Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro could see a big jump in battery life (APK teardown)

The next generation of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds is on the way. Over the last few months, we have been uncovering a variety of information about the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro. Recently, we spotted a few details about the battery capacities and a new “Head Gestures” feature hiding in strings of code of a leaked One UI 8.5 build. Since discovering this information, these strings have been updated to provide more details and context.

Back in early December, we learned that the Buds 4 would have a battery capacity of 42mAh, while the Buds 4 Pro would come with a 57mAh battery. At the time, the words “typical capacity” appeared next to these numbers, leading us to believe these were the typical battery sizes for both models. However, a recent update reveals these are the rated capacities, rather than the typical capacities. It turns out that the typical capacity for the Buds 4 is 45mAh, while we can expect a 61mAh capacity for the Buds 4 Pro.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between typical and rated capacity, here’s a quick explanation. The typical capacity refers to the average actual capacity of a battery in a production batch, based on the manufacturer’s specified charging and discharging conditions. Rated capacity, on the other hand, refers to the guaranteed minimum capacity that a battery will have.

For comparison, the Galaxy Buds 3 have a typical battery capacity of 48mAh, while the Buds 3 Pro features a 53mAh battery. That means the Buds 4 will still see a slight dip in capacity compared to the last generation. However, the Pro version of the earbuds is receiving a significant boost. This would actually bring the capacity back up to the same level as the Buds 2 Pro, which also has a typical capacity of 61mAh.

Before spotting the battery capacities last month, we found that Samsung was working on integrating a new “Head Gestures” feature in the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. According to the old string of code we discovered, this feature would allow users to do the following:

• Respond to calls, notifications, and more by nodding or shaking head
• Hear notifications aloud or stop the reading
• Dismiss alarms, timers, Calendar alerts, and Reminder alerts
• Answer yes/no questions or end conversations with an AI assistant
• Hands-free control for when speaking or touching phone isn’t possible

However, Samsung has now updated the string in a way that suggests that the nod and head shake gestures may be limited to answering or declining calls, answering yes-or-no questions when talking to Bixby, and ending a conversation with Bixby. As such, it appears you may not be able to use Head Gestures for listening to notifications or dismissing alarms, timers, Calendar alerts, and Reminder alerts.