Here’s everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, plus the features we’re hoping to see.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are said to be the latest true wireless earbuds from the South Korean tech giant, and if the rumors are to be believed, they’ll be the company’s best buds yet. Leaks and rumors have been circulating in recent weeks, and we’re expecting them to be announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy S21, which is rumored to be make an appearance on January 14 (that’s tomorrow) during the Samsung Unpacked event. Samsung will likely host its Unpacked event via YouTube, Facebook and other sites which host video, but right now, it hasn’t pre-uploaded any ‘premieres’ that you can join. An imminent release date for the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro seems inevitable now that the earbuds have appeared on Samsung’s own Canadian website, and an unboxing video from Digital Slang has surfaced: We’ve also heard rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will come with active noise cancellation and support for Dolby Atmos – making them an alternative to the Apple AirPods Pro for Android users. The buds are also said to come with AKG-tune audio, a longer battery life than their predecessors, support for Bluetooth 5.1, and USB-C charging. Those specs certainly sound promising, but Samsung’s mixed history when it comes to audio devices means we’re tempering our expectations; the Galaxy Buds Plus, for example, were let down by limited audio codec support and a disappointing IPX2 water-resistance rating. Can Samsung redeem itself with these new wireless earbuds? While Samsung is still yet to officially confirm the existence of the Galaxy Buds Pro, we’ve taken a look at all the leaks and rumors so far to give you an overview of what you can expect from the upcoming earbuds. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will launch alongside the Galaxy S21 smartphone, according to SamMobile, which is expected to be announced on January 14, 2021. Samsung always unveils its new Galaxy S models early in the year, and in recent years it has been announcing them in February, then selling them from March, so we were expecting the same with the Samsung Galaxy S21 range. But it’s looking very likely that the Samsung Galaxy S21 range will actually land in January, with an official Samsung store in India even saying the phones will be announced on January 14. It would make sense that the Galaxy Buds Pro would be launched on this date, too – after all, the Galaxy Buds Plus were announced alongside the Galaxy S20 at the Samsung Unpacked 2020 event in February. According to XDA Developers, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will set you back $199, which works out at roughly £110 / AU$260. Though this is still to be confirmed, it makes sense that they’d cost a little more than their predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live, which cost $169.99 / £179 / AU£319 at launch. That’s been (sort of) backed up by a leak from major retailer Staples, with the Canadian site listing the wireless earbuds before quickly removing the post. Under the codename “Samsung Galaxy Attic,” the Galaxy Buds Pro price was set at CA$264. That works out to about $210 in USD, which corroborates previous rumors of a $200 MSRP in the U.S. It also makes sense that Samsung would try to undercut the Apple AirPods Pro ($249 / £249 / AU$399), as its buds are often a little cheaper than its biggest rival. Saying that, reputable leaker Evan Blass has said that we can « expect the Galaxy Buds Pro to be sold alongside the (likely price-reduced) previous models, » and that the new buds will be the successors to the Galaxy Buds Plus.
