6 months later, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the only earbuds I want to use
I hated the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. I went back to my old Buds 2 Pro within weeks of testing them and never looked back. So when Samsung sent me the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro six months ago, I wasn’t expecting much. Instead, they’ve become my daily driver, and I haven’t looked back since.
New pairs of wireless earbuds are constantly coming across my desk here at SoundGuys, especially this year, and most get a week of real use before I file them away in our increasingly crowded inventory closet to make room for whatever ships next. Six months later, the Buds 4 Pro are still what I reach for over everything new that’s come through since, and that says something.
One disclosure up front: I use a Galaxy S25 phone and laptop, so I get every exclusive ecosystem feature: seamless device switching, the higher-bitrate codec, personal hearing profiles, all of it. That’s part of why these have stuck. But it’s not the whole story, since I had that same advantage with the Buds 3 Pro, and it wasn’t enough to save them.
Samsung actually fixed what bugged me
The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro tried to do too much. Samsung adopted a whole new triangular stem-style complete with blade-lights and a bunch of AI features, and somewhere in all that ambition, the fundamentals slipped. The ANC took a real step back from the Buds 2 Pro, and the swipe controls were fussy enough that I never fully got used to them. As such, I never used them as my daily driver. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro feel like Samsung took a step back, reassessed, and fixed the actual problems instead of piling on more features.
Samsung has really hit their stride with the design.
For starters, they’re plenty comfortable, smaller than both the Sony WF-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, and I can wear them through commutes to work and calls without ear fatigue for four or five hours. Past that, the silicone-only tips start to hurt, and I would have appreciated a memory foam option.
The transparent lid lets you easily see if your earbuds are in fact inside the case.
The pinch-and-swipe controls are much more intuitive, too, functioning a lot like the AirPods Pro, with swiping along the front of the stem instead of the Buds 3 Pro’s triangular surface. I don’t miss the Blade Lights, either, and actually prefer the brushed metal plating. It’s a little more classy while still being flashy.
Even the case got better: more compact, more pocketable, and the transparent lid better serves its purpose of letting me confirm both earbuds are inside before tossing it in my bag, which was harder with the Buds 3 Pro’s smoked lid. The only other earbuds I can think of with a case like this are the Nothing Earbuds.
The ANC and calls hold up where it counts
Design wasn’t the only thing that needed fixing. The ANC caught back up, and then some, holding up through a loud office, a windy commute, even a loud smoothie shop blender. I’ve also really grown to appreciate the Adaptive mode, where the buds will reliably switch to transparency mode as soon as I start talking, in time for me to hear what the other person has to say. It’s never failed me so far and is really convenient for ordering a quick coffee on the go without having to take out my earbuds.
Call quality is more fit-dependent than I’d like, though. These use a mix of regular mics and bone-conduction pickups to isolate your voice, and when the seal is off even slightly, the bone conduction pickup doesn’t quite trip right, and I’ve been told more than once that I sound pretty muffled.
The sound and the Samsung extras that keep me here
Fit issues aside, everything else about living with these day-to-day just works, starting with the sound, which is where a lot of earbuds lose me after the honeymoon period. Paired with my Galaxy phone, there’s just enough added bass without sounding boomy or dark. I lean on the Clear EQ preset most, with some custom tweaks for whatever I’m listening to.
Most features are exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices.
Part of that’s the codec. On a compatible Samsung phone, I get Samsung Seamless Codec instead of being stuck with SBC or AAC, and I’m able to notice it, especially on busier tracks where instruments can smear together. To my ears, the sound quality feels comparable to LDAC, and anecdotally, I’ve noticed fewer connection dropouts than I get with other codecs.
Samsung’s software touches provide a lot of daily convenience.
There’s also the convenience of controlling the earbuds without opening an app. Much like AirPods on iPhone, swiping down on my phone puts the earbud controls right in the quick settings panel next to whatever music app I’m currently playing from. No digging into a separate app to switch ANC modes or check battery level. It’s the kind of small thing that makes going back to a non-Samsung pair feel like a struggle.
The one real miss is true multipoint. Because both my devices are Samsung, my buds pair instantly between my phone and laptop, but that’s not built into the earbuds themselves. Anyone on a non-Samsung device would have to download the Galaxy Wear app just to get similar switching, which they shouldn’t have to, since other earbuds can just do that over Bluetooth.
The best earbuds, especially for Samsung users
6 months later, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are my favorite Samsung earbuds thus far.
Overall, this is the best experience I’ve had from Samsung’s earbuds lineup, and I didn’t expect to end up here. I went in without much optimism after the Buds 3 Pro, ready to jump ship to another brand. Instead, six months and a rotating cast of review units later, these are still what I put on without thinking twice. That’s not something I can say about most of what crosses my desk.
After a rough go with the last generation, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro earned a spot in my pocket.
At $249, they’re not cheap, and a lot of what makes them worth it depends on owning a recent Samsung phone, so wait for a sale. They’ve shown up on Amazon with solid discounts more than once since launch. I’m also keeping an eye on the rumored Galaxy Buds 4 FE, which might end up the smarter buy with Samsung bringing sealed ear tips down to a lower price. For now, though, this is the pair I’m not giving up.
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