Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM5: Best earbuds for Android?

When top brands release new earbuds, it’s only natural to want to know how they compare to the other popular models. So, who wins when you pit the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM5? Let’s run it down.

Editor’s note: this article was published on July 19, 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 Sony WF-1000XM5?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 are top-flight active noise canceling (ANC) earbuds with all the bells, whistles, and extras that each of their manufacturers want to be famed for. Each has Spatial audio with head tracking, each has its own smart features supported by an app, and each has some of the best performance offered in their product lines.

But there are some notable differences, mainly centered around the design. For starters, the Sony WF-1000XM5 have a rather straightforward bud design with a short nozzle, and no stem. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro look a lot like AirPods and a Cybertruck got crossed in its lollipop design. Where the Sony WF-1000XM5 focus on isolation and ANC, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro prioritize ease of use and a low interaction cost to reach advanced features. If you’re looking for ANC earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are more tailored to that task, whereas the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are meant to be something you don’t have to think much about.

Case in point: the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have a much higher ingress protection rating (IP57) than the Sony WF-1000XM5 (IPX4). With the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, you don’t have to worry if your earbuds get wet, or worry about whether they’re still in your ears when you take a shower. While we don’t recommend doing that, it’s good to know that the more forgetful of us won’t have to sweat every change in weather. While the Sony WF-1000XM5 won’t die at the slightest splash, it won’t survive a dunk in water.

In terms of comfort, it’s hard to say that one is objectively better than the other, but more people will likely choose the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro over the Sony WF-1000XM5 due to it not sticking a hard piece of plastic into their ear canals. Though that can lead to a poorer fit, those who do like the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, will swear by it. However, the news isn’t all that rosy. With the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, you really can’t change ear tips to a third-party option if you want something that isolates you better. The Sony WF-1000XM5, on the other hand, have that ability.

How do you control the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5?

You primarily use a series of taps and swipes to control both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5. For the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, you’ll be using the blade-shaped stem on the earbuds to interact with your earbuds. You can also bark commands at your earbuds with your voice, which sounds a lot better than it is in practice sometimes. For the Sony WF-1000XM5, you’ll be tapping the smooth back of the earbud housings, as this product doesn’t have the lollipop stem configuration.

Should you use the apps of either Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5?

Because both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 have several features like spatial audio with head tracking, EQ presets, and firmware updates enabled by the respective apps of each product, you’ll need said apps if you want the full functionality of your earbuds. That said, the Sony Headphones app and the Samsung Wearable apps are some of the more useful pieces of headphone software out there. Both are comparable in terms of function, but the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro used in tandem with the app and a Samsung phone unlocks a few extras like live translation, ultra wideband microphone use, and pre-trained ANC that will allow certain sounds (like sirens) through.

The privacy-minded of you will likely not be thrilled that many of these features on both products collect a rather large amount of information, but it’s unclear that they do anything else with the data afterward. In the interim, it’s just a value judgment you’ll have to make.

How do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 connect?

As far as Bluetooth goes, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have Samsung-specific codecs available for high-bitrate listening. The Sony WF-1000XM5 on the other hand, have access to LDAC, Sony’s proprietary higher-res codec. Though it’s not truly lossless, LDAC does performs quite well in terms of data transfer rates, so there’s not a huge gulf in performance between the two earbud models. However, only a relatively new Samsung phone can take advantage of the Samsung Seamless Codec, whereas LDAC is baked into most Android phones. If you have an iPhone, you can only use AAC for both earbuds.

Is battery life better on the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5?

Battery life is better by far with Sony WF-1000XM5 than Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro, as the latter is only able to withstand our test for 4 hours and 31 minutes, while the former was able to last 9 hours and 32 minutes. This has several advantages. For example, longer battery life can reduce the number of times you need to recharge your earbuds, possibly leading to a prolonged usable lifetime. Unfortunately, you can’t replace the batteries on either set of earbuds, so once the batteries give up the ghost: they’re dead.

If you take long flights or trips, the Sony WF-1000XM5 are the better bet. However, if you only listen to your music on commutes, or less than a couple hours at a time, you might not notice the poorer battery life because your charging case will top up the earbuds any time you’re not using them.

For charging, both sets of earbuds use a USB-C charging port on the bottom of the case. If you have a Qi-compatible charging pad, you can also use this to top up your charging case.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5 block noise better?

Currently, the Sony WF-1000XM5 cancel noise better than the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro. However, it’s entirely possible that a firmware update could change this in the future. Should that happen, we’ll update this piece with new test results.

I will note that the Sony WF-1000XM5 do passively isolate better by virtue of the fact that they can create a stronger seal more reliably with the foam tips included in the packaging. That does tend to make dispelling outside noise a bit easier.

Just be aware that neither of these products carries a noise reduction rating by a governmental body, so each of these products falls short of being true hearing protectors. You should not rely upon either to avoid hearing loss in a noisy environment — always use the right tool for the job.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro sound better than the Sony WF-1000XM5?

Long story short: both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 sound great for earbuds. Though there are some differences in frequency response and available codecs, most listeners will regard both similarly, so you should have no fear in picking either.

Each product takes a different strategy when it comes to tuning, with the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro offering more sub-bass and more 5-9kHz emphasis than the Sony WF-1000XM5, while the Sony WF-1000XM5 seem to attempt to not rock the boat with big swings in emphasis.

However, if you were to put it to a panel of a few hundred simulated listeners, you’d get extremely similar ratings from the lot of them. When playback samples were fed through HEAD acoustics’ MDAQS algorithm, the mean opinion scores generated were extremely close. In short: even if these earbuds sound quite different, most people would rate each set of earbuds similarly well.

Of course, both of these earbuds have several EQ presets if you install their respective apps, most of which you’ll probably never use unless you like to micromanage your earbuds. That being said, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro have an EQ preset that we believe is superior to the default response: Clear EQ. Though it doesn’t change the overall scores much, this EQ preset has much more palatable low and high ends.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5 have a better microphone?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Sony WF-1000XM5 have good microphones, but the unit Samsung sent us wasn’t the best at rejecting nearby noise. Given that both Samsung and Sony have a good track record, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s possible something went awry. This might be the sort of thing a firmware update could sort out.

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro microphone demo (Street conditions):

Sony WF-1000XM5 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM5: Price and availability

At full MSRP, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro are $249.99 and the Sony WF-1000XM5 are $299.99. However, now that the Sony WF-1000XM5 are over a year old, you can probably find them online for a bit cheaper than sticker price. As both of these products are top-of-the-line for each industry heavyweight, you should be able to find them pretty much anywhere that sells earbuds. That includes online, and brick-and-mortar stores. Whether one of these earbuds are a better value depends entirely on how you’re going to use them.

Due to a manufacturer pause, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro will not be available until late August of 2024 to address manufacturing concerns. Though this might be frustrating to many, Samsung taking the time to stand by its flagship earbuds is a good sign that they’re willing to put the effort in to make sure everything’s okay with their wares.

Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5?

In the contest of Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM5, there’s no overwhelming winner, just two strong contenders.

At the end of the day, these two products are befitting of their price tags, but if we had to pick one, we’d expect that the Sony WF-1000XM5 would satisfy more people. It’s not that either of these products is poor in any way, it’s just that the Sony WF-1000XM5 is ridiculously performant. The Samsung buds have the WF-1000XM5 handily beat when it comes to AI features and comfort, but that comes at a tradeoff of somewhat less effective ANC and shorter battery life. For some, that’s enough, and we’d have no problem recommending the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro if that’s what you’re after.

Additionally, if you have had trouble with fitting earbuds in the past, the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro with its shorter, ovoid ear tips might be easier to fit to your ears than the Sony WF-1000XM5. However, if you really just want rock solid ANC, then you’ll probably want to stick with the Sony WF-1000XM5. Neither is a bad pick here.

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