After months of leaks, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 and 4 Pro are finally here, and they’re bringing quite a few upgrades, though nothing as flashy as Apple and its AirPods Pro 3—these wireless earbuds are all about improved sound and an updated look.
The first thing you’ll probably notice is that the Galaxy Buds 4 and 4 Pro look a lot different than their Galaxy Buds 3 / 3 Pro predecessors. Instead of an angular blade design with sharp corners, the stems on these new Samsung wireless earbuds are flat with a metal finish on the outside. I’m personally into the new design both because I think it’s aesthetically pleasing (and different from AirPods) and also because I hate squeezing the previous buds’ angular stem. Likewise, the case is clear and bubbly and opens flat instead of from the top—this is a return to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro case design, and again, I’m a fan.
See Galaxy Buds4 Pro at Samsung.com
Arguably the biggest substantive upgrade to the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is the new speakers, which is great news for anyone more interested in fidelity than AI or health features. This time around, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have an 11mm “super wide” woofer and a 5mm planar tweeter, as opposed to the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which have a 10mm dynamic driver for bass and a 6.1mm planar tweeter. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro should have improved bass and a wider soundstage for frequencies to breathe as a result.
Bye-bye angular blade and hello flat stem. © Adriano Contreras / GizmodoThose differ from non-Pro Galaxy Buds 4, which are notably “open-style,” meaning they don’t have ear tips like the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, but rest in your outer ear like Apple’s AirPods 4 without ANC. The Galaxy Buds 4 feature just one speaker—an 11mm dynamic speaker—so I wouldn’t expect the same audio performance.
Another major difference between the two pairs of wireless earbuds is active noise cancellation (ANC). Naturally, since the Galaxy Buds 4 don’t have ear tips, they won’t be able to block out as much noise, but there are also technical differences between the ANC on the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. The latter comes with adaptive ANC 2.0, a feature that’s also on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Adaptive ANC 2.0 has a few perks, including conversation awareness that turns down the music volume when it detects you speaking while also increasing ambient volume so you can hear other people. It comes with features like siren detection, which activates when it hears critical alert sounds like sirens—stuff you may want to be aware of if you’re walking or biking.
Black or white? © Adriano Contreras / GizmodoSpeaking of sound differences, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro should also have slightly better call quality, with an upgraded microphone array. While both pairs of wireless earbuds have three microphones, two of the mics on the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are high signal-to-noise ratio microphones (HSNR), which are better for amplifying vocal clarity, while just one microphone on the Galaxy Buds 4 is HSNR.
There’s a small battery difference between the two pairs of wireless earbuds, too, with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro rated for 6 hours of battery life with ANC on and then regular Galaxy Buds 4 getting 5 hours. With ANC off, those figures jump to 7 hours and 6 hours, respectively. There’s also a slight difference in IP rating, with the Galaxy Buds 4 rated at IP54 and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro rated at IP57. It’s unclear if the Galaxy Buds 4 / 4 Pro have built-in wireless charging into the case. We’ve reached out to Samsung for clarification and will update this story when we receive a response.
Bubbly! © Adriano Contreras / GizmodoThere are also head gestures, which are available on both pairs of wireless earbuds and allow users to nod their head for quick actions like accepting or declining calls and playing/pausing music. If you’re not a fan of the swipe and squeeze controls, I guess this feature could be for you.
Obviously, the deciding difference for lots of people will be the price: the Galaxy Buds 4 are $179 while the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are $249, mirroring the $179 AirPods 4 and $249 AirPods Pro 3. Both pairs will come in either black or white, and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will also be available in an exclusive, online-only “pink gold” color. Both pairs of wireless earbuds will be available for preorder starting Feb. 25, while they’ll be available for general purchase on Mar. 11.
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