Samsung leaks its own bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live earbuds

Samsung's bean-shaped earbuds were hardly a mystery at this point, but we didn't expect Samsung itself to leak the upcoming Galaxy Buds Live before its big Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event. Sure enough, though, a prematurely updated version of the Samsung Galaxy Buds app has confirmed not only the name of the new earbuds, but most of their features too.

Version 2.0.0 of the Galaxy Buds app arrived in the App Store today, and the big change is support for the Galaxy Buds Live. While the app has already been used for Galaxy Buds+ owners, the new update features the upgraded earbuds for most of the screenshots.

It's enough to confirm the name, and that they will indeed be the first of the Galaxy Buds range to support Active Noise Canceling. That's something we've seen Apple's AirPods Pro offer, and other headphones like Sony's well-reviewed WF-1000XM3 earbuds. Samsung's Galaxy Buds+ do have an Ambient Sound setting, but that's just designed to let some degree of external noise through to the ear.

It'll be possible to turn ANC on and off on the Galaxy Buds Live, either through the app or via touch-and-hold controls on the earbuds themselves. Each earbud will support touch gestures, such as a single tap to toggle between play and pause. You'll seemingly be able to have different touch-and-hold settings for the left and right Galaxy Buds Live earbuds, too, or turn of touch controls altogether.

Otherwise, this is all much in line with what we've seen from earlier headphones from Samsung. There's an adjustable equalizer, with Normal, Bass Boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear, and Treble Boost settings, and a "Find My Earbuds" system which will cause them to beep. Of course you'll also get in-app readouts of battery status, both for each earbud and for the charging case that comes with them.

The Galaxy Buds Live are expected to be one of five big device announcements Samsung makes at Unpacked 2020 in early August. The headline of the show is likely to be shared between the new Galaxy Note 20 (along with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra), and the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which despite rumors to the contrary, does look to be on the agenda come August 5. A smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 3, is also expected to debut. At that point we'll presumably find out how much the Galaxy Buds Live will cost in comparison to the Galaxy Buds+, which currently retail for around $139.