Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 vs Apple AirPods 4 ANC: same problem, different ecosystem

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 and Apple’s AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are about as head-to-head as it gets: both are $179 unsealed stem-style earbuds with ANC, rated IP54, and designed with deep ecosystem integration in mind. If you’re already in one camp, the choice is obvious. But if you’re on the fence — or switching platforms — it’s worth understanding what you’re trading.

The short version: the AirPods 4 ANC edge out the Buds 4 on ANC performance and battery life, while the Buds 4 offer a better case, more customization, and stronger feature parity across Android devices. Neither is a great pick if you need reliable noise isolation.

What’s it like to use the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 compared to the Apple AirPods 4?

The biggest similarity is that both earbuds use an unsealed design. That means no ear tips, no rubber fin, nothing to create a physical seal inside your ear canal. Instead, the stem on both rests between the ridges of your outer ear and stays put through geometry alone. Whether that works depends entirely on your ear shape. Some people find unsealed earbuds more comfortable for long wear because there’s no pressure in the canal; others find them unstable, prone to shifting, or more likely to fall out during activity. Neither earbud offers a way to adjust the fit beyond repositioning.

That said, the two earbuds feel different in hand and in use. The Buds 4 feature a flat-faced stem with a brushed-metal finish and are available in both Black and White. The AirPods 4 ANC have a slimmer stem by comparison, and only come in a glossy white plastic. Both are controlled via pinch gestures along the front of the stem, and both support head gestures (nod to answer, shake to decline). Both earbuds are rated IP54, covering sweat and splash resistance but not submersion.

Where Samsung pulls ahead is the case. The Buds 4 ship in a flat clamshell with a transparent lid, which is easy to open and take the buds in and out of. The AirPods case, however, adds a speaker to play sounds during Find My tracking, unlike the Buds 4 case.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 or Apple AirPods 4 have more features?

The Buds 4 have the deeper feature set on paper, and the biggest practical advantage is sound customization. Samsung gives you a 9-band custom EQ plus multiple presets, while the AirPods 4 ANC have no EQ at all — what you hear is what you get. The Buds 4 also let you dial in ANC and transparency strength individually on a 5-band slider, whereas the AirPods just give you on or off. Beyond that, the Buds 4 add 360 audio recording, Find My earbuds, Auracast support, and voice assistant access for Google Gemini and Bixby powered by Perplexity — not just a single assistant. Ultra-high-quality audio (UHQ) and super-wideband speech are locked to Samsung devices, but the core feature set works with any Android phone.

Both have plenty of features locked to their respective ecosystems.

Likewise, the AirPods 4 ANC lean on iOS integration for their best features. Both earbuds offer adaptive noise control that automatically adjusts between ANC and ambient sound based on your environment, and both will detect when you start speaking and switch modes accordingly. Apple calls these Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness; Samsung’s adaptive noise control does the same job under different branding. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and head tracking are available on the AirPods side. The Buds 4 also support spatial audio playback, and separately offer 360 audio recording — capturing spatial audio through the earbuds’ mics. That recording feature is not on the AirPods, but if you’re not on an iPhone, you lose most of it — the AirPods 4 ANC on Android is a stripped-down experience by comparison.

Overall, the Buds 4 are the better cross-platform option. The AirPods 4 ANC are the better iOS option.

How do the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 and Apple AirPods 4 connect?

Both use Bluetooth with AAC support. The Buds 4 run Bluetooth 6.1; the AirPods 4 ANC use Bluetooth 5.3. Samsung Galaxy device owners unlock Samsung Seamless Codec for near-lossless audio. Neither supports true multipoint out of the box — the Buds 4 require the Samsung app on each device to switch, while AirPods handle multi-device switching automatically within the Apple ecosystem. For cross-device use outside your primary ecosystem, both have friction.

Is battery life better on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 or Apple AirPods 4?

The AirPods 4 ANC win here. In SoundGuys testing, they lasted 6 hours 21 minutes on a single charge, and the Samsung Buds 4 lasted 4 hours and 56 minutes. Total with case is 30 hours for the AirPods vs. 24 for the Buds 4. The AirPods case supports USB-C, Qi, MagSafe, and Apple Watch chargers; the Buds 4 case charges via USB-C.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 or Apple AirPods 4 block noise better?

Both run into the same wall: ANC without a seal has a hard ceiling. Neither earbud offers much in the way of reliable passive isolation, so the active noise canceling is doing most of the work with limited help from physics.

That said, the AirPods 4 ANC perform better here. Apple’s H2 chip manages to cancel roughly 20dB in the mids and highs with an typycal fit. Low-frequency noise still passes through, but the mid- and high-frequency attenuation is at least useful for commuting or office environments.

If ANC is your top priority overall, both are outclassed by sealed alternatives at this price.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 sound better than the Apple AirPods 4?

Both earbuds face the same acoustic tradeoff: no seal means bass is variable and dependent on fit, and immersiveness (stereo width and spatial depth) is limited by the open design. Neither will satisfy a critical listener.

The Buds 4 have a steeper sub-bass roll off than the AirPods 4 ANC. Neither delivers much low-end weight, but the AirPods hold on a bit longer before falling away. Where the Buds 4 diverge is in the upper midrange and treble, which can sound bright or shrill on certain recordings. The Smooth EQ preset helps rein that in. The AirPods 4 ANC have their own sibilance issues, but track closer to neutral overall in the mids.

The bigger variable is fit stability. The Buds 4’s bass characteristics are noticeably better when seated properly, but any movement or skin oil can undo that quickly.

Objective Measurements

As you can see in the chart above, both earbuds fall well short of our house curve in the bass region — expected for unsealed designs — though the Buds 4 roll off more steeply, dropping sharply below 100Hz to nearly -20dB by 20Hz. The AirPods 4 ANC roll off too, but more gradually and closer to our curve through the upper bass. Through the midrange, both track reasonably well before diverging again in the treble, where the Buds 4 push notably above it around 3–5kHz. The AirPods stay closer to the curve across the mids and highs.

How would most people rate the sound from 1 to 5?

The MDAQS results reveal a clear split in strengths. The Buds 4 score significantly higher on Timbre (4.2 vs 2.5), suggesting more faithful frequency reproduction when seated. The AirPods 4 ANC, however, beat them on both Distortion (4.0 vs 3.4) and Immersiveness (3.6 vs 2.0) — the latter boosted by Apple’s spatial audio processing. The Buds 4 come out ahead overall (3.8 vs 3.3), but the AirPods are the cleaner, more spatially convincing listen.

Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 or Apple AirPods 4 have a better microphone?

The Galaxy Buds 4 win on microphone quality. In testing, noise rejection was very impressive across conditions — outside noise rarely overpowered speech, and voices came through clearly even in busy environments. Super-Wideband support (on Samsung devices) adds a naturalness to call quality that most earbuds at this price don’t offer.

The AirPods 4 ANC perform well in typical use cases and benefit from on-device AI noise processing when paired with an iPhone, but that processing advantage disappears on other devices.

Both are fine for calls. The Buds 4 have the edge in more demanding conditions and on non-Apple devices.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Apple AirPods 4 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Apple AirPods 4 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 vs Apple AirPods 4: Price and availability

Both are priced at $179 USD and available now. The Galaxy Buds 4 launched on February 25, 2026; the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation launched in September 2024.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 price history

Apple AirPods 4 ANC price history

Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 or Apple AirPods 4?

The AirPods 4 ANC have the edge on battery life, ANC performance, less distortion, and a better sense of space in the music. The Buds 4 hit back with more accurate frequency reproduction, better microphone quality, significantly more sound customization, and a feature set that works across Android without compromise.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to ecosystem — if you’re on iPhone, the AirPods 4 ANC are the natural fit; if you’re on Android, the Buds 4 offer more for your money.

What should you get instead of the Galaxy Buds 4 or AirPods 4 ANC?

If fit reliability and ANC performance are what you’re actually after, step up to a sealed design. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro () is the obvious upgrade from the Buds 4 — sealed tips, Adaptive ANC 2.0, and better audio hardware. On the Apple side, the AirPods Pro 2 or Pro 3 () remain the standard for sealed ANC earbuds in the Apple ecosystem and now double as a hearing aid for eligible users. For Android owners who want best-in-class ANC without the ecosystem lock-in, the Sony WF-1000XM6 () is the benchmark to beat.