What you need to know
- A report highlights an icon in Samsung’s One UI 8.5 test build that directly mentions the Galaxy Buds 4 with another design change.
- After deploying a more Apple AirPod-like design in 2024, the Galaxy Buds 4 might bring clear separation between its earbud and the stabilizer (stem).
- Samsung’s execs were furious when the Buds 3 series launched, as well as the Galaxy Watch 7, due to its sheer Apple-like aesthetic.
Samsung’s next iteration of earbuds has reportedly appeared in an unlikely way again, but this time, its new design is in question.
A post by Android Authority credits a tip it received about an alleged illustration for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Buds 4 in its early One UI 8.5 software. The publication discovered an icon that consumers will likely find within Samsung’s software when handling their earbuds’ features. The discovered icon shows a singular bud with your expected in-ear tip, main body, and a redesigned stabilizer (stem).
Instead of a stem that seamlessly flows from the earbuds’ main body and down, like Apple’s AirPods (which execs didn’t like), the two aspects seem detached.
From the image, it looks like the stabilizer is attached to the earbud, making it look like two separate pieces, instead of one cohesive unit. Another key difference is that the stabilizer’s end is rounded, unlike the Galaxy Buds 3 and 3 Pro, which resemble a triangular shape and softish corners.
The publication cites some code that directly attaches this alleged Galaxy Buds 4 illustration to the name. There was nothing mentioned about an expected Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, so it’s unclear just how far this “redesign” goes. This purported change is also a little reminiscent of the Logitech G Fits True in terms of the stabilizer to the earbud.
The change is in?
There’s still a lot uncertain about this rumor; things are early, but this was found in Samsung’s latest One UI 8.5 test build, so it’s at least something to think about. What’s also something to mull over is whether or not Samsung’s execs are truly enforcing change with its Galaxy lineup. As mentioned before, last year, when the Galaxy Buds 3 series and the Galaxy Watch 7 series launched, the company was blatantly furious with their designs.
To management, the designs were “too close” to what Apple was doing with its watches and earbuds. The MX Division’s chairman, Lee Jae-yong, was reportedly “angry” about what the company had output, creating a “tense” situation. Looking at this alleged glimpse at what’s to come for the base Buds 4, maybe the gears are turning in a new direction at Samsung.
Elsewhere, there was a report that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro was in the works at Samsung, also through a One UI 8.5 leak. The OS’ main build supposedly mentioned software testing for the next Pro earbuds.