There is no right way to build a pair of wireless earbuds. There are, however, a plethora of wrong ways. Samsung had its fair share of these before settling on the in-ear Galaxy Buds that we all know and mostly love. In all of its iterations, however, the company saw fit to avoid Apple's instantly recognizable stemmed AirPods.

That, of course, ended at this week's Unpacked 2024, where Samsung introduced the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. The earbuds are having some kind of identity crisis, as if they wish to be Apple. Not note-for-note remakes, but there's enough shared DNA to garner some attention -- especially from the white color options. That includes the curvaceous oblong charging case, which, minus a clear top, is just like the one that comes with the AirPods Pro.
But the silver editions are distinguished enough to tease out some of the key design differences. The biggest aesthetic change is the inclusion of an LED color strip on the stems, henceforth known as the "Blade." The Blade Lights bring a bit of flare to the new protuberance, which also features swipe and click interactions.

There's, of course, a reason why many hardware makers use the form factor. Perhaps the biggest drawback with the regular Galaxy Buds is that there simply isn't enough surface area for controls. The other notable design difference here is the blade's fittingly sharp 90-degree angle, versus the AirPods' softer curve.

The Pros get silicone ear tips. They are missing on the standard model, much like Apple's offerings. Truth of all this is that earbud taste is highly subjective. Along with all of those typical personal taste issues, everybody's ears are shaped differently. For my money, though, it's silicone tips and the comfort, tight seal they create every time.
Here is what Samsung had to say about this: "Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro come with two dedicated designs. Buds 3 Pro is a Canal Type for anyone seeking extensive immersive sound, while Buds 3 is an Open Type for those who want to use the device in all sorts of situations for a long time."

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro supports adaptive active noise canceling, using the onboard mics, in addition to siren and voice detect features. Both flavors of the Buds 3 go up for preorder Wednesday and begin shipping July 24. The standard models cost $180, and the Pros are $250.