Samsung's $250 flagship Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are among the top noise-canceling earbuds. Now Samsung has launched the more affordable "fan edition"Galaxy Buds 3 FE that look nearly identical to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro but are missing those buds' LED lighting element, have a single-driver design instead of a dual-driver design and leave off a few other features. They will be available on Sept. 4 in black or gray.
Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025
Like the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE have a noise-isolating design with silicone ear tips, and they feature noise-canceling as well as a transparency mode. Samsung is touting their AI features, which include "accessing Gemini for conversational AI assistance and Galaxy AI Interpreter app to use Real-Time Interpreter or Live Translate to translate phone calls."
The Galaxy Buds 3 FE's "blade" design is a departure from the early Galaxy Buds FE ($70), which have a stemless design with wing tips that help lock the buds in your ears.
Enlarge Image The Galaxy Buds FE, shown here in gray, will be available on Sept. 4. Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET
Since I haven't tried the Galaxy Buds 3 FE yet I can't tell you how much their performance differs from the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro's, but I suspect there will be a slight drop-off in sound quality due to the fact that the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have a planar driver alongside a dynamic driver that helps improve clarity and treble performance.
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are regularly on sale (you can get the Latin American version for $125 on Amazon) and Samsung says you can trade in any wired or wireless headset and receive up to $30 off the Galaxy Buds 3 FE. So they, too, should be regularly discounted and perhaps dip to around $100 during the holiday shopping season.
I'll let you know how they compare to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and other earbuds in their price range as soon as I get my hands on a review sample. For now, here are the Galaxy Buds3 FE's key specs:
Samsung Galaxy Buds3 FE key specs