Samsung halts sales of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro because of quality problems

A week after unveiling its Galaxy Buds 3 Pro at its Unpacked event, Samsung is pulling them off the market because of quality issues.

After users began reporting quality issues with the $249.99 earbuds, Samsung’s website shows the company has delayed the product’s release to late August, while the Amazon listing has disappeared entirely. The earbuds were previously available for preorder and had an official release date of July 24, although a limited number of units were already in the hands of some customers and reviewers.

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In a statement to Android Authority, Samsung confirmed that it won’t be delivering the current product to retail stores right now.

“There have been reports relating to a limited number of early production Galaxy Buds 3 Pro devices,” the statement said. “To ensure all products meet our quality standards, we have temporarily suspended deliveries of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro devices to distribution channels.” Customers who have the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro should contact Samsung.

The most common issue seems to involve the earbud tips. Some early owners who tried changing the tips for a different size ended up ripping the tips and leaving the plastic circular base attached. A Samsung support page in South Korean warns not to hold the earbuds with your fingernails, but that message apparently isn’t making it to most people.

Android Authority also shared an email from Samsung to a customer who had ordered the earbuds, which said, “We are conducting a full quality control evaluation, which we expect to cause a delay in your order’s delivery.” The email adds that Samsung would contact customers “in the coming weeks” about a new shipping date, and closes with a link to cancel the order (if the user wants to) and an apology.

Pushing deliveries back a full month is a big delay for a highly anticipated product, but it’s better than shipping a defective product. If this is a widespread design issue that requires retooling, though, you have to wonder if Samsung will be able to meet its own timeline estimate.