An early leak in Samsung’s own app has provided us with a closer look of what seems like the company’s proper competitor to Apple’s excellent AirPods Pro, the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. The leak has provided us with new information about the Galaxy Buds Pro and its specifications including a new feature, “Spatial Audio”, which is similar to Apple’s.
The application that Samsung uses to control its various smartwatches and earbuds, ‘Galaxy Wearable’, reportedly has a new update which shows off the Galaxy Buds Pro and its features.
A few of the features are similar to Samsung’s previously released buds, Galaxy Buds, +, and Live. An equalizer with several presets available in the app as well as customizable touch controls, a “Find my Earbuds” option, the ability to read notifications aloud, and several other features. There’s also a section for noise cancellation which is a bit different from what we saw on Galaxy Buds Live as the new Buds Pro includes the “Ambient Sound” option, which lets outside sound in through the microphones.
Three Features are completely new for the Galaxy Buds Pro
First, there’s a fascinating “Voice Detect” feature that lowers the volume of media and turns on audio passthrough when the Buds detect that you are speaking. This helps you to complete your brief conversations without removing an earbud or pausing your music. The South Korean tech giant is also adding a left/right sound balance feature for those with specific hearing problems.
Perhaps, the most notable feature of the Galaxy Buds Pro is the “Spatial Audio” feature, which is also available on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. According to 9to5Google, “Spatial Audio” can create “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.” One major requirement for this feature would be that the Galaxy Buds Pro needs to be connected to a Samsung phone on Android 11.
The expected debut of the Buds Pro is in January alongside Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series of smartphones. No pricing information has been revealed, but it is expected that Buds Pro will touch $200 as Buds+ generally sell for around $149 while Buds Live sits at $169.
