Samsung has announced its new Galaxy Buds 4 range. The Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro offer a revamped metal stem design that's more premium than their plasticky predecessors, upgraded controls, and a speaker driver that's nearly 20 per cent bigger than that on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
Samsung claims the wider woofer and tweeter in the new generation wireless earbuds will reproduce a more complete range across the frequencies, from high resonances to the low-end notes of a double bass.
- Our Galaxy Buds 4 Pro review is live – check out what we thought of Samsung's flagship buds
The Buds 4 pack an 11mm dynamic driver, and on the Buds 4 Pro this is joined by a 5mm x 4mm tweeter.
The new build might be the most eye-catching element of the design, but the fit for both earbuds has also been overhauled. This is based on millions of data points taking into account all kinds of ear shapes. Samsung claims the new buds are more comfortable and more secure in everyday use.
The control panel on the stems is now engraved to make it easier to discern by touch alone and the case has been slightly redesigned to show off the buds' overhauled design.
The step-up Buds 4 Pro have the same enhanced adaptive ANC and EQ that adjusts the sound depending on your surroundings. You also get the same 16kHz noise reduction during calls.
Users of Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets will get some extra benefits. They won't need to install the designated app, they can just connect the buds straight away (much like iOS users do with the best AirPods). They can optimise the settings through a shortcut menu in the quick panel, wake the buds using their voice for handsfree controls and use head gestures to accept or dismiss incoming calls. There's also an Interpreter mode for real-time translation (yes, just like you get with AirPods Pro 3).
The Buds 4 don't have eartips, whereas the flagship Buds 4 Pro have three sizes of silicon eartips with an eartip test within the app (much like the AirPods Pro 3 and Sony WF-1000XM6).
The Buds 4 Pro are higher specced than the standard model, with a water-resistant and dust-proof rating of IP57, compared to IP54 for the Buds 4. Both have a battery life of six hours from the buds plus another 20 from the case with ANC on.
Like their predecessors, they support Samsung’s hi-res SSC UHQ codec, which allows streams of up to 24-bit/96kHz resolution, and is compatible with more recent Galaxy smartphones. They also have Bluetooth 6.0 onboard.
Both pairs have three mics and a voice pick-up unit to monitor jaw vibrations, and the Pros offer 360 Spatial audio with head tracking.
It's an impressive feature set, but a lot will hinge on the sound quality. Samsung's buds have never scored the full five stars from us (though the Buds 3 Pro notched up four stars in 2023). Can it finally secure that elusive fifth star? Our Galaxy Buds 4 Pro review reveals all.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 cost £159 / $180 / AU$TBC and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are £219 / $249 / AU$399. Both are available to pre-order now, with shipping starting on 11th March.
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