Samsung Galaxy Buds On: first renders of the clip-on earbuds leak ahead of Q4 launch
Samsung is entering the open-ear earbuds market with the Galaxy Buds On, its first clip-style wireless earbuds, expected to launch in Q4 2026. Renders published by Android Headlines show the final design and how the buds sit on the ear. FCC certification has already been cleared (model SM-U600), which signals the product is close to a US retail launch.
The design
The Galaxy Buds On use air conduction technology rather than a traditional in-ear seal. A speaker unit rests inside the ear's outer bowl, while a support arm clips around the outside — roughly like a small earring. The inner-facing part of the housing is noticeably wider than the arm that clips over the ear. Microphones are built into the housing for calls and voice assistant interactions. The buds come in black and white.
Rendered images of the Samsung Galaxy Buds On showing the clip-on design. Source: Android Headlines
What they do — and don't do
Earlier leaks confirmed the feature set: head gesture controls (nod to accept a call, shake to decline), auto volume that adjusts to ambient noise levels, Bixby and Gemini voice assistant support, and sleep detection that pauses playback when you doze off. That last feature requires One UI 9.0 or later, which could lock out older Galaxy devices.
What's missing: no active noise cancellation (ANC) and no 360 Audio with head tracking. The open-ear form factor makes ANC largely impractical, and Samsung is betting the auto volume feature offsets that gap. For commuters or gym users who rely on ANC, this is a meaningful trade-off.
The competition
The Bose Ultra Open ($258) and the Anker Soundcore AeroClip ($150) already own this niche. Samsung's Galaxy Buds On will likely land somewhere around $179–$199 based on the Buds 3 pricing pattern — a slot that's tight but not impossible. The Fairbuds 2 are also incoming in this open-ear space, so the segment is heating up fast.
Samsung's real play here is ecosystem lock-in: Galaxy AI integration, seamless switching across Galaxy devices, and a familiar app experience. If you're already in the Galaxy ecosystem, the Buds On may be the easier choice even without ANC.
No confirmed price or exact release date has been announced. A Q4 2026 launch is Samsung's internal target, per SamMobile, with the UK and EU potentially following a few weeks after the US.
