One of Overwatch 2’s latest additions has made my experience with the game worse, but I’m still happy that Blizzard took a shot at the concept.
Overwatch 2’s 18th season brought the official debut of the new Support hero Wuyang, but this headliner is just one of many big additions to the hero shooter that came via its latest update. Alongside the return of Summer Games and a loot box-heavy event based on NBA player (and Top 500 Overwatch 2 player) Luka Doncic, hero progression 2.0 sees players rewarded consistently for spending time with their favorite heroes. A leaver forgiveness system, fresh perks, and a Roadhog rework were also included, but it’s Overwatch 2’s Stadium drafts that quickly drew the most attention.
Immediately upon the introduction of Stadium’s Draft mode, fans noticed a huge problem: it wasn’t possible to mirror heroes. This meant that players could instantly lose out on ways to counter certain builds and strategies, as the other team could block them from picking that character entirely. Fortunately, there was a massive amount of push back because of this strange decision, leading Blizzard to remove the mirror restriction. Draft mode is still in place, though, and it’s been a mixed bag for Overwatch 2. While some players appreciate the addition, others, like myself, find Stadium less enjoyable because of it.
Initially, I thought I wanted something like Drafts in Overwatch 2’s Stadium mode. As a Tank main, I found it annoying to pick Reinhardt and be stuck in a tough match-up because the other team had chosen a Tank that counters him, and I wrongly felt that having the option to see what other players are picking would make things more fair since I could easily adjust. In reality, Overwatch 2’s Drafts make it far too easy for everyone to counter, and they have some significant issues beyond that. After having weeks to give the feature a fair shot, it’s become clear that I liked Stadium significantly more before the system was added. Despite this, I’m actually glad that Blizzard took such a gamble, because it’s a promising side for the future of Staidum and the game as a whole.
Why Overwatch 2’s Stadium Drafting is Problematic

There are a handful of reasons why this new Overwatch 2 feature hasn’t clicked for me, including:
The Draft process only serves to make Stadium matches even longer, as it adds minutes on to the front of the match. Considering how long queue times can be higher up the competitive ladder, the already slow build-up to actual gameplay only becomes more drawn out.

The lack of heroes to choose from means the feature was added before it should have been. Stadium still only offers a fraction of the Overwatch 2 roster, meaning players may only have access to one or two of the characters they’re familiar with. If they get dealt a bad hand and are last to pick, they could be left without the only heroes they know, ultimately making the traditional “first come, first serve” approach preferable.

Overwatch 2’s counter-picking epidemic has become much more severe since Stadium Drafts began. While some kind of middle ground option where players see the opposing side’s Tanks could have been a boon, seeing exactly what both sides have makes Counterwatch the norm. This almost defeats the point of Stadium, as it was meant to see players thrive in any situation by being creative with their builds. Instead, they’re potentially stuck facing several counters if they’re forced to pick first.

Overwatch 2’s toxicity problem is on full display in Stadium now, as some groups will deliberately trade their pick slots with each other to “steal” mains from someone who picked their preferred hero in the pre-draft phase. Unsavory players will also flame their teammates for not countering or for playing heroes they dislike.

I’ve already seen players throwing matches because their desired hero was taken by someone else after a sneaky draft position trade, something that wouldn’t have happened with the old format. In theory, strategizing to hide certain picks is interesting, and with a full roster and focused players, a draft system might be beneficial. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it works in its current form, not just because of the lack of heroes, but also because Blizzard is putting too much faith in random players to strategize and not be selfish. I’ve always felt that the worst part about Overwatch 2 is its toxic player base, and the draft system can bring out the worst in the community since it’s rarely used properly.
Despite all the critiques I have about Drafting in Overwatch 2, I’m still glad the feature was added to the game. Sure, I’d prefer if it were to be restricted to only pro matches and All-Star and above lobbies, but there’s no denying that it was a bold addition that had a good deal of work put into it. I’m all for Blizzard taking risks with the Overwatch franchise, even if they don’t always pay off. It’s preferable to the game growing stale, which certainly could have happened, as Team 4 could have rested on its laurels following Stadium’s successful debut. Instead of just sticking to adding new heroes, maps, and perks, though, the studio gambled on a bold change for the mode. This specific addition may have been a misfire for myself and others in the community, but big additions like Drafts coming to Overwatch 2 regularly are healthy for any live-service title, and the attempt is worth commending.

If good sound is what you want, then these are the wireless earbuds for you, but ANC lovers should beware.
If you’re a Samsung fan and you see “FE” branding, you probably think a few things. The first thing that comes to mind is probably, “I’m saving some money.” For those not fluent in Samsung lingo, FE, which is actually short for “Fan Edition,” is the equivalent of SE in Apple-speak, meaning it’s a more budget-friendly alternative to the flagship-level gadgets. But it’s not just savings you want when you’re seeking something FE-branded—you want quality, too. Maybe you’re not expecting every bell and whistle in the wheelhouse, but you want a lot of it.
I want a lot of the good stuff, too, and I don’t want to pay for it, which is why when I got my hands on Samsung’s recently released Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE, my expectations were elevated. And at $150, they might be even more elevated than usual. It’s not that $150 is too much money in the world of wireless earbuds, it’s that there are a ton of competitors in that range, and a lot of them punch above their weight class—the OnePlus Buds 4, Nothing’s Ear, and Google’s Pixel Buds 2a, for example.
So, the next logical question is how do the Galaxy Buds 3 FE hold up against competition, and if we already know there are compromises built in, what exactly are they? On that front, I’ve got good news and bad. Let’s start with the good stuff.FE price with flagship sound
I won’t mince words; I really like how the Galaxy Buds 3 FE sound. For wireless earbuds in this price range, they sound (at the risk of hyperbole) shockingly good. They don’t have as much bass as some competitors like OnePlus and its recent pair, the OnePlus Buds 4, but I personally don’t mind that at all—I don’t key in on bass when it comes to wireless earbuds. I’m more likely to appreciate buds that mitigate distortion, and I would describe the Galaxy Buds 3 FE as pleasantly unmuddled.
I find that, despite being less bassy, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE have a really natural soundstage, with clear mids and highs, which make vocals feel audible and present, and accompanying music distinct. I tested the Galaxy Buds 3 FE back-to-back against the OnePlus Buds 4, listening to the new Gorillaz single, “The Happy Dictator,” and the experience was kind of jarring, but I think I prefer Samsung’s audio tuning. I could hear vocals upfront, background vocals felt artfully tucked away, arpeggiated synths occupied their own rightful space in the mid and high range, and I didn’t detect much distortion even with the volume turned almost all the way up. If you emphasize bass, you’ll most likely disagree with me, but the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are my preference.What’s the FE catch?
So, there’s the highlight—the sound. But what about the stuff you may not like? For me, it’s the active noise cancellation (ANC). As much as I like listening with the Galaxy Buds 3 FE when I’m in a relatively quiet environment, I find that the appeal withers slightly in the cacophony of New York City living. One of the biggest tests you can put a pair of ANC wireless earbuds through is New York’s subway system—a gauntlet that I send almost every pair of wireless earbuds and headphones through—and in this case, I would say the Galaxy Buds 3 FE barely pass the test. When a train arrives, I basically can’t hear what I’m listening to, and even while I’m riding the subway, I’m still getting a decent amount of ambient noise from my environment.
I don’t think that it’s a passive noise cancellation issue—the default eartips feel comfortable—but even if it were, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE also only come with two tip sizes, which is notably less than other similarly priced competitors, which offer between three and five sizes. I’ll give Samsung a little slack here if just because the last pair of ANC wireless earbuds that I tested are Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), which cost $300 and are designed specifically to cancel the heck out of all the noise around you. They’re the best at noise cancelling of any wireless earbuds I’ve put in my ears. But still, I was expecting more from Samsung, especially when I had no such complaints about the OnePlus Buds 4.
While the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are fine for mild instances of noise cancellation—they’re mostly fine on the sidewalk in New York when I’m walking place to place—they’re not the wireless earbuds I would spring for on an airplane or during a loud New York City subway commute.Things that are fine with the Galaxy Buds 3 FE
You’ve got the good and the not-so-good, but what about the in-between? There are levels to this stuff, after all. I think the best encapsulation of things that are just fine in these wireless earbuds is the squeeze and touch controls. They’re not the best I’ve ever used, but they’re very okay. Interestingly, Samsung includes two types of controls on the Galaxy Buds 3 FE. To adjust volume, you swipe up or down on the buds, while skipping tracks, pause/play, and turning ANC on and off are done through squeezing. Like any squeeze controls, you’ll have to adjust to the sensitivity at first, but once you do, they work fine for the most part.
I say “the most part” because I do find—because the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are so light—that squeezing them does jostle them in my ear a bit. They’re not flying out mid-commute or anything, but squeezing does feel marginally more tenuous than on other pairs of wireless earbuds. Adding to that tenuousness, I think, is Samsung’s “blade” design, which is borrowed from its flagship Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for this version of the FE. My complaint doesn’t have anything to do with how the blade design copies AirPods—I actually like the look of the Galaxy Buds 3 FE—but one thing I don’t like is how it feels on my fingers.
Because of the way the buds are situated when they’re in your ears, the edge of the blade faces forward, which means when you go to squeeze, you may actually be squeezing a sharp angle, which (while not the biggest problem in the world) just doesn’t feel altogether right. I’d much rather squeeze a flat surface (a flatter stem with a bigger surface area). It’s a small tactile detail in the scheme of things, but as long as we’re getting nerdy about this stuff, it’s worth mentioning.
Though I don’t love the feel of the blade design, I do actually like the look. They’re plain in the scheme of things, but I find them kind of elegant. I also like how they appear when they’re in my ears, though the blade is a decent length and can sometimes end up sticking out if I don’t properly put them in my ears. Haters will say that the blade design is just an AirPods ripoff, and congrats, haters, you’re right. That being said, AirPods look nice (if a little boring), in my opinion, and I think that Samsung does a good job of putting a little twist on the Apple minimalism.
In keeping with the theme of the section, the battery life of the Galaxy Buds 3 FE is also just okay. The buds are rated for 6 hours of battery life while ANC is activated and 8.5 hours when it’s turned off, and with my usage, those estimates seem accurate. With the charging case, the total hours of battery is up to 24 hours with ANC on and up to 30 hours with it off. That’s about the same battery you’d get with most wireless earbuds in this price range, give or take a half hour or so. Sorry folks, if the longest battery life is a priority, you’ll just have to spend more money on wireless earbuds.
Feature-wise, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are decently equipped but not brimming. You get adaptive ANC, 360 audio (Samsung’s version of spatial audio), transparency mode, and you can choose EQ presets in the Galaxy Wearable app, but there’s no personalized tuning test like there is on the OnePlus Buds 4 or Nothing Ear. That last one is a bit of a bummer since personalized EQ can dramatically change the sound quality in my experience.
Feature-rich or not, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE are still nice-sounding buds at a fairly affordable price. I think Samsung has room to improve in the ANC department, though, and if you’re looking for the most of anything, going FE just isn’t the way. But if you like Samsung’s Galaxy products and you’re more focused on quality sound over anything else, these might be your pick without costing too much.