I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and I’m totally addicted to the sound

7.5/10

Battery Life

6hrs / 26hrs ANC, 7hrs / 30hrs ANC Off

Noise Cancellation

Yes

IP Rating

IP57

Microphones

6

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have a modern, cool design and a wonderful smooth sound, but some features are unfortunately hidden away.

Pros & Cons

• Light earbuds are very comfortable
• Long battery life
• Silky smooth sound
• Excellent transparency mode

• You need the latest Samsung phone to get all the features
• Wear app not available for iOS
• Earbud controls may be too small for some

Samsung had a mad five minutes when it designed its last pair of in-ear earbuds, but for the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, it has decided to be much more sensible.

What’s interesting is that the maturity of design has continued into the sound of the earbuds. However, has this made the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro a bit, well, boring?

Not at all. I’ve been listening to them for a few weeks, and here’s what they’re like.

Specs, price, and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro cost $250 or £219, and come in black or white. The price is the same as the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

It makes them a little more expensive than the $229 Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, but less than the $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Gen 2), and the same price as the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

They can be purchased directly through Samsung’s online store, through Amazon, Best Buy, and many other retailers now.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro design and comfort

So light, you’ll forget they’re there

For some reason, Samsung received a lot of hate for the design of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and it’s something I never understood. I liked the sharp angles and LED lights, but that flair has all been removed from the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, replaced by cool maturity defined by brushed metal and simple shapes.

The benefit comes in a reduction in size and weight, and the earbuds are so minimalist, you barely feel them in your ears. I think it’s a huge benefit, and I find the Buds 4 Pro supremely comfortable to wear for long periods. This lightness extends to the case, too. I’ve been using the white version, but you can also get a black model.

The brushed metal finish on the stems looks great, giving the earbuds a modern, serious appearance. The internal design of the case is more sensible than the top-down loading of the Buds 3 Pro, and it’s easier to quickly put the earbuds into the case. The magnetic lid has a strong enough connection to keep them safely inside, too.

There are small, medium, and large earbud tips included, and I’ve stayed with the standard medium fit. They have provided a secure fit in my ear, and haven’t worked completely loose even during exercise. The tips are quite long, though, and I suspect some people may find they come loose if their ear canals are short.

The case’s design isn’t very inspiring, and while some may appreciate its lightweight, others may think it feels a bit cheap. It’s nowhere near as cute or high quality as the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2’s case, and lacks the futuristic coolness of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro’s case.

An IP57 dust and water resistance rating gives some peace of mind, but I wouldn’t want to accidentally step on the case, as the lightness suggests it wouldn’t be especially durable in this kind of situation.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro sound

Silky smooth

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro’s standard audio profile delivers a silky smooth sound that’s a world apart from the Nothing Headphone (a) that I tested before them. There’s enough bass to be felt, but it’s never overpowering, and the vocals shine.

I was surprised at the amount of detail in the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro’s sound, demonstrating how well the two-way drivers are controlled, as even complex music tracks never get muddled or distorted. I love how clean they sound, and it makes for a relaxed listening experience, where you can enjoy catching little details in the music.

The excellent sound is addictive, and I’ve found myself not only listening to my current favorites and podcasts, but going back and revisiting music I haven’t heard for a while, just to hear how the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro makes it sound. I love this in earbuds and headphones.

It means the maturity in the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro’s design carries over into the way they sound. I don’t think they’re especially “fun,” but you can play around with the equalizer in the app if you want a heavier sound. However, I’ve always returned to the stock sound, as it’s so well balanced.

You can control the sound using the touch panels on the earbud’s stems. The panel is easy to locate with your fingertip, and volume adjustment is instant, plus it is accompanied by a handy “tap” so you know it registered your touch. It takes quite a strong pinch-and-hold to adjust the ANC, and the gesture can be customized to call either Gemini or Bixby in the Wear app.

It’s worth noting the stems are quite short, and they sit close to your earlobe, so the sausage-fingered may find the touch panels a little hard to locate.

There’s the option to have notifications announced through the earbuds. By default, it’s set to “read briefly,” which so far has meant it tells you, in a sing-song voice, the name of the app with a notification. If you switch to more detail, it’ll add the name of the person, and in apps like Gmail, the subject line too.

There doesn’t seem to be any way to interact with the notifications like you can on iOS using AirPods, so you’ll be pulling your phone out if you want to see or reply to the notification.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro noise cancellation

Comfortable, but not entirely isolating

The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) performance is very good. It’s effective without being too strong, and there’s no pressure or even a hint of background hiss when it’s operating. The transparency mode is one of the best I’ve used, and it’s just like you’re not wearing them at all.

Using the ANC in the outside world dulls traffic noise, but not quite as well as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2), and there is a small amount of intrusive wind noise when it’s gusty, but not under normal circumstances. If you want total isolation from the world, these aren’t the earbuds for you, but in most other circumstances, they’re fine.

In the Wear app, you can select Ambient Sound, Adaptive, or full ANC, and there’s a level adjustment too. There’s an Auto Switch mode, which activates Ambient Sound mode when it detects voices or an emergency siren. I found this was a little temperamental in cafés, where people close by would sometimes cause it to activate.

More useful is the auto switch to ambient mode during calls, which really does help conversations sound more natural, and I didn’t raise my voice unnecessarily. Calls sounded good to me, and other parties have never mentioned issues with hearing me speak.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro app and compatibility

A lot of caveats to know

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are best suited for use with an Android phone, and ideally a Samsung model, due to the availability of the Galaxy Wearable app.

While the earbuds connect to iOS, the app is not available, and you’re limited to basic controls on the earbuds to adjust the volume, play/pause, and switching between ANC and transparency mode. That said, because the standard sound profile is so good, they still sound great paired to an iPhone.

I’ve used the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro with an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and there are two key differences between the experience on the two Android phones.

You will need a Samsung phone to activate Spatial Audio, a feature missing from the Pixel’s menu, and the interactive head gesture controls require the latest Samsung One UI 8.5 software. If your phone does not have the software installed, the feature will not show up.

There are also a few design differences between the two apps, plus on a Samsung phone, you can access all the Wear app’s features through the Quick Settings without opening the app. If you want to automatically switch between two paired devices, try Super Wideband audio for calls, and use the Galaxy AI translation features, these are also only available with certain Samsung devices.

All the desirable ANC and sound-related features are inside the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, but Samsung is gatekeeping a little here. It’s a shame there’s no Wear app for iOS, several features require certain Samsung devices to work, and Samsung phone owners who haven’t got the latest One UI software will miss out on head gestures.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro battery life and charging

Enough for a week’s worth of use

Battery life will depend on whether you use ANC or not. According to Samsung, music playback will reach six hours with ANC on, and seven hours without ANC. The case provides 26 hours of music playback in total with ANC, or 30 hours without.

The case can be recharged using a USB C cable or wirelessly. The case charged using the Anker Prime Wireless Charger’s Qi2 platform, but at a pretty slow 2.2W.

I’ve only used them with ANC active, and have found between five and six hours music playback is realistic. The case has 20% charge remaining after solid use over a five-day period, so a week’s worth of listening for an hour or so per day without a charge cycle seems easily achievable.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro?

Yes, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are a great purchase, but there are some caveats that are important to know. If you own a Samsung phone, particularly one with One UI 8.5, they’re the best choice. If you own an iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3 will give you more features for the same price.

Other Android phone owners may want to think twice, as there are features that aren’t available on a non-Samsung phone. Consider the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds as well.

Buy the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and you’ll love the comfortable, lightweight fit of the earbuds, the smooth, balanced sound with masses of detail, plus good battery life and effective ANC.

7.5/10

Battery Life

6hrs / 26hrs ANC, 7hrs / 30hrs ANC Off

Noise Cancellation

Yes

IP Rating

IP57

Microphones

6

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have a modern design, smooth sound, and good battery life. It would be fantastic if all the features and the app were more widely available, but (somewhat understandably) it’s Samsung phone owners who benefit most. They’re still a good buy though.