Skip to main content

Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds are surprisingly affordable

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE in graphite.
Samsung

Samsung’s new wireless earbuds — the Galaxy Buds FE — are just $100, a new low price for a set of Galaxy Buds. Samsung introduced the new earbuds alongside its other new FE devices, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE. Available in white and graphite colors, you’ll be able to buy them from Samsung.com and major retailers starting October 10.

Until today, Samsung’s Galaxy wireless earbuds lineup consisted of the $150 Galaxy Buds Live, the $150 Galaxy Buds 2, and the flagship $230 Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. With the Galaxy Buds FE, you can now get a set of Samsung buds with desirable features like active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes for less.

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE in graphite and white.
Samsung

Samsung says that you can expect “powerful bass [that] offers deep and rich sound that allows you to enjoy music the way the artist intended,” from the Buds FE, along with some of the best battery life the company has ever provided: a claimed six hours with ANC on and up to 8.5 hours when it’s off. These numbers extend to 21 and 30 hours respectively when you include the charging case.

Recommended Videos

The Buds FE also sport a new, ergonomic shape that makes use of both three sizes of silicone eartips and two sizes of wingtips — another first for the Galaxy lineup — to help you get the best fit possible. Like their siblings, the Buds FE use touch controls.

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE in graphite.
Samsung

Water protection, at just IPX2 is minimal, but Samsung fans are used to this — only the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer more protection at IPX7. If you’re invested in the Samsung ecosystem, you’ll be able to take advantage of several Samsung-only features, like easy pairing, auto-switching between previously paired Samsung phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs, and SmartThings Find, which lets you locate lost earbuds.

The one feature that Samsung has left out — possibly as a way to bring the price down — is wireless charging, so you won’t be able to charge the Buds FE’s case with a Qi charging mat or by using reverse wireless charging from a Samsung phone.

Buy at Samsung

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
BlueAnt’s new headphones pump your workouts with extra bass
BlueAnt Pump X.

Australian audio company, BlueAnt -- the same brand that's been making Bluetooth accessories since 2003 -- has a new set of wireless noise-canceling headphones called Pump X, which are designed specifically for powering workouts. They come in three colors (black/gold, white/gold, or black/silver) and are available on Amazon for $170.

Buy at Amazon

Read more
Audio-Technica’s latest earbuds snap together to save power
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW2.

Audio-Technica's (A-T) presence at CES 2025 is pretty low-key this year, but it does have one clever trick up its sleeve when it comes to wireless earbuds: "Magnetic Switch" technology. The company's new ATH-CKS50TW2 (what a mouthful) take 2022's superb mega-bass ATH-CKS50TW earbuds and reimagine them with a new shape, a new charging case, and cool new feature -- if you don't have the charging case with you, just bring the two buds near each other and their embedded magnets will hold them together while powering them down. You can buy them right now for $149.

Not that you'll likely have to worry much about running out of power. Improving on their predecessor's already mammoth 20-hour-per-charge capacity, the CKS50TW2 get a claimed 25 hours per charge, with an additional 40 hours standing by in the charging case. That's totally nuts. To put it in perspective, the ATH-CKS50TW2 can last as long on a single charge as the Apple AirPods Pro 2 can last when you include their charging case's supply.

Read more
JBL adds a companion smart transmitter to its flagship Tour One headphones at CES 2025
JBL Tour One M3.

JBL brought its third-gen JBL Tour One M3 noise-canceling wireless headphones to CES 2025, and it looks like the cans will ship with an unusual accessory when they officially go on sale April 13, 2025, for $400: a so-called smart transmitter that combines a color touchscreen with digital and analog wired audio inputs. The device can wirelessly transmit any incoming audio to the Tour One M3, letting you listen to wired sources like computers or in-flight entertainment systems without using a cable connected directly to the headphones.

The JBL Smart Tx transmitter for the Tour One M3. JBL

Read more