Summary
- When paired with the Galaxy Wearable app, the Galaxy Buds can alert you if your posture is poor.
- If the Buds detect you’ve been looking down for 10 minutes, your phone provides stretching techniques to help prevent neck strain.
- To enable these reminders, open the Wearable app and go to Earbuds Settings > Neck Stretch Reminders.
Good posture is important, but it’s tricky to maintain. That’s why I was surprised to find that my Samsung Galaxy Buds can lend a helping hand in preventing neck ache.
The Galaxy Buds Warn You of Poor Posture
You may have heard of “tech neck”, which comes as a result of leaning your head down to stare at your tech device. Your head is heavy, so it puts a lot of strain on your neck, shoulders, and back when you’re glued to your phone for a long time.
I’m certainly guilty of this. I’ll pop my earbuds in, load a video, and end up hunched over wondering why my neck hurts. I try to maintain good posture, but it’s easy to fall into bad habits.
That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I bought the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and found they had a “neck stretch reminder” feature (it’s also available on the Galaxy Buds 2). If the Buds detect that your head has been bent downwards for 10 minutes, it alerts you and recommends some basic stretching techniques.
It sounds like a gimmick, and I wasn’t convinced at first, but I’ve found the reminders actually do help. It’s nothing radical; it’s not going to immediately cure aches and pains, nor is it a substitute for maintaining good posture or general exercise. But when you’re lost in your phone, a little reminder to look after your body goes a long way.
How to Enable Neck Stretch Reminders
To enable neck stretch reminders, you must use your Galaxy Buds with a device that has the Galaxy Wearable app, like your Android phone. Although the Buds work on other devices without the Wearable app (like a Windows computer), the stretch feature isn’t available.
On your device, connect your Buds and then open the Wearable app. Tap “Earbuds Settings”, then “Neck Stretch Reminders.” Switch the toggle on.
It will guide you through a brief calibration process, where you look forward, down, and up—the instructions display on screen and play through the Buds.
If you ever need to recalibrate, return to the “Neck Stretch Reminders” screen, tap the three dots in the top-right, and select “Recalibrate Earbuds.”
With calibration complete and the reminders enabled, your device will alert you to stretch after 10 minutes of looking down.
It’s not worth buying the Galaxy Buds 3 just for this feature, but I think they feel and sound great, so it’s an added bonus.
Neck stretch reminders are supported on both the Buds 3 and the Buds 3 Pro, so choose whichever suits you best—I went for the former because I don’t like silicone tips on my earbuds.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3
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$12
The Galaxy Buds 3 are Samsung’s everyday earbuds, offering high-end features without the premium price tag of the Buds 3 Pro. They include 11mm dynamic drivers, active noise cancellation, and impressive battery life.
