Samsung Announces Its First Open-Ear Earbuds

Samsung today announced the Galaxy Buds On, its first open-ear earbuds, which will arrive in the U.S. next week for $229 and up.

“Galaxy Buds On features a clip-on design with a band crafted to balance a secure fit and comfortable wear throughout daily routines,” the Samsung announcement explains. “Users can utilize traditional in-ear earbuds like Galaxy Buds4 Pro for deep focus and noise cancellation and then switch to Galaxy Buds On for situations that demand hands-free convenience, like outdoor running.”

Open-ear earbuds sit outside one’s ears, clip on to the outside of the ears, and use air conduction to transmit sound to the ears. This is more comfortable, especially for those who have trouble finding standard in-ear earbuds that fit well, but the design also allows outside sounds to come into your ears naturally, and without the weirdness of a transparency mode.

The Galaxy Buds On use Qualcomm Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound Platform chipset with a class-D amplifier that’s optimized for reducing power consumption. Samsung says that the Galaxy Buds On deliver 9.5 hours of music playback on a charge and up to 38 hours including the charging case. They offer automatic volume adjustment, audio leakage protection, and Intelligent Clear Call technology, and they have three microphones with a Voice Pickup Unit vibration sensor that helps isolate the user’s voice while reducing background noise.

The Buds On also offer hands-free AI voice access for conversing with Gemini Live, a Quick Voice Memo feature for quickly capturing thoughts, and Head Gesture support for accepting (nodding) and declining (shaking) calls.

The Galaxy Buds On earbuds will be available in black for $229 and up in the U.S. starting in early November. You can learn more on the Samsung website.