Samsung is rumored to be making a more affordable pair of Galaxy Buds

A new and mysterious model number appears to be the next generation of Samsung’s excellent earbuds

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We rate theSamsung Galaxy Buds 2highly, giving them four stars in our review. But there’s always room for improvement andSamsungappears to be working on an upgraded version of this model of earbuds. The new products don’t appear to be a replacement for Samsung’s best earbuds, theGalaxy Buds 2 Pro. Rather, they appear to be an updated and presumably upgraded version of the non-Pro Buds 2.

The news comes via Dutch publicationGalaxyClub, which has spotted a new model number: SM-R400N. The current Galaxy Buds Pro 2 have a model number beginning with SM-R5, while the Galaxy Buds 2 are SM-R177. Reading between the lines, that suggests that these new buds sit between the two existing product lines, the Buds 2 and the Buds 2 Pro.

What do we know about the new Samsung Galaxy Buds?

Nothing! But that doesn’t mean we can’t do a bit of informed speculation. Samsung typically launches new versions of its earbuds alongside new phone launches, so these new buds are likely to be planned for either theSamsung Galaxy S24series launch in early 2024 or maybe even earlier with the launch of theGalaxy S23 FE. That’s expected before the end of 2023, most likely by the end of September.

In terms of what improvements we can expect, better noise cancellation is the most likely. That’s something we see in most model upgrades for thebest noise cancelling headphones, which get better at drowning out unwanted audio with each generation.

As we noted in our Buds 2 review, the weaknesses of the current model are its water resistance – it’s just IPX2, so you don’t want to wear these in the rain – and the lack of an always-listening voice assistant. The audio is already pretty good but they’re not the best buds for bass-heads as their bass response drops down quite dramatically below 80Hz. They can also get a bit harsh at the high end if you drive them hard. So improved frequency response would be very welcome.

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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.

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