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Samsung's answer to the AirPods Max leaks with touch controls, head tracking, and more
Sep 11, 2026 — 9:27 AM ET
- Samsung’s upcoming over-ear headphones have leaked again.
- The leak reveals clues about upcoming features, including a mix of physical and touch controls, various ANC features, head tracking, and more.
- The headphones would also support automatic shutdown after not being used for a certain duration.
For almost a decade, Samsung has limited itself to making in-ear earbuds under the Galaxy Buds lineup. It seems as though that could change soon, with Samsung now experimenting with new design formats, including clip-on buds and sports-centric ear hooks that go around the ear. Along with these, Samsung also seems to be working on an over-the-ear design — its first pair of over-ear headphones since 2015, taking on the Sony WH-1000XM series as well as the AirPods Max.
Last month, we first learned about these headphones in development, internally referred to as “Galaxy H1.” But apart from the internal identifier and some icon hinting at the format, we didn’t have much information. Now, another report sheds light on the likely model number and key features of the upcoming headphones.
Physical and touch controls
Several new references to the Galaxy H1 were discovered by SammyGuru, including possible information about noise cancellation modes, head tracking, and more. According to the leak, Samsung’s H1 headphones will offer both physical buttons and touch controls, like most popular headphones from Sony and Bose. One of these buttons on the left earcup will let users cycle between different ANC modes.
The description also says users must select at least two ANC modes, suggesting the headphones could also support an Adaptive mode, just like the Galaxy Buds 4. Activating the Ambient mode will require users to double-press the same button.
The right earcup, on the other hand, will feature a capacitive touchpad to control media playback, the same way you can on a Sony WH-1000XM6 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (as well as their predecessors). On top of that, the headphones will also offer some customizable touch-and-hold controls, but we don’t have a clue about what those would be.
Conversation mode
Samsung’s headphones could also offer an automatic Conversation mode, switching from noise cancellation to Ambient mode when you or someone around you starts speaking. This would allow you to engage in the conversation without taking the headphones off.
Just like the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, this wouldn’t automatically pause the media being played but would suppress it to a volume low enough to make it easier to listen. And as with any other premium pair, the Galaxy headphones would switch back to the previous ANC mode a few seconds after you stop speaking.
Head Tracking
Internal cues also point to 360-degree spatial audio with head tracking on the Galaxy H1 headphones. That means the audio direction adjusts to your head movements, creating the sense that the audio source stays stationary even as your head moves. This feature is already available across a host of headphones and earbuds, including Galaxy Buds and AirPods.
However, unlike these earbuds, the headphones may not support head gestures to control media playback or to receive or end calls.
Automatic shutdown
To ensure your headphones’ battery does not get depleted when you’re wearing them, Samsung is likely to add an automatic shutdown timer. This, as you can expect, would turn the headphones off automatically after a certain duration. The cues suggest users will be able to choose among different countdown options, including 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours.
Additionally, another reference suggests that if the headphones are not connected to any device and have their ANC turned off, they would automatically shut down after 30 minutes.
It’s not immediately clear whether these headphones will also support wear detection or rely only on device connection status to determine when to shut down automatically.
USB connection
The code discovered by SammyGuru also talks about a state when USB is connected to the headphones. However, it does not guarantee whether the headphones will also be able to play audio over USB or just detect when they’re connected for charging.
While it’s not exactly confirmed that these would be wireless headphones, there’s a very good chance they are, especially looking at the representational graphics that have leaked. If it supports playback over USB, the headphones would have a great advantage over Sony’s flagship WH series, which only supports wired playback over the 3.5mm interface.
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