Here\u2019s everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, plus the features we\u2019re hoping to see.<\/b>
\nThe 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\u2019ll be the company\u2019s 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\u2019ve also heard rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will come with active noise cancellation and support for Dolby Atmos \u2013 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\u2019ve 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 \u2013 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 \u00a3110 \/ 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 \/ \u00a3179 \/ AU\u00a3319 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 \u201cSamsung Galaxy Attic,\u201d 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 \/ \u00a3249 \/ 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. So, it\u2019s possible that they\u2019ll cost about the same as the Buds Plus did at launch ($149.99 \/ \u00a3159 \/ AU$299), with the older buds getting a discount. In any case, we reckon the Galaxy Buds Pro will be priced between $150 — $200 \/ \u00a3150 — \u00a3200 \/ AU$300 — AU$350; of course, Samsung is still yet to confirm the existence of the new earbuds, so we will have to wait until January 14 to find out for sure. Thanks to a series of leaked renders and videos, we know a fair amount about the design of the rumored Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. A 360-degree video of the new buds was posted to Voice by reputable leaker Evan Blass (who gave us our first look at the Galaxy Buds Pro via some leaked renders), letting us see the buds from every angle: Based on the video and previously leaked renders, the Galaxy Buds Pro will look more like the Galaxy Buds Plus, rather than the bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live that launched a few months ago. Saying that, Samsung has retained the square-ish charging case from its previous wireless earbuds, as well as doing away with ear fins to hold them in place in your ears. Large grilles on the outer housings of the earbuds appear to contain external microphones, which alongside silicone eartips, lend credence to the rumors that the Galaxy Buds Pro will come with active noise cancellation. Overall, they look rather sleek with shiny rounded housings, and we\u2019ve so far seen the Galaxy Buds Pro in three different colors: black, silver, and a rather attractive violet shade. According to tipster Ishan Argawal (via 91Mobiles), the rumored wireless earbuds will boast an IPX7 water-resistance rating, which means they should survive a short immersion in water \u2013 but more importantly, it means they should be suitable for working out, easily able to withstand sweat or rain. The Samsung Galaxy Buds are said to come with AKG-tuned audio, a longer battery life than their predecessors, support for Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C charging, and active noise cancellation. While the previous Galaxy Buds Live did offer noise cancellation, their semi-open design meant that the tech wasn’t particularly effective. It looks like the Galaxy Buds Pro come with silicone ear tips, which should provide a far better seal and hopefully, better noise cancellation. According to SamMobile, the Ambient Mode feature will also be improved, which allows environmental noise to passthrough the buds, so you can be aware of your surroundings. The inclusion of active noise cancellation could make the Galaxy Buds Pro real competition for the AirPods Pro \u2013 and rumors of a 3D audio feature to rival Apple\u2019s Spatial Audio will only heat up that rivalry. The feature was discovered amongst a list of specs, which was first spotted by a Reddit user in a pre-release APK and then reported by XDA Developers. With spatial audio support, you’ll be able to watch Dolby Atmos films with their full immersive surround sound quality \u2013 making the Galaxy Buds Pro a much more competitive pair of earbuds compared to their predecessors. That 3D audio feature is said to come with head-tracking, which means the audio should stay \u2018locked\u2019 to your phone, even as you move your head around. Apple\u2019s Spatial Audio feature works in a similar way, using gyroscopes and accelerometers built into the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Max to ensure that your film\u2019s audio always sounds as though it’s coming from the source of the action onscreen. That being said, previously you could enable Dolby Atmos audio through a Samsung Galaxy phone\u2019s settings in the past to improve sound quality, but this is the first time we\u2019ll see spatial audio support with head tracking. The only other caveat here is that, from the looks of things, you\u2019ll need to have a phone that supports Android 11 to get the spatial audio support, which rules out some older devices from seeing the feature. Other features spotted within the APK include voice\/conversation detection, a Bixby voice wake-up sensor, and left\/right hearing adjustment in addition to new ways to control the active noise-cancellation levels. As for the audio specs? According to Argawal, the Galaxy Buds Pro will come with 11mm bass drivers and 6.5mm tweeters with coaxial dual speakers, so they should be able to deliver powerful low frequencies. Samsung has released a number of wireless earbuds over the past few years, with varying levels of success \u2013 the company certainly hasn\u2019t achieved the popularity of the Apple AirPods, though each model has improved upon the last. With that in mind, there are a few things we\u2019d like to see from the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro \u2013 things that we think are crucial if the company wants to blow its competitors out the water. Improved noise cancellation The first Samsung wireless earbuds to come with noise cancellation were the Galaxy Buds Live \u2013 however, their semi-open design meant that they weren\u2019t particularly effective at blocking out environmental noise. Hopefully the inclusion of silicone eartips will go some way to improving the noise cancellation with the Galaxy Buds Pro. That said, the technology is improving all the time, and Samsung will need to do more than providing a great seal to compete with its rivals. For example, the ability to adjust the level of noise cancellation via an app would give users the flexibility to decide just how much of their surroundings they want to hear. We\u2019d also like to see adaptive noise cancellation, which adjusts automatically to suit your surroundings. Finally, we\u2019d like to see a decent transparency mode as with the AirPods Pro, which would let you tap into your surroundings when needed. Longer battery life The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus offered a long battery life contained within the buds themselves (11 hours), but were let down by the charging case, which offered a further 11 hours. That 11-hour battery life is pretty long for earbuds \u2013 but for the charging case, it\u2019s not a huge amount of battery. For comparison, the Apple AirPods contain 5 hours in the buds themselves, with an additional 20 provided by the charging case, for 25 hours in total. It’s nice to see the Buds Plus with a larger internal battery, but a shame the charging case didn’t get something more substantial. We\u2019d like to see Samsung bump that battery life up to a combined 25 hours at the very least \u2013 though as models like the Lypertek Tevi have proven, far longer-lasting buds are possible. Better water resistance Neither the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live nor the Galaxy Buds Plus had comprehensive water resistance, which is a real shame if you want to workout with your wireless earbuds. We\u2019d like to see Samsung give the Galaxy Buds Pro a water resistance rating of at least IPX4, so they can withstand a little sweat or rain without the risk of breaking \u2013 and based on the rumored specs, it looks like this wish could become a reality.<\/p>\n