The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro didn’t (only) copy the AirPods, but this small startup

… the Nothing Ear

OK, hold on, let me make my case here.

The first thing we notice about the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is their transparent case, yes? More accurately — the transparent flap, which lets you see inside. As you probably know, Nothing is all about adding transparent elements to its devices — the stems of the Ear buds, most of their charging case, the backs of their phones.

We call this color See-through cool (Image credit – PhoneArena)

But sure, let’s chalk it up to coincidence. Admittedly, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro look cool — maybe Samsung just wants to show them off.

Then, you open the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro case and are met with two colored stripes — blue and red, for left and right earbud.

Vaguely reminiscent of something (Image credit – PhoneArena)

Alright, that’s not a novel concept — it’s a common thing in audio equipment. Typically, the right channel is marked with red, and the left one may or may not have a blue color marking. Nothing grabbed that pro audio tradition and has been putting a red dot on the right earbud since the original Nothing Ear (1). Samsung started doing it now.

And again, this can be a coincidence. But I find it extra confusing that Samsung also added an “L” and an “R” on its earbuds, right next to the colors. Far from minimalistic, that’s a bit over-designed and over-done — are we catering to the audio fans here or not?

At this point, I was thinking, surely I am just going nuts. Then I went to change the silicone tips, as I usually do, and noticed another thing that I’ve only seen once in recent memory. The tips have a mesh on the inside, entirely rubber, part of the entire mold. That’s a new design that Nothing did with this year’s Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). Lo and behold, a few months down the line, I see the same thing on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

Am I calling foul?

x = y + z (Image credit – PhoneArena)