Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are here, and they came with a radical redesign. People were quick to point fingers — “It’s an AirPods Pro copy”! One may say “Hey, most wireless earbuds look this way nowadays”, but the fact that the non-Pro Galaxy Buds 3 also look exactly like the non-Pro AirPods kind of renders this point moot. Yes, let’s call a spade a spade — Samsung took some… notes from Apple.
But, I can’t help but notice there must’ve been another source of inspiration for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Something about their futuristic, kind of over-designed looks just reminded me of…
… the Nothing Ear
OK, hold on, let me make my case here.
The first thing we notice about the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is their transparent case, yes? More accurately — the transparent flap, which lets you see inside. As you probably know, Nothing is all about adding transparent elements to its devices — the stems of the Ear buds, most of their charging case, the backs of their phones.
We call this color See-through cool (Image credit – PhoneArena)
But sure, let’s chalk it up to coincidence. Admittedly, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro look cool — maybe Samsung just wants to show them off.
Then, you open the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro case and are met with two colored stripes — blue and red, for left and right earbud.
Vaguely reminiscent of something (Image credit – PhoneArena)
Alright, that’s not a novel concept — it’s a common thing in audio equipment. Typically, the right channel is marked with red, and the left one may or may not have a blue color marking. Nothing grabbed that pro audio tradition and has been putting a red dot on the right earbud since the original Nothing Ear (1). Samsung started doing it now.
And again, this can be a coincidence. But I find it extra confusing that Samsung also added an “L” and an “R” on its earbuds, right next to the colors. Far from minimalistic, that’s a bit over-designed and over-done — are we catering to the audio fans here or not?
At this point, I was thinking, surely I am just going nuts. Then I went to change the silicone tips, as I usually do, and noticed another thing that I’ve only seen once in recent memory. The tips have a mesh on the inside, entirely rubber, part of the entire mold. That’s a new design that Nothing did with this year’s Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). Lo and behold, a few months down the line, I see the same thing on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
And then, they also have kind of similar sound profiles. Kind of, don’t reach for the pitchforks here. It’s just that, going from the Nothing Ear (2) to Nothing Ear — the EQ curve shifted a bit, with a bump a bit higher in the bass frequencies, and a high shelf shift to the right in the top frequencies. And the same shift happens going from the
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro to Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. However, comparing one to one, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have more bass and sparklier highs, where the Nothing Ears have more mids and smoother presence.
Am I calling foul?
No, not really. In fact, I am on record saying that “stealing” ideas from others
is the main driving force behind human creativity. You grab a good idea from here, good idea from there, and combine them to make something great. This can be seen in all forms of human intellectual expression — from technology and design, to the arts and crafts. New genres of music pop up by combining opera, reggae, and metal, right? The first prototypes of a typewriter were made with a piano keyboard, because someone thought to themselves “Hey — hear me out! What if piano, but with words?”.
x = y + z (Image credit – PhoneArena)
My point is, to me, it feels like Samsung combined ideas from
AirPods Pro andNothing Ear, and added just a small bit of Samsung sprinkle on top. Avid fans may feel betrayed — Samsung dropped a very signature look for the Galaxy Buds, which it has had for half a decade now. But maybe the new blade lights, colored accents, and angular stems will be the new signature look?
For what it’s worth, I really enjoy the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro — look, fit, sund, and experience. And
rated them high for all of that.
