Some context here. JBL, which recently completed 80 years of very successful audio benchmark setting existence, and its parent company Harman International are wholly owned by Samsung. That is the foundation with which you need to approach any conversation about the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro wireless earbuds. Basically, they all know what they’re doing, and from the outset, it clearly shows. While the flagship Galaxy Buds4 Pro doesn’t have the ‘Sound by AKG’ badge proudly shown off, the audio tuning has been just perfect. Fundamentals haven’t changed, neither has the acoustic framework.
And they have to, considering the gravitas of the ₹22,999 price tag which puts it directly in competition with the likes of the Apple AirPods Pro 3 (around ₹25,900) and the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 (now around ₹17,999). That said, must note that while Samsung ships the Galaxy Buds4 Pro with three sizes of eartips, they are all the silicone ones. This reminds me of how Anker and even Sony for a while, also bundled the softer and more comfortable foam eartips — these are much more comfortable if you intend to use the earbuds for long durations, either for calls, or listening to music on a flight.
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From the outset, the Galaxy Buds4 Pro design gets your attention, and it’s a mix of conventionality with certain edgy elements that make it work as well as it does. I quite like the horizontal earbuds placement and the design contours. This can be had in white, black and a Samsung online store exclusive Pink Gold, which may just be the right sort of visual appeal to start a conversation. For the black in particular, which is also photographed here, the metallic treatment on the earbud stems adds that nice touch of light reflection at different angles — something that does bring a smile to the face every time you’re taking these out of the case or placing them back.
There are subtle design changes that help broaden comfort of fit across ear shapes, and on a subjective note, I did not have the trouble of the buds slipping out abruptly (many do, particularly the left ear). That said, still not a fan of touch controls on bud stems, and I’d prefer returning to the phone to reduce or increase volume most of the time. Samsung has essentially designed the Galaxy Buds4 Pro to sit seamlessly in a Samsung device ecosystem, particularly the Galaxy phones.
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For instance, Samsung’s high resolution SSC UHQ code which supports 24-bit / 96 kHz high quality tracks, will only work with the latest Galaxy S26 series and some previous generations, Samsung’s foldable phones, and some of the recent Tab S series tablets. If you’re pairing this with another Android device, the relegated support is for SSC, SBC and LC3. Since I was lucky to have a Galaxy S26 Ultra around to to review these earbuds with, the experience is nothing short of what you’d expect from flagship true wireless audio, particularly with a “pro” moniker in the name.
Samsung says a new wider woofer on Galaxy Buds4 Pro has 19.8% larger diaphragm compared to Galaxy Buds3 Pro, and that built the basis for tracks of the ilk of Drafting by Lovein and İsmail Uluçay, State of Mind by Kaskade and Lipless, and Dreams by Hamidshax. Lower frequencies have a beautiful presence amidst a wide soundstage and where vocals are rendered with the level of pristine touch that Sennheiser has always done well (and Bose used to).
Further tweaks are available, with a multitude of preset equalisers and a 9-band custom option. Across the listening experience, I did note that a complex passage of time in any track, where a lot seems to be happening audibly, is where the Galaxy Buds4 Pro struggle a bit to prioritise processing — there’s a flatness to some elements, particularly if you are listening to Three Days Grace or Shinedown or Evanescence. More than made up by the robust battery stamina, which gets in the ballpark of 6 hours of runtime with ANC on.
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Speaking of which, the noise cancellation at adaptive is just the balance between blocking ambient noise while keeping a minimal in-ear pressure (particularly for sensitive ears). I didn’t have the chance to test this on a flight, but it does well enough with typical home, office and traffic sounds. And that fact it is achievable without ear numbing pressure that’s more often than not a case with earbuds and headphones, is remarkable work by the engineers.
Simple buying advice — if you have a Samsung device, particularly a recent one, no true wireless earbuds (no matter what the price) gets even close to beating the experience of the Galaxy Buds4 Pro. For other Android phones, you do get fantastic sound and the rather well tuned noise cancellation, but do miss out on the high quality formats. That may just be a miss, at the price you’ll pay nonetheless.
