Samsung's latest wireless earbuds have been redesigned from the ground up. They look nothing like the company's previous Buds and also come with some impressive hardware upgrades. But what about dust and water resistance?
Previous earbuds like the Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds FE have an IPX2 rating, which means they haven't been properly tested for ingress of solid particles and only have mild protection against dripping water.
The Galaxy Buds Pro and Buds 2 Pro introduced a much improved IPX7 rating. Once again, “X” means protection against solid particles wasn't a priority, but the Pro lineup had better water resistance. These earbuds are rated for immersion in up to 1 meter of water.
What about the new Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro?
For the new wireless earbuds, Samsung decided to offer the same level of protection regardless of whether it's the Pro or non-Pro version. In addition, the IP rating is now higher.
Samsung gave the Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro the same IP57 rating. These new earbuds should offer the same water resistance as the previous Pro models but they are rated higher for ingress protection against solid particles.
A level 5 means the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro offer great — albeit not perfect — dust protection. Even if they don't prevent dust ingress entirely, the dust that could enter the earbuds should not interfere with their safe operation.
The story continues after our hands-on video…
It's worth noting that the IP57 rating applies only to the earbuds. The carrying/charging case was not rated, which means you should never risk dropping it in water.
Keep in mind that neither the Galaxy Buds 3 nor the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have the highest-possible water-proof rating, but they should survive small dunk. More importantly, compared to the previous generations, they are now rated to offer a relatively high degree of dust resistance.
If you need an upgrade, you can now pre-order the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro. And if you want exchange an older pair of earbuds, Samsung offers fantastic trade-in values in some markets. Hit the button below for more details.
