Striking a Chord: The Hindu Business Line Makes Waves in the Industry

Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro | Photo Credit: Ashwin Rajagopalan

Design

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are among the most aesthetically pleasing premium earbuds currently available. The design is a significant improvement over last year’s Buds 3 Pro. While retaining the transparent lid, the new horizontal case layout adds both practicality and a more premium appearance. Users noted that it was easier to handle the buds, even with sweaty hands. The flat, brushed metal stems provide a more refined touch. These buds remained securely in place, even during intense workouts, and feature multiple controls along the stems. Designed for resilience, they carry an IP57 rating, making them suitable for various environments.

Sound

The most significant advancement in the Buds 4 Pro lies in their sound quality. While Samsung and Apple have enhanced their audio capabilities, audiophiles often turn to brands like Bose and Sony for superior active noise cancellation and soundstage. Samsung aims to keep its users satisfied with improvements such as a 20% larger speaker area. The enhanced two-way speaker system includes an 11mm woofer and a 5.4mm planar tweeter, promising a bass-forward soundstage with impressive detail at moderate volume levels—crucial benchmarks for any audio device. These earbuds support 24-bit/96kHz audio via Samsung’s Seamless Codec, offering high-resolution sound.

Listeners reported that high-energy tracks like “Call Me Up” by Petit Biscuit and Eugenie were invigorating, while acoustic elements of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Misery” were enhanced. The companion app allows users to customize settings through a 9-band equalizer. In addition to strong sound, the Buds 4 Pro excel in active noise cancellation. Testing in noisy environments, such as flight cabins and gyms, showed that the earbuds effectively muted external sounds. Call quality was clear, aided by six built-in microphones that picked up voices while reducing background noise.

Battery Life

The Buds 4 Pro maintain a battery performance similar to their predecessors, offering about 30 hours total playtime without active noise cancellation (ANC) and around 26 hours with ANC enabled. These findings align with Samsung’s own claims. Despite satisfactory battery life, an upgrade in this area would have been desirable. The earbuds support wireless charging, a standard convenience in their price category. The case takes a little over an hour to charge fully, and a quick five-minute charge provides roughly one hour of playback. While the existing battery life is adequate, some competitors have outperformed Samsung in this aspect.

Verdict

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro stand as one of the top premium earbuds currently available. Although some unique audio features—such as real-time translation and 360 audio with head tracking—are exclusive to Samsung devices, many functionalities are accessible to both Android and iOS users through the companion app. The Buds 4 Pro showcase improvements in design, sound quality, and noise cancellation, yet they retain the same battery life as the previous model. They are a compelling recommendation for Samsung smartphone users looking to invest in superior audio experience.