While Apple struggles to bring us the fully upgraded Siri we were promised — wait until 2026! — Samsung just got the jump on Apple with a pair of $149 earbuds that feature Gemini and live translation integration. Even worse for Apple, it's at a price that beats out the ANC-equipped AirPods 4, rather than the flagship AirPods Pro 2.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE) offer a similar style to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro but undercut them by $100. And they might just be the affordable earbuds that you've been waiting for.
Galaxy Buds3 FE features
The Buds3 FE look very similar to their more expensive cousins, all the way down to an almost identical shape and charging case with a clear lid. They're not quite as shiny, though, coming in just Black or Gray. But they pack in some serious specs, especially for their relatively affordable price.
There's spatial audio on board, called "360 audio." That feature makes your music sound like it's coming from all around you, as opposed to just the left and right. On top of that, there's improved ANC over the previous model, along with better call quality thanks to "a machine learning model" that's trained to isolate your voice. You'll remain clear to your call partner in even busy and noisy environments — always a bonus.
Sound quality is apparently going to be "rich, powerful," while delivering "deep bass and clear treble." Those are all things I like my earbuds to do, but I'll have to get them in my ears before I can tick the "sound quality" box in my review.
Gemini AI features built in
The Galaxy Buds3 FE feature a voice assistant through Gemini, so you don't need to pull your phone out of your pocket to ask the assistant a question or get help. So you can say something like "Hey, Google. Start a 20-minute yoga workout."
Then there's live, conversational translation. That's a big one. You can have a chat with someone speaking a different language, and understand what they're saying as the buds translate what they're saying. That's something the AirPods Pro 3 are pegged to have, so it's interesting to see this on something much cheaper.
Finally, there are the expected specs. We've got 6 hours of ANC on time in the buds, with 24 hours in the case. That's nothing remarkable. Finally, there's Bluetooth 5.4 for a solid connection and AAC and SBC codecs. That's slightly disappointing — LDAC or AptX would have been nice to see. IP54 water resistance is going to serve fitness fanatics well, but there are better options out there if you're looking for a pair of the best earbuds for running.
The Galaxy Buds3 FE are coming out September 4, 2025. Stay tuned for our full review.
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