Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro review: Welcome to my own little world
I’ll admit it. When I first opened the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro, I wasn’t entirely convinced by the shape. They looked sleek and futuristic, but I wondered how they’d feel after an hour or two. And I have history here. My old Galaxy Buds were the little bean-shaped variety. I liked them, but my ears did not. Even relatively short periods of wear could become uncomfortable, so when Samsung started talking about the ergonomic, all-day comfort of its new Buds4 Pro, that was one claim I was particularly interested in testing.
Spoiler alert: my ears approve.
But let’s start at the beginning.
Galaxy Buds4 Pro design, case and what’s in the box
Straight up – I am a Samsung fan. Samsung knows how to make a good first impression, and the Galaxy Buds4 Pro arrive looking suitably premium. The packaging is chic and stylish without being overdone. Exactly what I’d expect from a company that has long placed emphasis on both style and substance. Inside you’ll find the Buds4 Pro in their charging case, a Quick Start Guide and three sizes of silicone ear tips (Small, Medium and Large) so you can find the best fit.
Mine came in White, although they’re also available in Black and a Samsung.com-exclusive Pink Gold (ooh bougie!).
I particularly like the hard charging case. It’s compact, feels sturdy and gives the Buds somewhere safe to live when they’re not in my ears.
The USB-C charging port is sensibly positioned on the back. That sounds like an incredibly mundane thing to praise until you’ve owned something where the charging port has been put somewhere ridiculous, such as underneath the charging case. I mean really, I hope someone was fired for that (not a samsung product).
There’s no charging cable in the box, which initially surprised me. Then I looked at the collection of USB-C cables already breeding around my house and decided perhaps Samsung has a point. If you already own a reasonably modern phone, tablet or laptop, there’s a fair chance another cable would simply join that mysterious drawer of cords we’re all afraid to throw away.
For the first charge, I connected the case to my laptop and got on with my working day. The indicator shows red while charging and green when it’s ready, and I certainly didn’t feel like I was waiting around for it. The case can also be charged wirelessly.
Galaxy Buds4 Pro comfort and fit
Then it was time to put them in. There’s a little space-age whooshing sound when you pop the Buds4 Pro into your ears, which I loved far more than such a tiny detail probably deserves. It’s almost like the doors to the outside world have closed.
Whoosh.
Welcome to your own private sound bubble. More importantly, they were comfortable. Really comfortable. The Buds4 Pro slide easily into my ears, feel soft once they’re in and don’t create the pressure or aching I experienced with my older pair. Samsung says the ergonomic design has been developed using ear-shape data and computational modelling to create a secure fit suitable for extended wear. (If you know me, you know I like to do a littel reasearch). In my case, it worked.
I’ve worn them for long stretches while working and essentially forgotten they were there. They also feel reassuringly secure. I can move my head around normally without wondering whether I’m about to launch an expensive earbud across the room.
All-day comfort is one of Samsung’s big selling points for the Buds4 Pro. It’s also one of mine.
Bluetooth pairing without the battle
My earbuds spend a lot of time connected to my laptop. I use them for calls and online meetings, videos, music while I’m working and the occasional audiobook. In other words, I need them to be useful rather than precious. Pairing the Buds4 Pro with my laptop via Bluetooth was ridiculously easy. The laptop spotted them straight away. I connected them and that was basically it. As a side, I connected to a Probook.
No crawling through Windows sound settings. No wondering why a call was still coming through the laptop speakers. No disconnecting and reconnecting Bluetooth while muttering things that aren’t appropriate for a technology review. Everything simply went where it was supposed to go.
At one point while working from home, I wandered away from the laptop and into the kitchen and realised I was still connected.
Was I deliberately conducting a scientific Bluetooth range test? Absolutely. Was I actually getting something from the kitchen? Possibly. Either way, the connection didn’t drop.
Samsung naturally takes integration further within its Galaxy ecosystem, with features such as Easy Pairing and Auto Switch available across compatible Galaxy devices. But you certainly don’t have to be using a Samsung phone to appreciate straightforward Bluetooth connectivity.
Galaxy Buds4 Pro sound quality
Calls are important for the way I use earbuds, but music was where I really started appreciating the Galaxy Buds4 Pro. The sound feels all-encompassing. Once the music starts, there’s a real sense of being surrounded by it rather than simply having sound fired into each ear.
There is plenty of technology working behind the scenes to create that experience (science!). The Buds4 Pro use an advanced 2-way speaker system, separating the woofer and tweeter and using dedicated amplification to reproduce everything from bass through to finer details at higher frequencies. Samsung also offers Ultra High Quality audio at up to 24-bit/96 kHz when used with compatible Galaxy devices, along with 360 Audio for a more spatial listening experience. I mostly listened to music through my Samsung phone and I must admit, I did really notice the difference.
For those who like to get particular about their sound, there’s also a 9-band equaliser for tailoring it to your preferences. I’m not going to tell you I spent my afternoon adjusting individual frequencies while stroking my chin thoughtfully. I put on music. It sounded fantastic. That’s my test.
Active Noise Cancellation that doesn’t completely shut out the world
Part of that immersive experience comes from the Buds4 Pro’s Active Noise Cancellation.
Samsung’s noise-cancelling algorithm analyses surrounding noise in real time and can adapt according to your ears and the way the Buds are sitting. Adaptive Noise Control can also balance noise cancellation and ambient sound according to what’s happening around you.
The effect was immediately noticeable to me. Put some music on and the distractions around you fade into the background.
Sometimes, during a working day, that’s a very nice place to be.
Completely shutting yourself off from the world isn’t always desirable, though, and this is where a couple of the Pro features become particularly interesting.
Voice Detect can recognise when you start talking and allow more ambient sound through, while Siren Detect is designed to recognise emergency sirens and make sure important outside noise isn’t completely lost.
I didn’t go hunting for an ambulance to test it.
Some review features are best left to Samsung’s engineers.
Calls quality matters too
As much as I enjoy music, these wouldn’t work for me if they couldn’t handle a normal working day. They can. I’ve used the Galaxy Buds4 Pro for calls and meetings from my laptop and have been really impressed with their everyday performance.
Samsung uses six microphones to help isolate your voice from surrounding noise, while Super Wideband technology can provide enhanced voice quality when paired with a compatible Galaxy smartphone.
I wasn’t using Samsung’s full Galaxy-to-Galaxy setup for my laptop calls, so I’m not going to claim I was testing Super Wideband.
What I can say is more relevant to my everyday use anyway: people could hear me, I could hear them and I didn’t spend meetings fighting with my earbuds.
That’s a win.
Pinch, swipe and head gesture controls
Samsung has packed a surprising number of control options into something so small.
Pinch Controls let you manage music and calls directly from the Buds, while swiping can adjust the volume.
There are also head gestures, allowing compatible functions to respond to a nod or shake of your head.
There’s something slightly futuristic about answering technology by nodding at it.
There’s also something slightly concerning about how quickly we’ve all accepted this as normal.
The practical advantage is that you can perform common actions without constantly reaching for your phone, which becomes increasingly useful once the controls start feeling natural.
Galaxy AI, Interpreter and Bixby
It is 2026. Of course your earbuds have AI.
When paired with compatible Galaxy AI devices, the Buds4 Pro can work with Interpreter to deliver translated conversations through the earbuds while translated text can appear on the phone.
They can also provide voice access to supported AI agents, including Bixby, so you can ask questions or perform tasks without taking out your phone.
These weren’t central to the way I tested the Buds4 Pro, and I’m not going to pretend I spent my working week wandering around having multilingual conversations with AI assistants.
But I do think these features say something interesting about where earbuds are heading.
They’re becoming more than tiny speakers we stick in our ears. They’re another way of interacting with the technology around us, potentially without needing to stare at yet another screen.
Whether you use all those capabilities today is another question, but the potential is interesting.
Galaxy Buds4 Pro battery life
Samsung rates the Galaxy Buds4 Pro for up to 6 hours of music playback with Active Noise Cancellation switched on, or 7 hours with ANC off.
Add the charging case and that increases to up to 26 hours with ANC on or 30 hours with it switched off.
For calls, Samsung rates them for up to 4.5 hours with ANC on or 5 hours with ANC off, extending to 20 or 22 hours respectively with the case.
Those are Samsung’s laboratory figures, of course. Real-world battery life will vary depending on volume, calls, Bluetooth conditions and the features you’re using.
For my mixture of calls, meetings, music, videos and the occasional audiobook, the charging case means battery life isn’t something I need to obsess over.
Take them out, put them back in the case and they’re topping themselves up ready for next time.
That’s exactly how this sort of technology should work.
Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro in Pink Gold, Black and White. Decorative cases and charms pictured are optional accessories.
Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro verdict
Very much so.
I started testing the Galaxy Buds4 Pro suspicious of their new shape and ended up wondering why my old Buds had to be quite so uncomfortable. What impressed me most is how little effort these require. I put them in, they connected, they stayed put and I got on with my day.
Samsung has packed plenty of clever technology into the Buds4 Pro, and there’s a lot here for people who want to explore the more advanced audio, AI and Galaxy ecosystem features. But you don’t need to use every one of them to appreciate these earbuds. For me, the simple test is whether I’ll keep reaching for them after the review is finished.
I will. My old Galaxy Buds have been retired. My ears aren’t complaining.
Thank you to Samsung for the opportunity to review the Galaxy Buds4 Pro and put them through their paces in my everyday work and downtime. You an currently buy your Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro direct from Samsung from just $399 which I think is an absoute bargain.