Samsung's first clip-on earbuds are coming — and people thought they were earrings

A concept rendering of clip-on earbuds [Generated with ChatGPT AI]

Samsung is on the verge of launching its first clip-on earbuds, with industry watchers expecting the product to hit the market as early as late September and no later than October.

Unlike conventional in-ear earbuds, the device hooks onto the earlobe rather than sitting inside the ear canal. The anticipated arrival of clip-on models from Samsung and other manufacturers has sparked debate over whether the form factor could become the next dominant style in wireless audio.

According to industry sources, Samsung plans to officially release the clip-on earbuds sometime between September and October. Tentative product names being floated include the Galaxy Buds Able and the Galaxy Buds On.

There had been speculation the earbuds would be unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event last month, but the company has since settled on a separate fourth-quarter launch and is finalizing the release schedule.

Samsung Electronics' existing wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds4 Pro [Herald DB]

The upcoming earbuds mark Samsung's first foray into open-ear design. A dome-shaped component wraps around the earlobe, holding the device in place without entering the ear canal.

Industry insiders believe Samsung has incorporated bone-conduction technology into the earbuds. The technology transmits vibrations directly to the inner ear through the cheekbone, bypassing the eardrum entirely.

Open-ear designs, which do not seal the ear canal, let users hear ambient sounds naturally — an advantage for outdoor activities where situational awareness matters. The trade-off is that active noise cancellation (ANC) is unlikely to be supported, meaning audio quality may fall short of the Galaxy Buds4 Pro.

A clip-on launch would add a new product line to Samsung's wireless earbud lineup, which has previously featured so-called "kidney bean" and "stem" designs. Samsung introduced bean-shaped earbuds between 2019 and 2020 before switching to a stem-style design with the Galaxy Buds3.

Bose's clip-on wireless earbuds, the Ultra Open [Bose website]

With major manufacturers rolling out clip-on earbuds in quick succession, the question is whether the form factor can establish itself as a mainstream product category.

Recent releases include Sony's LinkBuds Clip, Huawei's FreeCLIP 2 and Bose's Ultra Open, signaling growing momentum behind the clip-on segment.

Meanwhile, industry sources also expect Samsung to unveil a new smartwatch alongside the open-ear earbuds in the fourth quarter.

SamMobile reported that Samsung is developing a new smartwatch positioned between the Galaxy Fit and the Galaxy Watch FE. The device, reportedly under development under the codename Galaxy Aero, is expected to run Samsung Electronics' real-time operating system (RTOS) — the same platform used in budget wearables such as the Galaxy Fit4 — rather than Wear OS.

sjpark@heraldcorp.com