Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Samsung has promised “more than just a design refresh” for the premium new Galaxy Buds — it’s added upgraded speakers for improved Hi-Fi and dual-audio sound, a new blade design, clearer call performance, and better noise cancellation. Ultimately, though, the Galaxy Buds 4’s $249.99 price tag isn’t huge A leap forward over the previous model, it maintains what it was good at Buds 3 And most of what isn’t is improved – as long as you use Samsung Galaxy devices.
This is because it is very similar AirPods Pro 3 With Apple Gear, the Buds 4 Pro still work best when paired with another Galaxy device. This unlocks all Buds 4 Pro functions, including Hi-Res Audio support, voice wake-up for Gemini and Bixby, head gestures to call and control Bixby, instant translation, OracastAutomatic switching and high-resolution voice calls. Some of these headphones are available with an Android device running the Galaxy Wear app, but for iPhones, Windows devices, and gaming consoles, the headphones can only handle standard audio, calls, and toggling ANC on and off. This may be a good business decision, but it limits who can fully enjoy the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
One improvement I was happy to see in the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro over the previous version is a better, more consistent sound profile. I found the Buds 3 Pro to be a bit noisy, with certain frequencies in vocals sticking out more than they should. There was a similar problem with high-end music, and I didn’t want to listen to it for long periods of time. But the Buds 4 Pro fixed that. The midrange in particular is smoother, which allowed me to sit back more and enjoy Chris Cornell’s soaring voice on “Black Hole Sun” and “Superunknown.” Matt Cameron’s hi-hat helps drive the groove while the cymbal hits punctuate the percussive hits throughout without piercing through.
The bass levels on the Buds 4 Pro are right on the edge for me, and it really depends on the music whether it adds extra driving force or overkill. The kick drum during the verses of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” is a little more present than it is He should is, but it also gives an extra pulse and depth before the whole band gets into the chorus. But the amazing drum sounds and driving bass of “Uprising” by Muse are a little too much for what I’m used to. It’s by no means excessive or out of control – and I’m sure many will love the extra low end and think I’m an idiot – but it can start to cover some of the midrange presence. Fortunately, it can be easily adjusted using the app’s 9-band equalizer.
If you have a Galaxy device, the Buds 4 Pro support 24-bit/96kHz Hi-Res audio from the streaming apps that offer it (my favorite is Qobuz). The differences are subtle and depend on the track, but with Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage” the high-resolution version was a little more spacious. As the song begins with the organ and wonderful backup singers coming in, you can feel the individual character each voice brings.
Another point of improvement is the active noise cancellation of the headphones. They do an excellent job with low frequencies, so the rumble of aircraft engines during flights will be properly tamed, and a decent job with those annoying mid-range frequencies that almost all earbuds have trouble with. Performance isn’t quite as good as the AirPods Pro 3, Bose Ultra, or Sony WF-1000XM6, but it’s a huge improvement over the Buds Pro 3. In the app, it’s possible to adjust the intensity of both the ANC and Transparency mode to give you more awareness options when you’re out in the world.
The Galaxy Buds use an array of six microphones and a voice pickup unit that helps the microphones focus on your voice, and during calls they do an excellent job of isolating sound and blocking out things like wind, traffic, nearby people, or loud noises. So much so that my friend couldn’t hear the car alarm across the street during our call, or any traffic as I walked down the busy San Fernando Valley street. The trade-off was a heavy dose of stress added to my voice, but I was still easily understood.
For those with a Galaxy device, Samsung includes an Ultra Wide Band audio option, which increases call bandwidth to 16kHz and can be turned on in the Buds 4 Pro’s menus. I recorded several sample phone calls — one with ultra-wide band turned on using the Galaxy S26 Plus, one with it turned off (while using a Galaxy phone), and one with an iPhone — all while walking the same few blocks on a busy street during rush hour. The ultra-wide range makes a slight improvement in sound quality, but I only noticed it listening to samples back-to-back. Is it nice to have? certainly. Critical to calls? Absolutely not. There’s no reason not to play it if you have a Galaxy device, but those without one aren’t missing out much.
The Galaxy Buds still have the AirPods stem design that they first adopted with the Buds 3, but Samsung has made some changes for the better. The silly LEDs along the torso are gone, replaced with a metal strip that Samsung refers to as the “blade design,” and they’ve added a third online-exclusive color, rose gold, to go along with the black and white. The metal strip looks like a capacitive touch, but it’s actually just a decoration. Capacitive controls are located on either side of the stem and work with both swipe (for volume) and tap (to toggle ANC, pause/play, track controls, activate Assistant, and call controls) motions. Which earbud controls what can be customized in the Buds 4 Pro settings on your device, whether it’s Galaxy or Android.
There are only three sizes of ear tips that come with the Galaxy Buds, while many other earbuds are starting to include additional smaller and larger options. I’ve been able to get a secure fit with the medium tips, and I’ve never had to worry about losing them even when I’m running. And since the Galaxy Buds are IP57, they make a good set of earbuds for working out.
Ported over from the Buds 3 is a transparent top charging case, so you can show off your earbuds while charging (do people do that?). It’s a clamshell design with wireless charging that fits well in small pockets and is smaller than AirPods cases. Sony WF-1000XM6and XM5And much smaller than the huge one Bose Ultra headphones.
Yes, the Galaxy Buds are still, very much like Apple’s AirPods, a device primarily designed for a walled garden — the ones in the Galaxy ecosystem — but their performance is now much more positive compared to the popular earbuds. They look really good, have ANC performance that’s now worth their price, and — if you’re using a Galaxy device — include features like Auracast, Hi-Res Audio, and auto switching.
But this exclusivity means that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro aren’t for everyone. I certainly wouldn’t recommend them to an iPhone user (in the same way I wouldn’t recommend the AirPods to anyone but an Apple user), and non-Galaxy Android users should also consider the Technics AZ100, Sony-WF1000XM5, or Bose Ultra Earbuds. For anyone with a Galaxy phone, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the best choice.
Photography by Amelia Holowaty Kralis/The Verge
Follow topics and authors From this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and receive email updates.