Hot on the heels of the Galaxy Buds+, Samsung may be working on a new set of athletic earbuds.
According to a supposed trademark request Samsung filed in Europe, first caught by LetsGoDigital, Samsung seems to be developing earbuds — dubbed the “Bean” — geared toward fitness and will be capable of tracking workouts, as well as have a fitness coach feature included.
The full trademark description is as follows:
“Samsung Bean trademark description: Wearable wireless ear sets comprised primarily of an MP3 player; wireless ear sets incorporating a sensor for detecting whether the ear set is on or off; wireless ear sets incorporating software for providing a fitness guide; wireless ear sets incorporating software for measuring distance, speed, time, changes in heart rate, activity level, calories burned; earphones.”
Samsung’s first entry into the fitness earbuds market was the Gear IconX in 2016, and it followed that up with the IconX 2018. Those buds had some solid features, including 4GB of internal storage, and a “Find My Gear” function. But overall functionality proved to be a problem, and the earbuds’ battery life left something to be desired.
The recent release of the Galaxy Buds+ showcased some potential solutions to these hang-ups, most notably a class-leading 11 hours of playback time between charges. If the “Beans” take a page out of a relative’s book and comes packed with superb battery life, it could be an intriguing competitor to other true wireless earbuds.
Of course, as it stands, this is just a trademark. It remains to be seen if the idea of the “Beans” sprouts into a real product, but we’ll keep an eye out and report back as we find out more about the future of Samsung’s wireless earbuds.
