Samsung Galaxy Buds are stealing a key AirPods Pro feature, but it’s all in the interest of protecting (or augmenting) your hearing

Samsung unveils hearing test and hearing aid-like features
Coming to Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and 4 Pro by end of year
Similar to the existing hearing health suite found in AirPods Pro 2 and 3

Hearing health is becoming an increasingly important earbuds trend — just yesterday I covered ear-friendly IEMs designed to protect your listening — and now (perhaps predictably) Samsung is getting in on the action.

The brand has announced that its new Hearing Aid earbuds feature has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The "holistic hearing health experience" tool, according to Samsung's missive, comes in two parts. First, there's a five-minute Hearing Test mode which analyzes your hearing to categorize whether you have any hearing loss. It'll label each ear individually as mild, moderate, severe or profound (or, of course, 'normal' if you have no hearing loss).

Part two of the tool is the Hearing Aid mode, which uses the test's learnings to amplify sounds you might otherwise struggle to hear. It can also eliminate certain noises, such as background rumble or low-level voices in a busy bar, using the buds' ANC.

The aim is to let the Galaxy Buds act as medical hearing aids, without requiring a prescription or visiting a health center; the FDA has approved the Hearing Test results as medical-grade.

From bud to bud

Samsung's press release confirms that two of its flagship models will get the feature: the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. You'll also need a Samsung smartphone running One UI 8 (or later).

Apparently, it'll be coming to the US "and select approved markets" towards the end of the year; "Q4" to be precise, which should be October, November or December.

However, you don't need to wait to use a set of earbuds as hearing aids, because Apple has been offering this tool for nearly two years now, depending on where you reside (it gained approval for its UK release much later, for example). The AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 can carrying out a hearing test and amplify certain sounds around you, just like the Galaxy Buds.

You can even control them from your Apple Watch, MacBook or iPad, or use your hearing aid test results to influence the EQ of your music or videos.

So, Samsung isn't offering anything groundbreakingly new hear, but it's a still a useful feature to have if you're ensconced in a Samsung ecosystem — and it's yet another way in which Samsung's AirPods Pro rivals emulate the world's most popular buds.

➡️ Read our full guide to the best earbuds1. Best overall:Technics EAH-AZ1002. Best mid-range:Cambridge Audio A1003. Best budget:Nothing Ear (a)4. Best for noise-cancelling:Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra 2nd Gen

Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond TechRadar, he has bylines on sites including GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Android Police, TechAdvisor, WhattoWatch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the TechRadar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.