Leak reveals Samsung ‘Galaxy Buds’ for S10 with wireless charging

Samsung’s upcoming Feb. 20 Unpacked event is going to be full of new product announcements. 

While we expect the Galaxy S10 to be the headliner, Samsung’s reportedly planning a few other surprise products such as new wireless earbuds that might better compete with Apple’s increasingly popular AirPods.

A newly leaked photo from Winfuture.de, a German tech blog that’s reliably published images and information for unreleased consumer tech products before, shows what appears to be Samsung Galaxy Buds wirelessly charging on a Galaxy S10.

The alleged true wireless earbuds look similar to Samsung’s current Gear IconX 2018. However, if you look closely, you can see some new differences. The case appears to be just a bit smaller and there’s an LED indicator on the outside of the case along with a new lip instead of a button that could make the charging case easier to quickly open and close.

Anyone who’s used true wireless earbuds knows how liberating it is to not have wires to deal with. However, the downside is that it’s another thing you have to charge up.

With wireless charging, juicing up Samsung’s wireless earbuds could be as simple as placing them on top of the Galaxy S10. 

It’s a good solution until someone figures out how to wirelessly charge devices over the air (OTA) — there are many smart people working on OTA wireless charging — but not also not a new idea. Huawei’s excellent Mate 20 Pro has the exact same feature.

Of course, being first doesn’t mean much in the consumer tech world. There will be many people, especially in the U.S. where Huawei phones aren’t allowed to be sold, who will get to experience charging their earbuds with their phones for the first time. 

AirPods weren’t the first true wireless earbuds, but they are still considered the best because of their excellent battery life, super compact case, and seamless integration with iOS and Mac devices.

And these will be the points on which the Galaxy Buds (or whatever Samsung calls them) will be judged. Battery life will be the most important thing. Fingers crossed Samsung delivers with competitive pricing as well.