Samsung undergoes review after Galaxy Buds 3 quality issues

‘Galaxy Buds 3’. (Samsung Newsroom)

Samsung Electronics Co. conducted a thorough review of its wearable products business to prevent further quality issues with its Galaxy Buds 3 earbuds, as concerns about the company‘s underperformance driven largely by its semiconductor business mount.

According to industry sources on Thursday, the wearable products group under Samsung Elextronics’ Mobile Experience (MX) division recently completed a management audit that began in July 2024. Top management is now reportedly reviewing the audit results and discussing countermeasures.

Samsung Electronics conducts management audits for specific divisions or units when business performance declines significantly or problems arise. The process involves sending audit experts to identify the causes of the problem and recommend corrective actions.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Buds 3 with a new design in July. However, there were online complaints about the product’s quality during the pre-sale period, which included problems with the height of the earbuds, misplaced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) indicator lights and eartips that tore easily. Samsung issued an official apology at the end of the month, promising to prevent a recurrence of these problems.

The recent management audit reportedly covered all aspects of the wearable products, including design, supply chain management and materials. Following the audit, the MX division is expected to undergo organizational restructuring and personnel changes by the end of the year.

Although the wearable products group is a relatively small unit within Samsung, observers predict that accountability-driven personnel changes stemming from quality issues will increase tension and a sense of crisis within the company.

According to research firm Canalys, Samsung’s share of the global wireless earphone market fell 1 percentage point year-on-year to 7.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, putting it in second place. Apple Inc. took the top spot with 21.9 per cent of the market, while Xiaomi Inc., currently in third place, saw its share rise by 1.3 percentage points to 6.5 per cent and is quickly closing in on Samsung.