Technologies
The Samsung Buds 3 FE Surprised Me in a Couple of Key Ways
The Galaxy Buds 3 FE cost $100 less than step-up Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and lack some nice features but they deliver excellent sound and may just be the better value.
Our Experts
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Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Excellent sound quality if you get a tight seal
- Good noise canceling performance
- Top-tier voice-calling performance
- Pinch-and-swipe controls work well
- Bluetooth auto-switching between Samsung Galaxy devices you own
Cons
- Missing some of the Buds 3 Pro’s features, including wireless charging, head-tracking and built-in voice controls and voice-detection
- Some users may not be able to get a tight seal from the included eartips
- Auto-switching between Galaxy devices but no real multipoint Bluetooth
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 FE ($150) look nearly identical to the flagship Galaxy Buds 3 Pro ($250) but are missing those buds’ LED lighting element, have a single-driver design instead of a dual-driver design and leave off a few other extras. Now that I’ve fully tested the Buds 3 FE, I’m impressed with their performance. If you don’t mind missing those features, they’re a better value than the Buds 3 Pro. That’s why I’ve awarded them a CNET Editors’ Choice.
 Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025
All-black is a good look
Like the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE have a noise-isolating design with silicone eartips, and they feature noise-canceling as well as a transparency mode. Aside from the missing lighting element, the biggest difference cosmetically are the color options for the Buds 3 FE, which are available in gray or black. I personally like the all-black version I received (it’s a matte finish, which is nice), and I preferred its dark vibe to that of the silver Buds 3 Pro I tested.
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The Galaxy Buds 3 FE’s “blade” design is a departure from the previous Galaxy Buds FE ($70), which have a stemless design with wing tips that help lock the buds in your ears. I was still able to get a tight seal with the 3 FE’s largest included eartips, which is crucial for optimal sound quality and noise-canceling performance. But it was close call and I would have preferred if Samsung had included a slightly larger XL tip so I didn’t have to worry about losing the seal. If you’re unable to get a tight seal from any of the included tips (I suspect a certain small percentage of users will encounter this problem), you can seek out third-party tips.
The buds are lightweight at 5 grams per bud and fit my ears quite comfortably (the Buds 3 Pro weigh slightly more at 5.4 grams per bud). The Buds 3 FE have an IP54 rating, which means they’re splash-proof and dust-resistant (their case is not water-resistant and doesn’t offer wireless charging like the Buds 3 Pro’s case). Meanwhile the Buds 3 Pro have an IP57 rating, which means they’re dust-resistant and can be fully submerged in water for a short period of time. Â Â
Better sound and noise canceling than I expected
I suspected there would be a slight drop-off in sound quality with the Galaxy Buds 3 FE, because of its less elaborate drivers. The more expensive Buds 3 Pro have a planar driver and a dynamic driver that helps improve clarity and treble performance, while the Buds 3 FE have a single 11mm dynamic driver.Â
When I got the chance to compare them to one another directly, I was surprised. To my ears the Buds 3 FE sound as good or better than the Buds 3 Pro. They sound smooth and even-keeled, with nice detail, well-defined bass and good openness with a pretty wide soundstage. Android users can tweak the sound using the equalizer settings in the companion app (there are some preset EQs along with a fully customizable one you can create), but I mainly stuck with the default EQ setting. Â Â
Usually buds with dual drivers deliver a bit richer sound with more depth to it, but the Buds 3 FE seem really well tuned; they just sound right. There are competing buds that offer slightly more energetic bass and sound more articulate and revealing, but they tend to cost more.
I faulted the Buds 3 Pro for not having better active noise canceling (ANC), but from my tests the Buds 3 FE seem to offer improved ANC performance a bit from the Buds 3 Pro. Although their noise canceling isn’t quite up to the level of what you get with the AirPods Pro 3 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), it did a decent job muffling ambient noise across a fairly wide range of frequencies.
I also thought the voice-calling performance and transparency modes were good. Both the Buds 3 Pro and the Buds 3 FE are adept at filtering out background noise while picking up your voice well. As I walked the streets of New York, callers said they could hear some ambient sounds, including people’s voices, but they were fairly muted. And they said they could hear me “pretty clearly.” I give them an A- for voice-calling performance.Â
Similar features to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (but missing some)Â
I used the Buds 3 FE with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 as well an iPhone 16 Pro. The audio wouldn’t automatically switch between my iPhone and Flip 6, but Samsung users get automatic pairing and switching between their Galaxy devices, including laptops. I was able to pair the buds with my Galaxy Tab 11 and Flip 6 and have the audio automatically switch between them.Â
They have ear-detection sensors, but annoyingly they only pause your music automatically when you remove both buds from your ears and don’t resume playback when you put the buds back in (the Buds 3 Pro support the resume playback feature). Samsung’s standard 360 audio feature is supported via the Samsung Wearable app, but the Buds 3 FE do not have head-tracking like the Buds 3 Pro, which helps create enhanced spatial audio more akin to what you get with Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 buds. Also missing: There’s no support for LE audio along with the new Auracast feature that allows you to hear Bluetooth broadcasts in public places like gyms.
Samsung touts the Buds 3 FE’s AI features, which include “accessing Gemini for conversational AI assistance and Galaxy AI Interpreter app to use Real-Time Interpreter or Live Translate to translate phone calls.” Hands-free Google Assistant is available for Android devices but the Buds 3 FE are missing one of the Buds 3 Pro’s underrated features: built-in voice controls. These allow you to raise and lower volume, pause and play your music, skip tracks forward and back, and answer and end calls, with no wake word required. For example, you simply say, “play music,” “next song” or “volume down.”Â
The Buds 3 FE are also missing the Buds 3 Pro’s Voice Detect feature (it can be toggled on or off in the Galaxy Wear app), which is similar to Apple’s Conversation Awareness mode that lowers the volume of the music or any audio you’re listening to and activates the buds’ ambient mode when you start talking to someone. Instead of pausing your music, it just reduces the volume to a low level. It’s a useful feature.
The Buds 3 FE are rated for up to 6 hours with ANC on and closer to 8 hours hours with it off. If you listen to your music at higher volume levels, those numbers will drop, as I ended up getting a little less than 5 hours with ANC on. The Buds 3 FE have similar battery life to the Buds 3 Pro but the total battery life with the case (up to 30 hours) is slightly better than the rating for the Buds 3 Pro’s battery life.
Here is a summation of what’s missing from the Galaxy Buds 3 FE compared to the Buds 3 Pro:
- No wireless charging
- No LED lighting element
- No head-tracking
- No support for LE Audio and Auracast
- Buds 3 FE have ear-detection sensors but only pause your music when you take both buds out and don’t resume playback when you put them back in like Buds 3 Pro
- No built-in voice controls like Buds 3 Pro (that don’t require a phone connection), although hands-free Google Assistant and Samsung’s Bixby are available for Android devices.
- No voice-detect feature
- IP54 (splash-proof) rating instead of IP57 (water-proof)
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE final thoughts
While the earlier Galaxy Buds FE seemed like a different set of earbuds from the Galaxy Buds Pro 2, the Galaxy Buds 3 FE hue more closely to the FE philosophy for other Samsung products (like phones and tablets). They truly appear to be a stripped down version of the flagship Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. When I dug a little deeper into the feature comparisons between the two Galaxy buds, I realized that the Buds 3 FE were missing more features than I thought they did. The majority I could live without (LED lighting elements, wireless charging and head-tracking for spatial audio, for example), but I really like Buds 3 Pro’s built-in voice commands and voice-detection features.Â
If the Buds 3 FE fit differently and had worse sound quality, noise canceling and voice-calling performance than Buds 3 Pro, they’d be hard to recommend. But there’s no fall-off in those key departments — the noise canceling on the Buds 3 FE seems improved and some people may actually like the sound of the Buds 3 FE slightly better than the Buds 3 Pro. If you looking for a pair of more Android-centric earbuds that nail fit, sound and voice-calling and also feature decent noise canceling, they’re an excellent option.    Â
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE key specs
- Weight per bud: 5 grams
- 1-Way dynamic driver
- Enhanced active noise canceling and transparency modes
- 3 mics (Samsung Crystal Clear Call technology)
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Battery life: Up to 6 hours with noise-canceling on (single-charge) with three additional charges in the case
- IP54 dust-resistant and splash-proof
- Pinch and swipe touch controls
- Supported audio codecs: SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec), AAC and SBC
- Ear-detection sensors
- Hands-free Google Assistant with Gemini integration
- Support for Galaxy AI Interpreter app
- Auto Switch allows for seamlessly connectivity across Galaxy devices
- FindMy Earbuds feature
Technologies
Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity
President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.
On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.
In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.
He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”
Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.
Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.
Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.
BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.
“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.
Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.
The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.
The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.
Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.
A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.
Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.
Technologies
Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike
Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.
Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.
Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.
The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.
Technologies
Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran
Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.
Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.
In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.
Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.
Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”
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