Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: Best ANC earbuds?

Now that Samsung has entered the fray of top-tier earbuds, it’s worth taking a look to see how the competition stacks up. So in the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds cage match, who comes out the victor? Well, it’s complicated.

Editor’s note: this article was published on July 24, 2024, and is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro compared to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are top-tier earbuds from some of the most popular audio companies out there. Both products offer the latest features and best performance of each companies’ product lines. Picking one over the other isn’t so much an exercise in figuring out which product is the “best,” but which one suits your needs more.

While the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro look a lot like the Apple AirPods Pro with a similar style of ear tips and lollipop-style design, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds use a shorter protrusion to serve as its control interface, and a small fin to hold the earbud in your ear. Though there are design advantages to each style, the former earbuds are a little more comfortable than the latter, and the latter are much easier to fit than the former.

Exercise enthusiasts will probably be better suited by the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, as those earbuds boast an IP57 ingress protection rating. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds only offer an IPX4 rating — more than enough for workouts — but it does mean that there’s an increased likelihood that a splash or dunk would be a bit too much to handle. For activities that would put you in the presence of a lot of water, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are more likely to survive.

Both charging cases are small enough to fit in just about any pocket, and both charging cases are more than adequate for the job. However, only the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro’s case can be topped up wirelessly, while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds only support traditional charging. Though it’s not a huge deal unless you have a wireless charging pad, it is undeniably convenient.

Should you use the apps of either Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?

In order to make the most of the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, you’re going to need to use the apps of each to get the most out of them. While you can technically scrape by without tinkering, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro we think you’ll want to install the Samsung Wearable app in order to unlock the equalizer, EQ presets, and AI features. Said AI features are pretty useful, even if it’s a bit limited currently. For example, the real-time translation tool is a creative tool that allows you to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak your language, and the results are pretty decent.

Bose’s Music App is required for timely updates, and that means it’s definitely a good idea to install every now and again. The app itself isn’t super useful outside of that, as the EQ presets and the three-band equalizer aren’t all that incredible. However, you will need it if you’d like to use Bose’s version of spatial audio: Immersive sound. I wasn’t a fan because it simply made the audio sound like you were listening to a single speaker in front of you, and then used the head tracking to place that in 3D space. But if you are hoping for that sort of thing, Bose’s implementation nails that illusion.

How do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds connect?

Though the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are able to make use of SBC, AAC, and Samsung Seamless Codecs, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds use a much more cross-platform friendly aptX Adaptive (including aptX Lossless). If you have a Samsung phone, this likely will not matter to you, but if you have a current Android phone from any other manufacturer, you’re probably going to want to pick up the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds if your device uses a Qualcomm chip that supports Snapdragon Sound.

However, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are the only model between the two that supports Auracast — if you’re angling to use that feature in the future. Though it’s not a big fixture of Bluetooth headphones just yet, it does enable some useful features like allowing venues to pipe their audio feeds directly to your earbuds, or provide a translated audio stream that only you can hear.

Is battery life better on the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?

According to our standardized tests, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro last 4 hours and 31 minutes, while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds can go for 6 hours and 11 minutes. This mainly matters on long trips, or if you plan to listen to music for many hours in one go. If you’re looking for a commuter buddy, you’re going to be placing these back in the charging case anyways after an hour or so — so the battery life isn’t a huge deal. Still, if you’re flying often, or taking extended bus trips: you might want to pick up the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds.

I will point out too, that more charging cycles can place additional strain on tiny batteries. So if you’re hoping to maximize the operational life of your earbuds, you might want to pick the ones with the better single-charge duration. But given that this is on the span of a couple years, it’s not an immediate concern.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds block noise better?

Though there isn’t a clear winner in some of the other comparisons, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are a stellar performer when it comes to ANC, while the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are merely “pretty good.” There’s no bad option here, but there is a clear winner. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have excellent isolation and ANC.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro offer fair ANC performance, though it’s not going to make you forget the other top-tier options out there. There’s an argument to be made that this is a positive for those of you who go running or biking and need to be able to hear louder sounds, but if you’re around a bunch of engine noise: you might hear it.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, on the other hand, have some of the best ANC we’ve seen come through our labs, and should offer you a pretty noise-free listening experience. It’s not perfect, but it’s the choice you want to make for a flight or higher-noise environment.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro sound better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?

Though the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are among the top of their class, there is a clear winner when it comes to sound quality. Both are good, but the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro offers a more crowd-pleasing sound than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. To illustrate this point, we took each through our labs and collected the following data to share with you.

As we can gather from the chart above, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro’s sound is characterized by strong bass, a slight dip at 400Hz, and some highs emphasis. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, on the other hand, have slightly stronger sub-bass, and much more high-mids emphasis. Though neither set of earbuds is exactly what we look for, both exhibit pretty typical features for consumer earphones.

That said, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have distortion that you may or may not be able to hear. Because of this, along with a somewhat lower Immersiveness score, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds fall behind the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro in terms of perceived sound quality.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have a better microphone?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have excellent microphones, but the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds is better at rejecting noise. You can hear for yourself in the selected clips below.

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds: Price and availability

Because both Bose and Samsung are among the most popular manufacturers of earbuds on the planet, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that you can find both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds on the websites of just about any big-box retailer out there. However, a recent move by Samsung to re-check much of its stock after manufacturing issues became apparent means that the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro won’t be available until the end of August at the soonest.

Though the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro comes in at $249.99, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds ($299.99) have been on the market for quite a while, so you might be able to find them on sale at the usual times of year. The prices being this close means that at any given time one might not be more expensive than the other, and it’s important to identify these products as competitors in price in addition to market status.

Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds?

Until the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro returns to the marketplace, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are your best bet. However, there’s reason enough to wait for the Samsung earbuds, especially when it comes to sound quality and features. Sure, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are nothing to sniff at, and those earbuds may be a great fit for a lot of people, but they do have their shortcomings.

However, frequent international travelers shouldn’t think twice: the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are the better fit with far superior ANC and battery life. These are the main advantages the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have over the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro.

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