Samsung Galaxy Buds3 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro

Samsung announced both on 10 July 2024 at Galaxy Unpacked in Paris, with the same blade-shaped stem design and the same 46.5-gram case. The first thing to settle is how you like earbuds to sit, because Samsung built them differently: it calls Buds3 Open Type and Buds3 Pro Canal Type.

Buds3 against Buds3 Pro

Spec	Samsung Galaxy Buds3	Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro
US price at launch	$179.99	$249.99
Fit	Open Type	Canal Type, with eartips
Drivers	1-way, 11 mm dynamic	2-way: 10.5 mm dynamic plus 6.1 mm planar tweeter, dual amps
Noise control	ANC	ANC, Adaptive Noise Control, Ambient Sound, Voice Detect, Siren Detect
Blade Lights	No	Yes
Music, ANC on	Up to 5 hours; 24 with the case	Up to 6 hours; 26 with the case
Music, ANC off	Up to 6 hours; 30 with the case	Up to 7 hours; 30 with the case
Talk, ANC on	Up to 3.5 hours; 18 with the case	Up to 4.5 hours; 20 with the case
Talk, ANC off	Up to 4 hours; 20 with the case	Up to 5 hours; 22 with the case
Quick charge	Not published	Not published
Bud battery	48 mAh typical, 45 mAh rated	53 mAh typical, 50 mAh rated
Case battery	515 mAh typical, 500 mAh rated	515 mAh typical, 500 mAh rated
One bud	4.7 g; 18.1 × 20.4 × 31.9 mm	5.4 g with M tip; 18.1 × 19.8 × 33.2 mm
Case	46.5 g; 58.9 × 48.7 × 24.4 mm	46.5 g; same size
Microphones	3 plus a voice pickup unit	3 plus a voice pickup unit, or 6 on some regional pages
Sensors	Voice pickup, force and touch, SWIR, accelerometer, Hall	Adds gyro, pressure and proximity
LE Audio	Not published	Yes
Bluetooth	5.4, Auto Switch	5.4, Auto Switch
Codecs	SSC, SSC UHQ, AAC, SBC	SSC, SSC UHQ, AAC, SBC
Water	Buds IP57; case not water resistant	Buds IP57; case not water resistant
Model	SM-R530	SM-R630
Colors	Silver, White	Silver, White

Open type or canal type

Buds3 Pro is the canal-type pair: its eartips go into your ear canal and seal it, and Samsung weighs each bud with a medium tip fitted. Buds3 is what Samsung calls open-type, a design that sits in your ear without that seal. If sealed tips have always ached or felt blocked-up, that alone points you to Buds3. If you want the seal, and the modes that come with it, it’s the Pro.

Both still have active noise cancelling.

Pro gets the extra noise modes and the lights

Samsung lists active noise cancelling as Buds3’s only noise mode. Ambient Sound, Adaptive Noise Control, Voice Detect and Siren Detect are all Buds3 Pro features. Voice Detect switches the buds toward Ambient Sound and turns the music down when you start talking, and on some One UI versions Voice Detect and Siren Detect stay off until you turn them on.

Blade Lights, the lights along the stems, are Pro-only too, and you pick their mode in settings. Buds3 has the blade shape but not the lights.

One driver or two

Buds3 has a single 11 mm dynamic driver, and Samsung credits its diaphragm with 1.5 times the amplitude, without naming the comparison. Buds3 Pro has what Samsung calls an enhanced 2-way speaker: a 10.5 mm dynamic driver and a 6.1 mm planar tweeter, each with its own amplifier. Samsung says it’s the first Galaxy Buds to pair a planar tweeter with dual amps. Neither comes with a decibel figure for noise isolation.

Battery: about an hour more on Pro

With noise cancelling on, Buds3 runs up to 5 hours, or 24 with the case, and Pro up to 6, or 26. With it off it’s 6 hours against 7, and both reach 30 with the case. Calls follow the same pattern: up to 3.5 hours with noise cancelling on and 4 with it off for Buds3, against 4.5 and 5 for Pro, or 18 and 20 against 20 and 22 counting the case. Samsung bases all of these on its own internal tests.

Pro’s buds also hold more: 53 mAh typical (50 rated) against 48 mAh typical (45 rated) for Buds3, while both cases are 515 mAh typical and 500 rated.

Size and weight

Buds3 is the lighter bud, 4.7 grams against 5.4 grams for Pro with a medium tip. Buds3 measures 18.1 by 20.4 by 31.9 millimeters and Pro 18.1 by 19.8 by 33.2, so Pro is a little longer. The cases are identical on paper, in size and in weight.

Codecs, phones and apps

Both use Bluetooth 5.4 with SSC, SSC UHQ, AAC and SBC. SSC UHQ, up to 24-bit and 96 kHz, needs one of the Galaxy phones Samsung lists, on One UI 6.1.1 or later, and Samsung may add more phones. Neither lists LDAC.

Auto Switch moves audio between your Samsung devices, including Galaxy PCs, but Samsung doesn’t describe it as general two-phone multipoint. Samsung’s Singapore page gives Buds3 Pro LE Audio, with the PBP and TMAP profiles alongside A2DP, AVRCP and HFP; there’s no LE Audio listed for Buds3.

The Galaxy Wearable app is Android-only, and Samsung isn’t consistent about the minimum. Its US launch announcement asks for Android 10 or higher with more than 1.5 GB of memory, with some features Galaxy-only; its Singapore page for Pro says Android 11.0 or higher and at least 1.5 GB. On One UI 8.0, Pro’s settings can also show up in the phone’s quick settings.

360 Audio works on both, with One UI version limits for Direct Multi-Channel. Interpreter features need a compatible Galaxy phone, and neither pair has a hearing-aid feature.

IP57 covers the buds, not the case

Both are IP57, but only the buds. Samsung describes the test as fresh water in a lab, up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes, advises against beach and pool use, and says the charging case isn’t water resistant. Dry the buds before you charge them, and don’t count on the rating lasting forever.

Also shared

Both charge wirelessly as well as by cable, both work with Samsung Find, and neither has ultra-wideband. Controls match too: pinch to play or pause, press and hold for noise control or a favorite, and swipe for volume. Buds3’s sensors are a voice pickup unit, force and touch, SWIR, an accelerometer and a Hall sensor; Pro adds gyro, pressure and proximity sensors on Samsung’s Singapore list, and Samsung’s US list for Pro still includes SWIR. Samsung’s UK box list for Pro includes a USB cable.

Price

Samsung launched Buds3 at $179.99 and Buds3 Pro at $249.99, with pre-orders from 10 July 2024 and Pro on general sale from 24 July 2024. Seventy dollars buys the seal, the second driver, the extra noise modes, Blade Lights, a bigger bud battery and about an hour more listening. It doesn’t buy a newer Bluetooth version or a water-resistant case. Both come in Silver and White, depending on your market. Samsung’s US product links have been redirecting, so check Samsung’s store before you buy.