Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Able Slip to Q4 2026 as Open-Ear Rivals Pull Ahead

Samsung will not show its first open-ear earbuds at this month’s Galaxy Unpacked event. A new report says the Galaxy Buds Able, also called the Galaxy Buds On, has slipped to the fourth quarter of 2026, with September or October the likeliest window. The clip-on design wraps around the outer ear rather than sealing it, so wearers can hear traffic, conversations and music at the same time.

That timing hands Samsung a solo stage for a product category it did not invent. Shokz, Huawei, Bose, Sony, Anker and Motorola already sell open-ear clip earbuds, and the format has become the fastest-growing pocket of a wireless earbuds market that is otherwise slowing down.

A Second Delay Pushes the Launch Past Summer

ETNews, the South Korean outlet that has tracked the project since earlier this year, reports Samsung pushed the launch to the fourth quarter of 2026 while it keeps refining the hardware. The report points to September or October but stops short of a specific date, and Samsung has not confirmed the product exists.

Unpacked will still be a big event without the earbuds. Samsung is expected to debut the Z Fold 8, the Z Fold 8 Ultra and the Z Flip 8 alongside the Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2, backed by its largest production order yet for the Z Fold 8.

Skipping Unpacked isn’t new for this project. SamMobile has reported the Buds Able were delayed multiple times before this latest push, and were never expected to appear at the July event. The clearest sign the hardware is real arrived in April 2026, when a battery cell labeled EB-BU600AAY cleared certification from India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Germany’s TUV testing house, according to Headphonesty.

That kind of paperwork usually shows up when a device is close to shipping. 91mobiles has argued the timing fits Samsung’s habits, writing that “BIS approvals usually show up when devices are close to being ready, and that timing lines up with Samsung’s typical July window for foldables.” Other signals still lag. No Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing has surfaced for the device’s model number, SM-U600, and Samsung has not filed a trademark for the Galaxy Buds Able name.

Forbes contributor Paul Monckton has traced the project’s internal codename to BUDSABLE, tied to model number SM-U600. That breaks from the SM-R prefix and the composer nicknames, such as Handel and Bach, Samsung has used for past Buds models, a detail that points to a genuinely new product line rather than another Buds Pro variant.

Inside the Clip-On, Open-Ear Design

Samsung’s in-ear lineup is already three tiers deep. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and Galaxy Buds 4 launched in February 2026 alongside the Galaxy S26, both built around active noise cancellation (ANC, hardware that blocks outside sound) and AI-tuned audio profiles with voice access to Gemini and Perplexity. The Galaxy Buds 3 FE sits underneath at $149.99.

All three seal the ear canal. A runner can’t hear an oncoming bike, and a commuter can’t catch a station announcement, without pulling a bud out.

• Open-ear clip – wraps around the outer ear instead of plugging the canal
• Built around comfort for long wear rather than sound isolation
• Lets ambient sound, including traffic and conversation, pass through while audio plays
• Skips the noise cancelling and immersive-audio pitch Samsung uses for its Buds Pro line

That’s the audience Shokz, Bose and Huawei have spent years courting: cyclists, warehouse staff, parents, anyone who wants audio without losing track of a room or a street.

Why Is Open-Ear Growing Faster Than Every Other Earbud Category?

Open-ear and clip-on earbuds are outgrowing sealed, in-ear designs because they solve something in-ear models can’t: staying aware of your surroundings during long wear. Research firm Smart Analytics Global expects open-clip shipments to climb sharply in 2026, even as sales of traditional, sealed true wireless stereo (TWS, earbuds with no connecting cable) models shrink for the first time in years.

• 72% projected 2026 growth in open-clip earbud shipments, per Smart Analytics Global
• 34% projected 2026 growth in open-hook designs, the same firm found
• 2% expected decline in traditional, sealed TWS shipments this year
• Overall TWS shipments still forecast to reach 344 million units in 2026, up 3% from 2025

Apple wasn’t even listed among the leading brands in either fast-growing segment during the first quarter, despite dominating traditional TWS overall. Counterpoint Research, a market intelligence firm, already describes the TWS market entering maturity, with growth settling into single digits after years of faster expansion. Mordor Intelligence pegs the true wireless segment at $50.28 billion in 2026, expecting it to reach $79.6 billion by 2031, with ear-hook sport buds specifically growing faster than the category average.

The Field Samsung Is Walking Into

Samsung’s rivals in this category already ship product. Shokz, Huawei, Bose, Sony, Anker and Motorola all sell open-ear or clip-on earbuds today, and recent sales data show two of them already dominating their sub-categories.

Shokz has held the global open-ear shipment lead for three consecutive years, from 2023 through 2025, according to research firm Omdia’s own analysis of the category. Samsung is arriving after most of the open-ear format’s early winners are already established.

Reporters Disagree on How the Buds Able Make Sound

One leaked firmware icon, showing a dome connected to a grille, is the only public evidence of what sits inside the Galaxy Buds Able. Outlets that examined it don’t agree on what it shows.

• SammyGuru reads the icon as bone conduction hardware. Writer Josh Skinner described the design as one that would “send vibrations through your cheekbones to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum.”
• 9to5Google disagrees, arguing the leaked shape suggests Samsung has pivoted to a traditional driver instead.
• PhoneArena reaches the same conclusion as 9to5Google, reading the icon as pointing to conventional speakers rather than bone conduction.

Samsung’s own regulatory filings settle only the basics so far, confirming a form factor and a charging case, according to Headphonesty’s review of the paperwork. The audio hardware inside stays a guess until Samsung says otherwise.

A Fall Stage of Its Own

Samsung’s earbuds cadence has already turned unpredictable. The Galaxy Buds 4 line shipped in February 2026 alongside the Galaxy S26, abandoning the July Unpacked slot the Galaxy Buds 3 used back in 2024. Headphonesty flagged that shift as evidence Samsung no longer times its audio launches to its flagship phone or foldable events.

Skipping Unpacked again for the Buds Able would fit that pattern. It would also let Samsung explain a genuinely new product category on its own terms instead of competing for attention during its return to London for Unpacked, where health and fitness features are expected to lead the Watch 9 pitch.

A September or October window would also line up with Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, IFA Berlin, which runs September 4 to 8, 2026, in the German capital. Samsung has not linked the Buds Able to that event, and nothing confirms a Berlin appearance.

SammyGuru, a Samsung-focused outlet, reports the Buds Able could instead share a stage with the Galaxy Tab S12 series and the Galaxy S26 FE, both expected in the same quarter. Until Samsung schedules something, the only fixed point on the calendar is Unpacked this month, and the Galaxy Buds Able won’t be there.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Samsung Galaxy Buds Able launch?

Samsung hasn’t confirmed a date. ETNews points to the fourth quarter of 2026 but narrows the actual window to September or October, a span that starts a few weeks before Q4 technically begins on the standard calendar. Treat any specific date as a rumor until Samsung schedules an event.

Will the Galaxy Buds Able have active noise cancellation?

Reports describe the earbuds as built around comfort and situational awareness rather than isolation, the opposite goal of ANC. Samsung’s existing Buds 4 Pro and Buds 4 already cover the noise cancelling, in-ear tier, so the Buds Able looks aimed at a different use case rather than a replacement for them.

Does the Galaxy Buds Able use bone conduction?

It’s unconfirmed and contested among outlets. Rival products are split too: Shokz built its early lead partly on bone conduction hardware, while Huawei’s FreeClip 2 and Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds use conventional drivers instead, so the answer will shape how the Buds Able actually sound.

What will the Galaxy Buds Able cost?

Samsung hasn’t priced the product, and no leak has surfaced a number. For context, Samsung’s current earbuds span from the $149.99 Galaxy Buds 3 FE up to the pricier Buds 4 Pro tier, which gives a rough sense of where a new category might slot in without confirming anything.

Which brands already sell open-ear clip earbuds?

Beyond category leaders Shokz and Huawei, Anker’s Soundcore AeroClip and Motorola’s Moto Buds Loop have also launched clip-on models, giving buyers several options while Samsung continues to wait.