Let’s take a look at Samsung’s latest earbuds within the FE lineup – the Galaxy Buds3 FE. In many ways, it’s similar and better when compared to the Buds3 Pro, and I’m very excited to share it with you in today’s review.
Unboxing
Anyway, let’s talk a little about the unboxing – particularly, the accessories part. We have a tiny box for the extra eartip sizes, but we don’t have the USB-C cable in the box. I think this is actually a good step forward since I don’t use the included cables at all, and it’s just a waste. GuliKit is also doing that for the Elves 2 controller – and I think it makes sense since we’re plugging it into the phone charger anyway and they’re all using USB-C.
Case
Anyway, the Buds3 FE has the exact same style of case as the Buds3 Pro. Same size and dimension, and also the same semitransparent top half where we can see the earbuds inside. I kinda like the Buds3 Pro more since it’s a matte grey plastic and has some contrast with the black top.
The indicator LED is at the front, the USB-C charging port and the pairing button are both at the bottom.
Earbuds itself
The earbuds is using the same design as the Buds3 Pro too, but in the same matte grey plastic as the case. There are also other changes. Most notably, the Blade Lighting – which I personally never used on the Buds3 Pro – is replaced with just a black strip on the FE.
We still have the touchpad, where we can swipe up and down to change the volume and perform various controls by tapping a certain number of times and holding the button for a short period.
It seems to have 3 microphones on each earbud, and there’s also a proximity sensor, which means it also has the wear detection feature.
The earbuds themselves have the same comfortable contour as the Buds3 Pro. They’re actually so comfortable to the point that I forgot that I’m wearing a pair of earbuds.
And the eartips got a revamp. Quite a big revamp, actually. If you remembered the debacle from the Buds3 Pro where its eartips are extremely tight and there was a plastic frame around it, then people kept breaking them while trying to remove the eartips – yeah you’ll know what I’m saying. I had that issue with my Buds3 Pro too.
Luckily, the Buds3 Pro is not using any of those fancy eartips with a plastic frame. It’s made entirely out of silicone, including all the parts that were plastic. Even the plastic mesh to prevent earwax from falling into the driver is now made out of silicone. This is a much needed change, and I’m glad Samsung addressed it.
Also, I think Samsung made some changes to the material as the eartips are extremely grippy now. I mean, I have no issues with the eartips – it’s just that every bit of my earwax is getting pulled out as well and it’s impossible to wipe. But hey, we can just take it to the sink and wash it.
Features
In terms of features, there’s really nothing much to talk about. Many features found on the Buds3 Pro are not present on the Buds3 FE, but the essential ones are here. For example, we have the EQ, which is a really nice thing to have and we’ll get into this later.
The earbuds test fit is a great feature as well so we know that the earbuds is going to perform the best it can for our ears.
Of course, we can also customize the gestures for the pinch and hold controls. Unfortunately, the media controls are set in stone but they’re actually intuitive to use.
The voice controls is basically the Gemini integration only.
There is also the Gaming Mode feature here to reduce audio latency, but from our tests, it doesn’t seem to do anything at all. It still will be around 200ms of delay with or without Gaming Mode. Either way, 200ms is actually considered good in the world of Bluetooth audio. Usually, it’s around half a second.
Sound quality
Now let’s talk about the sound quality and we’ll be using the default EQ first. I’d say the Buds3 FE is actually quite good. Of course, the Buds3 Pro sounds much better but I personally don’t prefer the sound signature so I have my own custom EQ to make it sound the way I want it to be. The Buds3 Pro really has that much leeway, and Samsung’s graphical EQ is very flexible.
But back to the Buds3 FE – I actually prefer the way it sounds out of the box with the default EQ.
From what I can find out, the Buds3 FE can go up to 24-bits at 48kHz. I personally believe this is already good enough, and any higher sampling rate is just indiscernible to my ears – and it’s the same thing I said while reviewing the Buds3 Pro.
Alright – enough of my yapping. To listen ot the sound comparison between the Galaxy Buds3 FE and the Buds3 Pro, watch our video at the top of this review.
ANC
While I don’t have any way to show you the ANC performance, I can only describe it to you. I was at a company dinner in a venue with a super good and loud sound system – and I was wearing the Buds3 FE for the entire time with ANC turned up to level 5. It cancelled way too much of the sound to the point that I can’t even talk to anyone, so I lowered to level 3.
Then, I can have a proper conversation with everyone around me while still protecting my ears against the super loud noise.
Recording
Also, here’s a recording of my voice using the Buds3 FE. I mean, it sounds quite good. It also supports the 360° audio recording feature when we’re filming a video, too – and I took this video. The video is in the review at the top of this article.
Of course, the audio is going to be “flattened” since it’s a YouTube video, but when I watch the video again with the Buds3 FE connected to my phone, it’s like I’m transported back to the event again.
Battery life
Surprisingly, the battery life is amazing too. During the company dinner, I turned on ANC level 5 for about an hour and then down to level 3 for about 3 more hours after that, and was playing music at around 40% volume most of the time. After that 4 hours of continuous use, I still had 56% battery life. It’s quite safe to say that we can get around 8 hours of usage from a single charge. That’s amazing.
With 56% left, I placed it back to the case. Once the charging is complete, the case is left with around 83% battery. Doing some quick maths, the case should be able to charge the earbuds about 2.5 times. Not bad considering the impressive total hours of usage.
Should you buy the Galaxy Buds3 FE?
So, should you buy it? I personally believe that the Buds3 FE shed a lot of the fluff and is overall an even better pair of earbuds compared to the Buds3 Pro. Sure, they share a lot of similarities but the sound signature is different, it doesn’t have the blade lighting which I have never used, the eartips got a better design, and a lot of the features that I don’t use are also removed, resulting in the price of RM499 or $150 USD.
The price is okay if we compare it to the retail price only. Look, while I personally prefer the Buds3 FE, I can’t ignore the Buds3 Pro’s price. It’s been out for about a year and the price has gone down. You can get one now for less than RM600 – not that far off from the Buds3 FE’s retail price. So… if you want to pick up the Buds3 FE, I recommend getting it when there’s a discount.
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