Samsung said today that its Galaxy Buds hearing aid feature has been cleared by the US FDA, meaning the hearing aid capabilities will be available on Galaxy Buds in Q4 2026.
Samsung will join Apple in offering over-the-counter hearing aid features. Apple added an FDA-approved hearing health feature to AirPods in 2024, allowing them to be used as a clinical-grade hearing aid.
Like AirPods, Galaxy Buds can replace a hearing aid for mild to moderate hearing loss, and Samsung is introducing a hearing test option like Apple did. Galaxy Buds users can complete a self-administered hearing test in five minutes and the resulting clinical-grade audiogram can be used to adjust the built-in hearing aid function.
The Galaxy Buds will amplify sounds that users have trouble hearing, like high frequencies or whispers, which is also how AirPods work. Noise cancellation and beamforming also help Galaxy Buds users by focusing on sounds in front of the user and removing background noise.
Samsung says it worked with National Acoustic Laboratories and the Samsung Medical Center to develop the hearing aid feature set. Hearing aid features will be available on Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Galaxy Buds4 Pro. A newer Samsung Galaxy smartphone supporting One UI 8 or later is required.
After introducing hearing aid features to the United States in iOS 18.1, Apple has expanded their availability to more than 150 countries and regions. Apple was two years ahead, but Samsung is now starting to catch up with a Galaxy Buds hearing health option that matches most of what AirPods can do.
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