Samsung Electronics applied the noise-canceling function to the Galaxy Buds about a year later than Apple. Apple supported it starting with the AirPods Pro released in October 2019, while Samsung supported it starting with the Galaxy Buds Live released in August 2020.

The Galaxy Buds' noise-canceling rating doesn't seem to match the AirPods. In January, a U.S. tech site selected five products, including Jabra and Apple, for the 'Best Noise Cancelling Earbuds of 2025'. The five products are: Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2, Jabra Elite 10, Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless, Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless, and Apple AirPods Pro Gen 2. The Galaxy Buds were not included.

The review evaluated the noise canceling of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, saying, "In everyday environments, performance is slightly better than that of the Jabra Elite 8 Active 2nd generation model," but "the microphone performance is lacking when isolating the user's voice in an ambient noise environment."

In terms of global wireless earphone shipments, Galaxy Buds are second after AirPods. According to market research firm Statista, Samsung Electronics shipped 26.2 million Galaxy Buds (8% market share) in the third quarter of last year, taking second place. Apple came in first (56.7 million units, 18%). As product shipments increase, the risk of patent disputes increases proportionally.

In order to play catch up with Apple's AirPods, The Elec reports that Samsung Electronics has now purchased 18 noise-cancelling US patents from ams-Osram. This appears to be an attempt to enhance the noise-cancelling function of its the Galaxy Buds.