Samsung’s earbuds have always gone in your ears. Noise cancellation, silicone tips, a seal against the ear canal. That’s been the formula. But according to reports from South Korean industry sources, Samsung’s next earbuds look nothing like its current ones. The Galaxy Buds Able are shaping up to be a clip-style, open-ear design. They sit on the outside of your ear and leave the canal completely open.
The approach is similar to what Huawei pulled off with the FreeClip 2. A C-shaped clip loops around the ear, with a small driver positioned just outside the canal. According to ETNews, citing industry sources, Samsung is going with air conduction rather than bone conduction. That puts the Galaxy Buds Able closer to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and Sony LinkBuds Clip. You still hear music clearly, but ambient sound comes through naturally without any transparency mode toggle.
What We Know About the Galaxy Buds Able So Far
This isn’t Samsung’s first experiment with unconventional earbud shapes. The Galaxy Buds Live launched in 2020 with a bean-shaped design that sat in the ear without entering the canal. That one didn’t exactly take off, but the open-ear market has changed a lot since then. The global market for open-style earphones is reportedly climbing from around $3.8 billion last year toward $4.2 billion this year. Bose, Sony, Huawei, and Anker are all pushing hard into that space.
No official launch date exists yet. Some outlets speculated the Galaxy Buds Able could show up at Samsung’s rumored July 22 Unpacked event. SamMobile says the earbuds have hit delays and aren’t expected there. Price and full specs remain unknown. What’s confirmed is that Samsung is actively working on the product. Firmware leaks, a battery certification, and a corroborating report from South Korean industry sources all point the same direction. When it does arrive, it’ll be a genuinely different product from anything in the current Galaxy Buds lineup.