Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Review: Android Finally Has Its AirPods Pro Killer

Samsung just dropped $249 on the table and said “match this, Apple.” And you know what? For the first time in the true wireless game, I actually think they might’ve done it. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro aren’t just iterative, they’re the earbuds I’ve been waiting for Samsung to make since 2019.

Unboxing & Build

The box screams premium in that understated Samsung way, matte black packaging, magnetic closure, the whole nine yards. Inside, you get the buds, a compact charging case that’s actually pocketable (finally), three sizes of silicone tips, and a USB-C cable. No fancy foam tips or extra accessories, but honestly, the stock tips are solid enough that I didn’t immediately swap them out.

The buds themselves feel like jewelry. We’re talking machined aluminum housings with a two-tone finish—my graphite review unit has this gorgeous matte exterior with glossy black accents around the touch surfaces. They’re IPX7 rated, which means I’ve been wearing these to the gym without babying them. The case? It’s maybe 20% smaller than the Buds 3 Pro case, finally small enough that it doesn’t look like I’m carrying a dental floss container in my jeans.

Build quality is flagship-tier. No creaks, no flex, just solid metal and tight tolerances. Each bud weighs 5.8 grams, and you can feel that this is premium hardware. The charging contacts are gold-plated, the hinge on the case feels like it’ll survive a thousand opens, and there’s this satisfying magnetic snap when the buds dock.

Features & Controls

Here’s where Samsung went full send. The ANC 2.0 system uses six microphones per earbud with what they’re calling “Adaptive Intelligence” that adjusts noise cancellation based on your environment in real-time. On the subway? It’s honestly incredible, blocks out that low-frequency rumble better than my Sony WF-1000XM5s. At a coffee shop, it intelligently lets through just enough ambient sound that you don’t feel isolated but still blocks the espresso machine grinding.

The Live Translation feature is wild. Hold the touch surface, speak in English, and your conversation partner hears Korean (or 13 other languages) through your phone’s speaker. They respond, and you hear the English translation in the buds. It’s not perfect, there’s maybe a half-second delay, but I tested it with a Korean friend and we had an actual conversation. This isn’t gimmick territory anymore.

Touch controls are customizable through the Galaxy Wearable app. Single tap for play/pause, double for skip, triple for previous, long-press for ANC/transparency toggle. You can remap everything except single tap. They’re responsive without being twitchy, though I still accidentally trigger them when adjusting fit occasionally.

Battery life is quoted at 6 hours with ANC on, and I’m getting 5.5-6 hours consistently at 60-70% volume. The case adds another 24 hours. Fast charging gives you 90 minutes from a 10-minute charge, which has saved me more than once.

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Sound Quality

Alright, let’s talk about what matters. Samsung equipped these with a new 10mm dynamic driver plus a 6mm tweeter in each bud, a two-way design that immediately explains why these sound so much better than previous Galaxy Buds.

Bass: Spin up Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” and that sub-bass hits with authority and control. It’s not the bloated, one-note thump you get from cheaper TWS earbuds. The bass is tight, fast, and textured. On Thundercat’s “Them Changes,” you can actually hear the individual bass notes instead of just feeling vibration. There’s real extension down low without bleeding into the mids. It’s punchy when the track calls for it, but never overpowers.

Mids: Vocals sit forward in the mix, which I love for modern pop and R&B. Listening to SZA’s “Kill Bill,” her voice has this presence and intimacy that cheaper earbuds just flatten out. Male vocals on Gregory Alan Isakov’s “The Stable Song” have natural warmth without sounding boxy. Guitars have bite and texture. The crossover between the drivers is seamless—I can’t detect where the dynamic hands off to the tweeter.

Treble: This is where Samsung made the biggest leap. Previous Galaxy Buds always sounded slightly veiled up top, like there was a blanket over the cymbals. Not here. High-hats on Daft Punk’s “Giorgio by Moroder” have shimmer and air. There’s actual sparkle without harshness or sibilance. I can listen at higher volumes without fatigue, which tells me Samsung actually tuned these properly instead of just boosting 8kHz and calling it “detailed.”

Soundstage & Imaging: For TWS earbuds, the soundstage is shockingly wide. Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen” has layers and space, the synths pan left and right, Kevin Parker’s vocals sit center stage, and the drums have their own pocket in the mix. It’s not HD800-level holographic imaging, obviously, but for closed-back earbuds? This is top-tier. Imaging is precise enough that I can actually play competitive FPS games and accurately locate footsteps.

Detail Retrieval: These pull detail out of tracks I thought I knew inside and out. On Bon Iver’s “Holocene,” I’m hearing subtle room reverb and breath sounds that my old Buds Pro 2 just glossed over. They’re not analytical to the point of being clinical, there’s still musicality here, but if it’s in the recording, these will reveal it.

The only real weakness? They lean slightly warm, which some folks might find lacks “neutrality.” But for everyday listening with modern genres, this tuning just works.

Who It’s For

If you’re deep in the Samsung ecosystem, Galaxy phone, Watch, Tab, these are a no-brainer. The integration is seamless, switching between devices is instant, and features like 360 Audio actually work properly.

But even if you’re just an Android user looking for the best TWS earbuds under $300, these deserve serious consideration. They trade blows with the Sony WF-1000XM5 and frankly sound more fun while doing it.

Verdict

At $249, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are expensive but justified. Samsung finally nailed the trifecta: premium build, genuinely useful features, and sound quality that competes with dedicated IEMs costing twice as much. The ANC is best-in-class, the Live Translation actually works, and they just sound good across every genre I threw at them.

Are they perfect? No, I’d still like foam tips included, and iOS users will miss out on half the features. But for Android users? These are the new ones to beat. Samsung finally did it.

9/10 — Highly Recommended

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Tested with: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Spotify Premium (Very High quality), Tidal HiFi, local FLAC files via USB Audio Player Pro, various genres including hip-hop, indie rock, electronic, jazz, and classical.