Key Takeaways
- A Samsung executive says the stems on the Galaxy Buds 3 lineup aren’t meant to copy AirPods.
- The similarities supposedly come from trying to improve sound output and AI-based features.
- Samsung has a long history of imitating Apple design features.
A key Samsung executive is downplaying claims that the Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro copy Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Pro, saying that the design was ultimately in the best interests of sound quality and AI-related features, according to Inverse. Speaking at a media roundtable event last week, Patrick Chomet — executive VP and Head of CX Office, Mobile eXperience Business — said he told designers and engineers “I don’t care” when they warned that people might compare the Buds 3 lineup to AirPods. Like AirPods, Samsung’s new earbuds feature stems — here dubbed “blades” — as well as similar body and case designs.
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“I want the best product anyway, so we designed it to be the best for consumers,” Chomet told the roundtable. “That’s the honest answer, and we may be exposed to criticisms, but I really don’t care because I just want the best product.”
Explaining further, Chomet noted that when Samsung was designing the Buds 3 Pro it wanted to surpass the Buds 2 Pro, and found that adding the blades created more space for separating the woofer and main speaker, while avoiding the problems created by different ear shapes when it comes to AI-based features like voice calling restoration and Adaptive ANC (Active Noise Cancelation). “We have a team that simulates thousands of ears from the whole planet, and that’s how we ended up with the blade,” said Chomet. “It may look [like AirPods stems] on the surface, but it’s not the same at all. I can guarantee that.”
The plagiarism war
Samsung isn’t the first earbud maker to have mimicked AirPods, but it tends to receive more scrutiny as Apple’s main rival, and in light of the history between the two companies. The two tech giants were involved in dozens of infringement lawsuits against each other between 2011 and 2018. Those were settled out of court — but fans and the media have continued to accuse Samsung of copying Apple features. Apple has sometimes been accused of copying Samsung, yet less frequently.
The Galaxy Buds 3 aren’t even the only new Samsung products to be charged with plagiarism. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is conspicuously modeled after the Apple Watch Ultra, including its name, rugged design, orange accents, and shortcut button. It even switches to an all-red watchface at night, mimicking the Apple Watch Ultra’s Night Mode.
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