Samsung’s $250 flagship Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are among the top noise-canceling earbuds. Now Samsung has launched the more affordable “fan edition” Galaxy Buds 3 FE that look nearly identical to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro but are missing those buds’ LED lighting element, have a single-driver design instead of a dual-driver design and leave off a few other features. They will be available on Sept. 4 in black or gray.
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Like the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE have a noise-isolating design with silicone ear tips, and they feature noise-canceling as well as a transparency mode. Samsung is touting their AI features, which include “accessing Gemini for conversational AI assistance and Galaxy AI Interpreter app to use Real-Time Interpreter or Live Translate to translate phone calls.”
The Galaxy Buds 3 FE’s “blade” design is a departure from the early Galaxy Buds FE ($70), which have a stemless design with wing tips that help lock the buds in your ears.
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The Galaxy Buds 3 FE, shown here in gray, will be available on Sept. 4.
Since I haven’t tried the Galaxy Buds 3 FE yet I can’t tell you how much their performance differs from the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro’s, but I suspect there will be a slight drop-off in sound quality due to the fact that the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have a planar driver alongside a dynamic driver that helps improve clarity and treble performance.
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are regularly on sale (you can get the Latin American version for $125 on Amazon) and Samsung says you can trade in any wired or wireless headset and receive up to $30 off the Galaxy Buds 3 FE. So they, too, should be regularly discounted and perhaps dip to around $100 during the holiday shopping season.
I’ll let you know how they compare to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and other earbuds in their price range as soon as I get my hands on a review sample. For now, here are the Galaxy Buds 3 FE’s key specs:
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE key specs
- Weight per bud: 5 grams
- 1-Way dynamic driver
- Enhanced active noise canceling and transparency modes
- 3 mics (Samsung Crystal Clear Call technology)
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Battery life: Up to 6 hours with noise-canceling on (single-charge) with three additional charges in the case
- IP54 dust-resistant and splash-proof
- Pinch and swipe touch controls
- Supported audio codecs: SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec), AAC and SBC
- Ear-detection sensors
- Hands-free Google Assistant with Gemini integration
- Support for Galaxy AI Interpreter app
- Auto Switch allows for seamlessly connectivity across Galaxy devices
- FindMy Earbuds feature
- Price: $150
- Colors: Black or gray
- Available: Sept. 4