The Samsung Galaxy Buds were a pretty big success. For a reasonable price, especially considering the scarcity of TWS options at the time, the original Galaxy Buds were a solid option for many Android users out there—for iOS users, the TWS earbuds of choice were, and still are, AirPods.
And with the AirPods Pro being launched recently as well—along with a host of TWS options from Xiaomi, Huawei, and other competitors—it’s no surprise that Samsung could be working on a new iteration of the Galaxy Buds. @Evleaks confirmed the existence of the “Galaxy Buds+” in a Tweet recently, while Sammobile provided a link to a supposed support page for the yet-to-be-announced earbuds.
And now, XDADevelopers has done a little digging into the Samsung SmarterThings app, and they’ve discovered an animation that’s assigned to a mysterious product called “budsplus”. There are multiple references to the product, which seems to indicate that there could be a new iteration of the Galaxy Buds coming soon. Have a look:
They look pretty identical to the current Samsung Galaxy Buds, despite being called the “Galaxy Buds+”. However, it seems safe to assume that they will come with certain upgrades—I’m guessing some form of noise-cancellation technology will be included with the upcoming earbuds, with the AirPods Pro and other recently-launched headphones like Huawei’s FreeBuds 3 also recently launched. Wireless charging should also be included, as well.
It’s also possible that extended battery life and upgraded mics will be included with the upcoming earbuds from Samsung, with competition in the TWS market pretty intense at the present. As for a launch date, we’re guessing that they will be announced alongside the latest Samsung S11 series, just like the original Galaxy Buds were announced alongside the S10 series.
Pricing-wise, the original Galaxy Buds were priced at RM499 at launch, so it would certainly be nice to see the updated Galaxy Buds+ at the same price point. However, if Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology is a part of the picture, we’re probably looking at a slightly higher price—just like the AirPods Pro were priced at a higher RRP than the original AirPods.
At the moment however, no further details are available on the Galaxy Buds+. It’s increasingly common to see smartphones, especially flagship devices, missing conventional 3.5mm headphone jacks, so TWS earbuds are becoming a necessity for many users.
In the meantime, some of the other options you can consider (for TWS earbuds) are the Sony WF-1000XM3, the Huawei FreeBuds 3, and of course, the AirPods Pro. I’ll also say that ANC, while not absolutely necessary, is something that is worth considering—especially if you plan to use the earbuds in office environments or while commuting.