Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Buds Pro look like they’ll finally be the company’s proper competitor to Apple’s excellent AirPods Pro. Now, thanks to an early leak in Samsung’s own app, we’re getting a closer look at the Galaxy Buds Pro and their features including a new one similar to Apple’s “Spatial Audio.”
Spotted in the Galaxy Store ahead of schedule, the Galaxy Wearable app which Samsung uses to control its various smartwatches and earbuds has a new update that shows off the Galaxy Buds Pro and what they’re capable of.
Just like with Galaxy Buds, +, and Live, Samsung has an equalizer with several presets available in the app as well as customizable touch controls, the ability to read notifications aloud, a “Find my Earbuds” option, and several other features. There’s also a section for noise cancellation, though it’s a bit different from what we saw on Galaxy Buds Live. Instead of a simple toggle, there are on, off, and “Ambient Sound” options, the latter letting outside sound in through the microphones.
What’s new for the Buds Pro? Three key features. First, there’s a “Voice Detect” feature. This detects when you are speaking and lowers the volume of media while also turning on audio passthrough so you can have brief conversations without removing an earbud or pausing your music. Samsung is also adding a left/right sound balance feature for those with specific hearing problems.
Perhaps most notably, though, is a copy of Apple’s “Spatial Audio” feature for the Galaxy Buds Pro. That feature, which is available on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, can creature a faux surround sound system that changes the direction of the audio based on the direction of your head and the position of the phone. It’s a neat idea, but it does come with one major requirement. Samsung will only enable this “Spatial Audio” competitor to work when Galaxy Buds Pro are connected to a Samsung phone on Android 11.
Hear vivid, immersive sound coming from all directions so you feel like you’re right in the scene when you watch videos.
The app also leaked three renders of Buds Pro, all pictured below. Samsung is expected to debut the Buds Pro in January alongside its Galaxy S21 series of smartphones. So far, no pricing information has come out early, but these will likely end up on the high end of Samsung’s lineup. The Buds+ generally sell for around $149 while Buds Live sit at $169. It stands to reason that Buds Pro will approach $200, but there’s nothing to back that up just yet.
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