Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro review: Welcome improvements, but not everything's upgraded

The fourth iteration of Samsung's AirPod rivals are here with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and they're easily the best yet. They sound incredible, the noise cancellation really works, and they look classy yet understated, and knock it out of the park with an array of features offered in the Galaxy earbud settings. But recurring Galaxy Buds issues remain, with a relatively poor battery life and a less secure fit than would be ideal. Oh, and you'll need a Samsung phone to get the absolute best out of them. The latest iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will set you back $249 or £219, which is exactly as pricey as last year's Buds 3 Pro. That's also as expensive as the latest AirPods Pro, clearly cementing Samsung's Buds as direct Apple competitors. If you're on a slightly tighter budget, there's also the standard Galaxy Buds 4, which come in at $179 or £159, but take it from me, they're just not worth it. I've tried both the Pro and standard models, and while I really like the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, the base model is a serious letdown. The bass is lacking, and the overall audio profile lacks the Buds 4 Pro's fullness and oomph. Plus, the fit isn't great, meaning the regular Buds 4 can fall out far too easily. If they were super cheap, these faults would be a little more understandable, but when they aren't that much cheaper than the Pro model, I'm left feeling that you should just save up and get Samsung's best Buds, or simply go for none at all. Anyway, let's focus on the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. The design has had a welcome tune-up, with the reimagined blade look. While earbuds of this kind can often fall into the AirPods lookalike trap, this style blazes its own trail a little more with a brushed metal edge that looks cool yet understated in the white review unit we tested, and while I wish my rose-coloured Buds were a little more vibrant, I can't deny the style that oozes from them. However, things take a turn with Samsung's proprietary ear tip tech, which brings two issues. Firstly, it makes switching ear tips a real pain due to the company using its own locking mechanism. This makes it harder to remove tips without ripping them, something we've only avoided because of past mistakes ripping the Buds 3 Pro's tips. Secondly, we've generally found the Buds didn't stay in our ears very well, especially when we were running. I've personally had fewer troubles, I'll occasionally readjust the Buds, but have worn them plenty of times, including while running with them, and had no trouble at all, especially not the Buds falling out entirely, but clearly my personal impression isn't universal. Other than those issues however, the Buds were comfortable to wear even for long periods of time, and the stem controls are effective once you're used to them. Moving on from the Buds themselves, the see-through clamshell charging case is excellent. It's easy to return Buds to their charging spot, and with wireless charging it's easy to keep your audio tech fuelled up, though it isn't the most ergonomic, leaving an obvious blocky bulge in your pocket when you're carrying it around. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro offer two drivers, a tweeter and woofer, and each has its own amplifier. This all means that high and low pitched sounds get their own TLC, and Samsung's big selling point on these new Buds is that the woofer is bigger than anything it's used before, allowing for better control over the bass. The result is the sound is energetic, with crackling mids and powerful treble, and this profile is amplified by their dynamic EQ preset, which exacerbates the Buds 4 Pro's strengths and reduces their weaknesses, though I also love the bass boost preset as well. There's a lovely sense of expanse through the soundstage here too, even if you don't turn on the spatial audio setting, though I did enjoy using this setting to amplify my Apple Music playlists. Plus, the volume is way higher than you'd ever need. The only catch is for the best audio quality, you'll not only need a high-res audio streaming subscription, you'll also want a Samsung phone which supports the SSC codec. This allows for a sample rate of up to 24-bit 96kHz, which means it'll handle lossless playback with ease, but means that non-Samsung users might not be able to enjoy the highest quality music that they otherwise would. When tested with a non-Samsung Android phone, there was a noticeable dip compared to the full-on Galaxy experience. Finally, let's talk about features. Samsung doesn't make as much of a song and dance about its ANC capabilities as, say, Bose, which literally calls its headphones quiet comforts, but the good news is these are still incredible at reducing background noise. Be it busy roads, flight buzz, or works being done on your neighbour's home, all of the noise is eliminated, and these are some of the most adept noise removers we've tried at this price. Even better, they have an ambient mode that's actually good. It does what these modes should do, dampens your surroundings, but retains speech and other important nearby noises. I really love the automatic mode of this that kicks on when I start talking, or when a siren blares past, so I know to watch out for emergency services. It can be frustrating when the buds kick on ambient noise when I'm trying to sing along to my lyrics, but the ability to automatically switch from noise cancellation to ambient noise can be super handy for the quick interactions I have, like when I'm picking up a coffee at a cafe. Using your Galaxy phone, you can easily toggle between these different settings in the quick panel, and activate tools like nodding or shaking your head to accept or reject calls, which I thought was a gimmick until it came in clutch when my hands were full on a few occasions. The letdown is the battery life. It's unchanged from the past models, with the case granting up to 30 hours extra. With ANC turned on, expect about 4-5 hours in the buds, or even less with other high-end features switched on, which can go surprisingly quickly in my experience, and mean that you run out of music when you really need it. So, should you buy the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro? While not perfect in the battery department, and with troubles for some when it comes to fit, I overall love the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and I'm not surprised they received 4.5 stars in our review. The audio performance is impressive, as is the ANC, and as a Galaxy user, you'll get access to a suite of useful tools, extra features, and even the ability to sync them between your Samsung phone, Samsung watch, and Samsung laptop, if you're embedded into the Galaxy ecosystem. Don't bother with the base model however, as the cost savings just aren't worth it, and if you don't have a Galaxy phone, you might find other buds offer a better bang for your buck. If you're convinced to pick up a pair of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, you can find a link to the best deals in our description below, and make sure to subscribe to check out more videos from TechRadar.