TL;DR
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have arrived with a sleek redesign and a promise of premium audio. Featuring a dual-driver system, these earbuds deliver breathtaking sound and top-tier noise cancellation that holds its own in any environment. However, this flagship experience comes with a significant caveat: to unlock high-resolution audio and exclusive features like real-time translation and head gestures, you must stay within the Samsung ecosystem. While the fit is excellent and call quality is crystal clear thanks to innovative bone-conduction technology, the average battery life and lack of universal Multipoint support may be dealbreakers for non-Samsung users. Are these a must-have for Galaxy loyalists or an expensive gamble for everyone else? We break down the performance, the proprietary quirks, and whether they truly justify the premium price tag. Dive into our full review for the complete verdict.
In conjunction with Samsung launching this year’s edition of its flagship smartphones, the company also took the opportunity to present Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. These are a pair of maxed-out earbuds that look very impressive on paper.
When we tested the simpler version from the previous generation, Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE, we were impressed by how much sound quality and noise cancellation you got for your money. Now, we’re looking at a price tag that is twice as high. But are they really twice as good? Let’s find out!
Design and Fit
Samsung has redesigned them since the previous generation. The slightly angular stem is gone, replaced by a flat variant where one side is finished in metal. Most of us on the editorial team think it looks really stylish. However, someone pointed out that it can look a bit strange in the ear when the metal only covers parts of the bud.
The fit, on the other hand, is very good. Everyone who has tested the earbuds says immediately that they are easy to insert and that they create a tight seal in the ears.
Something we absolutely dislike, however, is how the silicone tips are attached. Samsung has moved away from the common round standard and opted for a completely proprietary solution. This is bad in several ways. To start with, the tips are attached extremely firmly, making it unnecessarily difficult to change sizes. Furthermore, if you want to use tips from a third-party manufacturer, it’s virtually impossible.
The charging case has also received an overhaul. The stylish transparent lid remains, but the case now lies flat and you open the entire top, instead of just the top of a standing case like in previous generations. This makes it significantly smoother to both remove and replace the earbuds.
Regarding durability, the earbuds themselves have an IP57 rating, but the case lacks any IP certification.
Sound Quality and Software
As soon as we start playing a few test tracks, we notice that Samsung has stepped it up a few notches from the Buds 3 FE. It sounds really, really good. Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are powered by a combination of an 11-millimeter dynamic bass driver and a 5.5-millimeter planar tweeter.
Cowboy Junkies Postcard Blues sounds fantastic. The instrument separation and detail reproduction are incredible. The bass in James Blake’s Limit to Your Love rumbles along properly—almost a bit too much, actually. We test more bass-heavy tracks and realize that the default profile is somewhat generous in the lower frequencies. It doesn’t sound bad, but it’s a bit too much of a good thing. After adjusting the equalizer slightly, however, it sounds absolutely brilliant. No matter what we throw at the earbuds, we are very satisfied, and every genre is handled excellently.
There is, however, one major reservation when it comes to the sound. We tested the earbuds with a Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. If you stay within Samsung’s ecosystem, there is support for the company’s proprietary SSC UHQ codec, which delivers 24-bit audio at 96 kHz. If you have a phone from another manufacturer, however, you’ll have to settle for AAC or SBC. With a pair of earbuds that sound this good, it’s truly disappointing to lose high-resolution support.
If you use a Samsung phone, no special software is needed, as everything is built-in from the start. If you use another Android phone, you have to install the Samsung Wearable app. If you’re an iPhone user, you’ll have to manage without any app at all.
Unfortunately, a large number of features are locked specifically to Samsung. If you don’t have a phone from the manufacturer, you miss out on head gestures (the ability to answer calls with a nod or reject them with a shake of the head), real-time translation with support for over twenty languages, HD Voice, 360 Audio, and quite a bit more. Much of this is perhaps “nice to have” rather than “must have.” But something we truly miss, just as we complained about in the review of Buds 3 FE, is true Multipoint outside of the ecosystem.
This is nothing short of abysmal. If you buy a pair of headphones for nearly 3,000 SEK, it is incredibly poor that they don’t automatically switch between your phone and your work computer from Dell or Apple. This is something that budget earbuds costing just a few hundred SEK often handle better.
The feature does exist in the form of Samsung’s “Auto Switch,” but it requires all devices to be from Samsung and logged into the same Samsung account.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Call Quality
Samsung has taken a step up here as well. The noise cancellation is good—really good. We have tested the earbuds in all sorts of environments, and whether it’s on the subway, a busy street, or in the office, they are very effective.
The ambient sound mode (transparency) also sounds very good and reproduces sound naturally, completely without the artificial feel that many cheaper models suffer from. It is possible to configure the earbuds to automatically switch to transparency mode when you start talking or if they detect an emergency vehicle.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are equipped with a combination of standard microphones and dedicated bone-conduction microphones that pick up vibrations in the jawbone. We have conducted tests in everything from calm and quiet rooms to noisy and windy outdoor environments. The call quality is consistently very good, with clear and present voice reproduction regardless of the circumstances.
Battery Life and Charging
Here we come to perhaps the weakest point. Samsung promises six hours of playback with ANC activated, and an additional 20 hours via the case. This aligns fairly well with reality. We get just over five and a half hours at a relatively high volume with noise cancellation turned on. The case also supports wireless charging.
A total playback time of 26 hours is certainly not abysmal. However, if you look at, for example, EarFun Air Pro 4+, which costs a fraction of the price, they offer more than double the playback time.
Conclusion
The conclusion varies somewhat depending on the circumstances. Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are good at many things. They sound extremely good, the noise cancellation is top-notch, and the fit is great. But there is a big “but.” If you aren’t a Samsung user, you get a significantly curtailed experience. You pay a premium price but get heavily stripped-down functionality without high-resolution audio and miss out on the coolest features.
If you use another Android phone, you get the functionality of a mid-range model at a flagship price. If you use iOS, you have to settle for a pair of earbuds where virtually all special features are gone.
Regardless of the ecosystem you’re in, there are a few things that lower the score. The battery life is not impressive. The silicone tip solution is unnecessarily complicated. Furthermore, the lack of true Multipoint affects even those who use a Samsung phone but might work on a computer from Apple.
If you have a newer Samsung phone, want a pair of earbuds that sound fantastic, appreciate all the extra features, and are willing to pay 2,995 SEK, it is by no means a bad purchase.
On the other hand, the previous generation’s Galaxy Buds 3 FE, which can now be found for under a thousand kronor, is probably a smarter choice for your wallet.
Samsung sent review units for this test. Senders of material have no editorial influence on our tests; we always write independently with you, the readers and consumers, in focus.
