Samsung Updates Galaxy Buds With Improved Noise-Canceling and Sound

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Samsung unveiled its latest flagship smartphones at its Unpacked event in San Francisco this week. For audio enthusiasts, the brand also revealed its latest noise-canceling earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and Buds 4. The earbuds feature a redesigned look, enhanced active noise-canceling, and some handy new features, like head-gesture controls that let you accept or decline calls with a nod or shake of the head.

While many of the upgrades are fairly modest, where they shine is in sound quality. They feature a dual-driver design with a larger woofer, plus a dual-amplifier in each earbud. And they have some features, like multiband customizable EQ, that set them apart from rivals like Apple’s AirPods.

Design and Construction

Samsung revamped the look of the Buds 4 Pro and Buds 4, with a flatter stem and metallic accents. It’s a departure from the angular, aggressively styled look of the Buds 3. Like AirPods, the Buds 4 Pro and base models vary by eartip style. The 4 features a semi-open design, without silicone eartips, while the Pro 4 has a sealed design with removable silicone eartips. The stems have stylish metallic accents, while the case maintains the transparent lid design found on the last generation’s model. As for battery life, it’s fairly average, with up to six hours with ANC on and 26 total with the case.

Controls and Features

Samsung took a page from Apple with the Buds 4 app controls, moving them from the separate Wearable app directly to the settings menu and control panel. The move is designed to integrate more seamlessly with Samsung phones, but it also reflects a trend among tech brands of building ever taller walls in their ecosystems. While these earbuds will work with non-Samsung devices, it’ll undoubtedly be a worse experience.

The earbud controls are similar to those on AirPods: sliding the controls adjusts volume, while pinching the stems pauses playback. It’s dependable and intuitive, although the sensor area is somewhat small.

You also get the live translation feature that Samsung introduced with the Buds 3, plus features like wear detection and ANC that automatically switches to ambient mode when you start talking so you can hear your voice.

Sound Quality and Noise-Canceling

The Pro 4 model features a dual-driver design with a separate woofer and tweeter, plus a dual-amp design. What that translates to is punchy, clear bass without muddiness and crisp highs and vocals. The soundstage is full and expansive, with instruments that surround you. You also get 24-bit audio with Samsung’s codec, resulting in higher-resolution audio.

The noise-canceling performance is solid, capably handling bustling streets or background conversations. Louder sounds and higher frequencies can still sneak through, but it’s a big leap over the underwhelming ANC of the 2024 model. You can also adjust the ANC level yourself, or choose Adaptive ANC, which adjusts automatically. Still, you won’t quite get the monastic silence of earbuds like Apple’s AirPods or Bose’s QuietComfort Ultras.

Verdict

While I haven’t tested these at length, it’s clear that Samsung made improvements where it counts — the noise-canceling is better, the design is more appealing, and there are a handful of new ease-of-use features.

Samsung may not have taken any big swings — there are no headline-grabbing features like 40-hour battery life or built-in heart-rate monitors, for example. But what Samsung seems to be betting on is sound quality — and it’s a good bet.