Samsung's open-ear Galaxy Buds On are coming to the US, and we finally know when

After trying an all-new aspect ratio for its foldable earlier this year, Samsung is also betting on a new earbud design. The South Korean company has stuck to familiar earbud designs in the past, but that’s changing now with the Galaxy Buds On.

The tech giant launched the new open-ear Galaxy Buds On in Korea yesterday, and even though they aren’t immediately available in the US, the wait for their eventual availability won’t be long. Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Buds On will go on sale stateside on November 6, and they’ll cost $229. That’s just a little over a week to wait at this point.

The new buds have a lot going for them. For starters, these are Samsung’s first open-ear earbuds. They feature a clip-style design that envelops and wraps around your ear for support. Users then have the option to adjust the band’s angle to perfectly fit their ear shape, like you can see below.

These don’t truly create a seal in your ear as most earbuds of recent years do, and that’s by design. Samsung’s aim with Galaxy Buds On isn’t to suppress the outside world. Instead, it wants you to be aware of what’s happening around you. According to the company, the new buds will let you hear approaching traffic, conversations, and other environmental sounds, without you having to rely on a dedicated transparency mode.

With no seal, there’s no active noise cancellation (ANC) here. And although that would normally result in sound leakage, Samsung has a way to minimize it. Essentially reverse ANC, the tech uses opposite-phase sound waves to reduce how much of your music leaks into your surroundings. Interestingly, Samsung told us that the feature doesn’t consume additional battery power, and hence it’s always enabled by default.

On the audio front, the buds pack two 11.3mm drivers per bud, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S7 Gen 1 Sound Platform, which, according to the company, should offer enhanced bass compared to previous Galaxy Buds models for richer sound. We’ll be putting this to the test once we get our hands on the new Buds. We’ll also be testing Samsung’s 9.5-hour battery life claim. We aren’t certain how fast the new buds charge, though we do know that their case supports wireless charging, which is always a welcome feature.

Other notable additions include support for Samsung’s SSC-HQ codec, an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance, support for Gemini Live, and clearer calls. And a disappointing omission is the lack of Bluetooth multipoint support. This means you won’t be able to keep the buds simultaneously connected to multiple devices at once.

The Galaxy Buds On arrive in the US on November 6, priced at $229. They’ll be available in a single black colorway and a single size.