Samsung just entered the open-ear race — quietly. On October 1, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Buds On, its first clip-on earbuds, via Samsung Newsroom Korea. A slim band wraps around the outer ear, leaving the ear canal open. They go on sale in South Korea on October 27 for KRW 299,000 (roughly $220), with a global rollout promised but no US date or price yet.
Clip-On, Not Stick-In
The design is the whole pitch. Each bud weighs just 6.65 grams and clips onto the outer ear, so nothing touches the ear canal. You hear your music and everything else: traffic, the coffee order, the coworker asking a question. As Notebookcheck reports, Samsung is positioning these as situational-awareness buds — a completely different product from the Galaxy Buds 4.
Open-ear is not new — Bose and Shokz got here first — but Samsung is validating the category as mainstream, about $80 under Bose.
Specs That Outrun Bose on Paper
A TwinBoost speaker system runs on the Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound Platform with a Class-D amplifier, plus Audio Leakage Reduction and automatic volume adjustment.
Calls get three microphones, a bone-conduction voice pickup sensor, and Intelligent Clear Call. Battery is the headline: 9.5 hours of music from the buds, 38 hours with the case, 5.5 hours of call time. Bluetooth 6.2 covers SSC, SSC UHQ, AAC, SBC, and LC3; the buds are IP54 rated — sweat-proof, not swim-proof.
Setup is simple: Android 12 or higher, no Wearable app to install, EQ and volume in phone settings. The iPhone is not listed as supported.
The Galaxy-Only Fine Print
Here is the catch Hypebeast’s coverage underscores: the headline smart features only work in Samsung’s ecosystem. Gemini Live voice access, Quick Voice Memo on press-and-hold, and head gestures — nod to answer, shake to end — all require a compatible Galaxy device. Everyone else gets the basics: good clip-on buds with strong battery, none of the Galaxy AI magic.
That $220 equivalent buys a very different product depending on what phone you own.
The Open-Ear Showdown
How the Buds On stack up, based on what is confirmed so far:
| Feature | Samsung Galaxy Buds On | Bose Ultra Open Earbuds | Huawei FreeClip 2 | Shokz OpenFit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$220 (KRW 299,000; Korea-only for now) | $299 | Unconfirmed at press time | ~$179 |
| Design | Clip-on band | Clip-on barrel | Clip-on (C-bridge) | Over-ear hook |
| Bud battery | 9.5h music / 5.5h calls | 7.5h | Unconfirmed | 7h |
| Total with case | 38h | 27h | Unconfirmed | 28h |
| Bluetooth | 6.2 | 5.4 | Unconfirmed | 5.2 |
| Water rating | IP54 (buds only) | IPX4 | Unconfirmed | IP54 |
| Killer perk | Gemini Live + head gestures (Galaxy-only) | Bose immersive audio | TBD | Open-ear sound with solid mic pickup |
On paper, Samsung leads on battery and price among the clip-ons — but the iPhone and non-Galaxy caveats narrow who should care.
Who Should Buy Them — and Who Should Not
Runners who need to hear traffic, office workers who want music without tuning out the world, and anyone whose ears fatigue from in-ear buds — these are for you. The open canal means genuinely comfortable long sessions.
Skip them if you want isolation — no ANC is possible with an open canal. Skip them if you use an iPhone (not supported) or if the Galaxy-only perks are the selling point but you do not own a Galaxy phone.
Why This Matters
This is Samsung declaring open-ear a real category. A ~$80 gap under Bose, 38-hour case battery, and Bluetooth 6.2 put real pressure on the incumbent clip-ons. But the fuller story is in the fine print: Korea-first with no US date, a price that is only a currency conversion, and the best features locked behind Galaxy ownership. For US buyers, the Buds On are wait-and-see: watch whether Samsung commits to a US launch before spending a dollar.
Meanwhile in Gadgets: Casio’s $80,000 sapphire-crystal G-Shock proves wearables can go full luxury — the Buds On are the opposite bet, mainstream tech at a friendly price. Meanwhile in Mobiles: Google just hiked the Pixel 10a to $599, a reminder that the midrange price squeeze is real — Samsung’s ~$220 Buds On pricing looks even friendlier by comparison.
