Samsung has officially unveiled its first clip-on earbuds, the Galaxy Buds On, just a day after leaked images of the unusual design appeared online. The open-style earbuds are designed to sit outside the ear, and Samsung offers them as a comfortable option for longer listening sessions and activities like running.
The clip-on design also leaves your ears open, which means you can be more aware of your surroundings while listening to music. This could make the Buds On an interesting alternative to Samsung’s more traditional in-ear Galaxy Buds.
The buds are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 chipset and a Class D amplifier, and Samsung claims up to 9.5 hours of continuous use on a single charge. Touch controls are built into the back of the buds to control music playback and calls.
Samsung has also thought about calls. Galaxy Buds On has three microphones and a bone conduction vibration sensor that can detect when you’re talking. The idea is to help reduce background noise during calls, which can be especially useful if you’re using the open design outdoors.
There are a few more tricks when using Buds On with a Galaxy smartphone or tablet equipped with Galaxy AI. With the headset, you can call up Samsung’s assistant and perform various actions, and Gemini Live is also supported.
Head gestures add another hands-free option. You can answer or end calls, check notifications, cancel alarms, and more with head movements instead of reaching for the phone.
Only for Korea
Galaxy Buds are on will avoid 299,999 KRW (about $220) in South Korea and will go on sale there starting October 27. Samsung says the earphones will roll out to other regions in phases, though it has yet to provide information on additional regional pricing or availability.
After years of traditional in-ear design, Samsung is moving its Galaxy Buds product line in a noticeably different direction here. The clip-on approach keeps your ears open while controlling Galaxy AI, Gemini Live, and gestures, so Buds On is more than just shape-shifting.
