Samsung has pushed back the release of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro in response to some quality issues noticed by those who've received a pair early, and one in particular that we've been able to replicate with our unit, which we're in the middle of testing right now.
In the US, the current shipping date promised for the Buds 3 Pro on the pre-order page is August 28, 2024, for both colors. In the UK, it's now showing as August 16, 2024, for both colors. Samsung Australia currently says it'll be July 29 for the white version and August 26 for the silver.
According to Android Police, these issues include "earbud joints not sitting flush, blue dye blemishes, loose case hinges, scuffs or scratches on the case lid, earbuds not sitting properly inside the case" – but one of the more prominent issues turned out to be ear tips that are a little delicate and difficult to swap safely (via The Verge).
This last issue is the one that we immediately investigated with our unit, and it hadn't come up yet because we haven't needed to swap the ear tips so far. The ear tips are connected very firmly to the earbuds themselves by a clip system, not unlike the one used in AirPods Pro 2.
The problem is that the ear tips are made from what appears to be a too-soft material and the clips are very firm. This leads some people to totally rip them while pulling by tugging near the more delicate ends of them, or also to inadvertently gouge a chunk out of them using a nail while trying to get a better grip for the pull.
Our reviewer said that the only safe way to remove the tip is by gripping your fingers as close to the bud as possible, being very careful to use the pads of your fingers, and keeping your nails away. He said that pulling while gripping further from the tip definitely felt like the material would rip, so he didn't keep trying because he still needed to use the ear tips for our review.
This is consistent with Samsung's own advice for removing the ear tip in a support article on its Korean site (as noted by The Verge), but we're of the opinion that removing ear tips shouldn't require too much studying and safety instructions before hand…
However, while experimenting with pulling, when our reviewer accidentally let his nails get too involved while finding the optimal grip, the material instantly gouged as they scraped it. You obviously wouldn't want the chunk visible below (and in the red circle at the top of the page) to fall into your ear once loosened.
Samsung responds
In a statement to Android Authority, Samsung said:
"To ensure all products meet our quality standards, we have temporarily suspended deliveries of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro devices to distribution channels to conduct a full quality control evaluation before shipments to consumers take place. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
"Should any customer already in possession of Galaxy Buds3 Pro be experiencing any issues, they should contact Samsung or visit their nearest Samsung Service Centre."
Yesterday (June 18), Samsung issued a statement in Korea suggesting that it still expects to hit the original June 24 release date there. The statement read: "We are currently reinforcing the quality inspection of the currently produced products and are conducting a re-examination, so there will be no issues with the official launch on the 24th."
We've been expecting the Samsung Buds 3 Pro to rank among this year's best earbuds – their predecessors were excellent, and the upgrades sound impressive. We'll bring you our full review when we've completed testing on the ear tips and the rest of them…
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