem. Packed with adjustable active noise cancelling (ANC) and an upgraded nine-band graphic equalizer, alongside nice-to-haves such as 360 Audio and seamless device switching available, let's check these buds out.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are good for sports and fitness. They're comfortable, portable, and lightweight. Their IP57 rating is reassuring for dusty and wet conditions. Although they lack stabilizers or over-ear hooks, their stability is still good unless your ears are difficult to fit. Depending on your tastes, their bassy sound signature can also be adjusted using the app's EQ. If you want to block out gym racket, the ANC attenuates a remarkable amount of background noise, or switch to transparency mode when on an outdoor run.
Nine-band graphic EQ.
Outstanding noise isolation.
IP57 rating.
Comfortable and stable fit.
Access to full features is limited to the brand's ecosystem.
Continuous battery life is okay, but not very long-lasting.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are great for traveling. They're portable and comfortable to wear. The buds come equipped with fantastic ANC and passive isolation to block out airplane cabin din and passenger chit-chat. Their app includes an EQ with intuitive controls for easily adjusting the bassy tuning and handling playback. However, for long international flights, the battery life might not last without a recharge in the case to top it up.
Nine-band graphic EQ.
Outstanding noise isolation.
IP57 rating.
Comfortable and stable fit.
Access to full features is limited to the brand's ecosystem.
Lacks standard multi-device pairing.
Continuous battery life is okay, but not very long-lasting.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are good for office work. Their ANC handily cancels low-pitched noises like HVACs, as well as higher-pitched keyboard clatter and voices. They feel comfortable and lightweight, and the controls are easy to master. You can EQ the bassy tuning to your tastes as well. While the mic sounds decent, it struggles to separate your voice from noises in your environment. The continuous battery life won't make it through a full workday without a recharge in the case.
Nine-band graphic EQ.
Outstanding noise isolation.
Windows app can be used to control the buds at work.
Comfortable and stable fit.
Mic's recording quality is decent in quiet environments.
Access to full features is limited to the brand's ecosystem.
Lacks standard multi-device pairing.
Mic has poor noise handling.
Continuous battery life is okay, but not very long-lasting.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are Bluetooth-only, so they're limited when it comes to their connectivity for wireless gaming, and their latency is elevated, so you may experience A/V sync issues. That said, you can use the Game Mode in the app with compatible devices.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are wireless-only earbuds and can't be used for wired gaming.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have very good audio reproduction accuracy. Their sound profile is quite bass-heavy, so it doesn't follow our target perfectly. However, the mids are flat and clear, while the treble region is mostly warm; it's not overly exaggerated, with only minor peaks and dips. You can also use their EQ to change the tuning to taste. They produce low amounts of harmonic distortion, so you won't notice any audible coloration. The left and right drivers are amazingly well aligned, so sounds are well-positioned in the stereo field.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have exceptional noise isolation performance. Their combined ANC and passive isolation filter out deep rumbles from bus engines, background conversation, and shrill noises really well. They also don't leak much of your audio, so you won't bother people nearby.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are sub-par for microphone performance. While their recording quality is decent and captures your voice sounding fairly natural, their built-in noise handling struggles to parse your voice from background sounds. In quiet spaces, though, the mic's performance is useable.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have excellent frequency response consistency. Once you get a good fit, you'll get consistent sound with each wear.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Apr 20, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.2, which removes the Cumulative Spectral Decay (CSD) test, retiring its waterfall plot visualization from our reviews. You can read more about this change in the changelog.
-
Updated Mar 23, 2026:
We've updated the Case box to mention the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro.
-
Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Mar 12, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are available in two colors, 'White' and 'Silver.' Our unit is 'Silver,' and you can view the label. We expect both color variants to perform similarly.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are different in form and materials than the previous Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro more closely resembling the Apple AirPods Pro 2 than the stemless Galaxy Buds2 Pro. Both the Galaxy Buds2 Pro and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are noise cancelling with access to the same app, but many features are dependent on you using not only an Android but one of the latest Samsung devices. These days, when you choose Bluetooth earbuds, you're often also choosing operating systems and brand allegiances. Features such as the Samsung Seamless Codec promising 24-bit audio streaming and the ability to switch between devices signed into the same Samsung account require you to buy into the company's ecosystem. Sitting in the tier below, Samsung Galaxy Buds3 arrive equipped with ANC, but they sit outside of your ear canal, so they don't isolate nearly as well as the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Similarly, to get the most out of them, you'll need a compatible Samsung device.
For more recommendations, check out the best wireless earbuds for Android, the best sounding wireless earbuds, and the best noise cancelling earbuds.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro are an incremental improvement over the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro. The newer generation has a redesign that improves the fit, case, and build, but there aren't many differences in performance. The Buds4 Pro's sound signature is a more subdued, tweaked version of the Buds3 Pro: warm, but with less bombastic bass. Not much else is different: battery life is nearly identical at six hours of continuous playback; both devices support the same codecs; and noise isolation performance hasn't improved between generations. The Buds4 Pro are the better pickup if you can find them at a similar price to the Buds3 Pro.
By most metrics, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 are better earbuds than the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, but your device will determine your choice more than their individual capabilities alone, given that Apple's app features are built into iOS Settings and Samsung's app is exclusive to Android and Windows. The Apple are better made (even though both pairs have high dust and waterproofing) and a little more comfortable. Their noise isolation performance is a bit better, and their continuous battery life of nine hours outdoes the Samsung headphones' 6.5-hour continuous battery life. Still, if you like to adjust your sound, the Samsung app offers more room to EQ than Apple's one-and-done tuning. You can even get the Samsung app on Windows devices.
Whether you prefer the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless over the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro may largely depend on your device's ecosystem. Both have warm sound profiles by default with in-app EQ. The Sony work the same with Android and iOS devices and have a longer battery life. They have multi-device pairing with up to two devices, too. On the other hand, if you're a Samsung user, you can seamlessly switch between different devices on the same Samsung account. Their mic also sounds more natural, and their IP57 rating outdoes the Sony's IPX4 rating. Finally, the Samsung also boast slightly better noise isolation overall, even if the Sony block bright sounds better.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless have different strengths. The Samsung are highly portable earbuds that can easily accompany you wherever you go. Even in their case, they take up barely any room, so you can toss them in a pocket or bag with ease. On the other hand, the Bose are premium over-ears. While they do fold up, they're nowhere near as portable as the Samsung, but they do offer better ANC. The Samsung are no slouch on that front, but if you plan to use these headphones mostly while commuting or at the office, the Bose are the better bet. Both pairs have a warm sound that suits a wide variety of audio content. If there's a potential dealbreaker, it's that the Samsung's companion app is only available on Android, while the Bose Music app is available on both Android and iOS.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
