Samsung Malaysia sent me a Galaxy Buds4 Pro loan unit in white, and I have been using it with the Galaxy Z Fold8. If you are wondering whether these earbuds are worth RM999, I will try to answer that properly, with what I felt on my own ears and what other reviewers found where I could not test something myself.
Short version: they are very good, with one catch that you will notice in the first five minutes and fix in the next two.
Design and comfort
Let me start with the thing you notice first, which is how light they are. Each bud weighs about 5.1g, and you can feel it. They sit snugly in my ears and I did not have to keep adjusting them. I wore them for a few hours at a stretch and there was no pressure building up, which is where a lot of earbuds start to annoy me.
The buds themselves have a flat stem with a brushed metal finish. GSMArena called the look much more suited to the average person than the Buds3 Pro's divisive design, and I agree. The Buds3 Pro looked like something that wanted to be noticed.
The Buds4 Pro just looks like a nice pair of earbuds, and I mean that as a compliment. Tom's Guide pointed out the resemblance to the AirPods Pro 3, and Samsung has clearly stopped trying to look different for the sake of it.
The buds are rated IP57, which is a step up from the cheaper Buds4 at IP54. Engadget notes that this covers submersion up to about three feet for 30 minutes. The case is not water resistant though, so keep that in mind if you are the type to carry things in a bag that gets rained on. Malaysian weather is not kind to anyone.
Fit is where reviewers differ a little. What Hi-Fi found the fit easy and secure but said the grip can loosen during intense gym sessions, and it was not thrilled that Samsung only includes three tip sizes. I did not test them in the gym, so I cannot weigh in there. For sitting, walking and commuting, the default tips worked for me.
The charging case
The case is solid. It is a squarer design than the Buds3 Pro's case, with a transparent lid and a lay-flat layout, so the buds drop in and come out easily. Tom's Guide mentions that the clear lid picks up fingerprints, and since mine is the white unit I will be watching for that, but so far it has held up fine.
It also has a physical pairing button, which Tom's Guide liked and so do I. Wireless charging is supported, and the case can top up other devices in reverse.
My impression is that the case holds enough juice to charge the buds a good number of times, and charging speed feels quicker than the Buds3 Pro's case. GSMArena measured about 40% of the case's charge used for each full top-up of the buds, which works out to roughly three and a half recharges. That is a healthy cushion for a work week of short commutes.
Sound quality
This is the section where I have the most to say, and it is also the most useful thing in this review if you are about to buy a pair.
When I first put the Buds4 Pro on and played music, the sound felt a little muffled. The bass is very punchy, no question, but the mids and highs sounded dull and covered up. For a moment I thought I had a fit problem, or that the RM999 was not going to be justified.
Then I went into the Galaxy Wearable app on the Z Fold8 and turned the equalizer on. The difference was immediate. The muffled feeling went away and the sound opened up. I made my own manual adjustments, and the built-in presets also work well, so you do not need to be an audio nerd to get there. Once the EQ is on, the sound quality is excellent.
So here is my advice to anyone who has just bought a pair of Buds4 Pro: do not judge them on the default sound. Switch on the equalizer, pick a preset or tweak the bands to your taste, and then decide. SoundGuys landed in a similar place, saying the sound is decent once the EQ is adjusted, and Adam Lobo, a Malaysian reviewer, preferred the Dynamic preset or a V-shaped curve over the default.
Under the hood, the Buds4 Pro use a two-way driver setup with an 11mm woofer and a 5.5mm planar tweeter. Samsung says the woofer is about 20% larger than last year's. Engadget was surprised by the bass and clarity, and Tom's Guide described rich bass with strong separation between instruments. That lines up with my ears: the low end is a strength, and with the EQ sorted, the rest of the range catches up.
To keep this honest, I should say that the very top rivals still have an edge in a few places. What Hi-Fi found the Sony WF-1000XM6 more dynamic and more musically involving, and the AirPods Pro 3 better at rhythm, though the Samsung led the AirPods on clarity and spaciousness.
Tom's Guide heard more detail from the Sony and the AirPods on heavy rock and symphonic metal. I did not do a side-by-side, so I am passing these on as other people's findings. For everyday listening on a phone, I doubt most people will feel short-changed.
On codecs, the Buds4 Pro support Bluetooth 6.1 with SBC, AAC, LC3 and Samsung's own SSC codec. There is no aptX or LDAC. GSMArena points out that the proprietary SSC only helps when you have a compatible Samsung phone, while What Hi-Fi found it tightens the bass and adds detail. I was on the Z Fold8, so I was in the best position to benefit.
Active noise cancellation
ANC is brilliant. With it turned on, the Buds4 Pro block almost all outside noise, and it made a real difference on the LRT. If you take the train regularly, you know the sounds: the rattle on the tracks, the announcements, the chatter around you, the person next to you who has decided their phone call is everyone's business.
With the Buds4 Pro, the ride feels much calmer and more comfortable. I do not have to push the volume up to fight the noise either, which is better for my ears.
Other reviewers are a little more measured, and it is only fair that you hear that too. Tom's Guide found the ANC on par with the AirPods Pro 3. Engadget called it good but not great, saying steady noise such as fans is handled well while sudden loud sounds still get through.
SoundGuys measured about 84% noise reduction at maximum strength and found it weaker in the 500Hz to 1.1kHz range, which is where a lot of voices and some road noise sit. What Hi-Fi noted that the Sony does a better job of blocking very high and very low frequencies. So if you spend your life in the loudest places, the very best ANC on the market may still beat these. For my daily train rides, I had no complaints.
There are five ANC levels, and you can adjust them with a slider in the app. Adaptive mode adjusts the strength to your surroundings automatically. The ambient mode is also well regarded. Reviewers say it sounds natural, and it can switch on by itself when it detects speech or sirens, which is handy when you are walking near traffic. By default, a pinch and hold on the stem toggles between ANC and ambient.
Call quality
Calls were good. I tried speaking very softly, close to a whisper, and the person on the other end could still hear me clearly. That is not something every pair of earbuds can do. The Buds4 Pro have six microphones and a new mic at the bottom of the stem for voice pickup.
GSMArena found calls better than on the Buds3 Pro and Buds2 Pro, and Tom's Guide described the voice as clear and natural, even with an iPhone. SoundGuys cautions that the bone-conduction pickup can struggle if the fit is not good, so get a proper seal.
Battery life
Samsung rates the buds at about 7 hours with ANC off and 6 hours with it on, with up to 30 and 26 hours in total with the case. In my use, I got around 5 hours of music and still had about 30% left in the buds. That is good in my books, because it means the 6 hour claim looks realistic, and I was not running them lightly.
Other testers found the same. GSMArena saw the buds drop below 10% after about 6 hours at maximum ANC, and about 8.5 hours with ANC off. SoundGuys measured 6 hours 1 minute per bud in its standard test. So it is not a class-leading battery, since the Sony WF-1000XM6 lasts longer per charge according to Tom's Guide, but it is comfortably enough for a work day with a case top-up at lunch.
Pairing, features and the Galaxy catch
If you own a Galaxy phone, setup could not be easier. Open the case near the phone, pair, and you are good to go. On the Z Fold8 it just worked, and the app, EQ and settings were all there without any fuss. There are also head gestures, where you nod to accept a call and shake your head to decline, plus 360 audio with head tracking, Live Translate (called Interpreter in some apps) and Samsung's Find tool for lost buds.
I did not get to try these, so I will not pretend to. Tom's Guide found head gestures useful for answering calls hands-free, though Interpreter had a noticeable delay of a few seconds in its Korean test.
Now the catch, and it is a big one for some of you. With non-Galaxy devices, you will not get the full features. Every reviewer says this in one way or another. Tom's Guide notes that AI features and Interpreter need a Galaxy S24 or newer. On the iPhone, the buds act as normal Bluetooth earbuds with no companion app, which is why SoundGuys recommends the AirPods Pro for iPhone users.
Multipoint is also limited to Samsung devices, so if you jump between a Samsung phone and a MacBook or a Windows laptop from another brand, the switching is not seamless. GSMArena summed it up: a clear choice for Galaxy owners, but harder to justify on other phones.
Gaming
I tested the Buds4 Pro with Delta Force. With game mode off, the lag is not that obvious. Turn game mode on, though, and it feels better. Latency drops, the response is quick, and the sound lines up better with the action, which matters when you are listening for footsteps and gunfire.
Adam Lobo points to the Labs section of the app for game mode. It works well for gaming, and like most things with these earbuds, it works best on Galaxy phones.
If you play competitive mobile games, I would just leave game mode on during sessions and switch it off afterwards.
Price and who should buy it
The Galaxy Buds4 Pro costs RM999 in Malaysia. The launch promo ran from 26 February to 31 May, so check Samsung Malaysia and the usual online shops for current deals before you pay full price. That is not cheap, and it puts these squarely in flagship earbud territory.
For context, What Hi-Fi points out that the Sony WF-1000XM6 costs noticeably more in the US and UK, and that the Buds4 Pro matches the AirPods Pro 3 on price in those markets.
My take is simple:
- Buy them if you own a Galaxy phone, especially a recent S-series or Z-series, and you want strong sound, good ANC and the full feature set.
- Think twice if you are on an iPhone or another Android brand, because you will pay flagship money and lose many of the extras.
- Skip the upgrade if you already own the Buds3 Pro and are happy. Tom's Guide says there are few major new features over it.
If you want the cheaper route, the standard Buds4 costs RM699, but it is an open-fit design with a much weaker ANC according to Engadget, so I would not pick it for noisy commutes.
Verdict
The Galaxy Buds4 Pro are the best Samsung earbuds I have used. They are light, comfortable and well built, the ANC makes the LRT a calmer place, calls are good even at a whisper, and gaming feels responsive with game mode on. The sound out of the box is a little muffled, but one trip to the equalizer fixes it, and after that the sound is excellent.
The only real hesitation is the ecosystem. These are made for Galaxy owners, and the full experience belongs to them. If that is you, they are an easy recommendation. If it is not, the RM999 gets harder to justify.
Buy link: Samsung Malaysia, Galaxy Buds4 Pro
Disclosure: The Galaxy Buds4 Pro in this article was loaned by Samsung Malaysia. Opinions are my own. Findings from other reviewers are credited by name.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Light and comfortable, with a snug fit for hours of wear
- Punchy bass, and excellent sound once the equalizer is switched on
- Brilliant ANC that makes train rides much quieter
- Good call quality, even when speaking softly
- Easy pairing and full features with Galaxy phones
- Low latency with game mode on
- IP57 rated buds and a solid case with wireless charging
Cons
- Sound feels muffled until you adjust the equalizer
- Many features are locked to Galaxy phones, and multipoint is Samsung only
- Limited codec support, with no aptX or LDAC
- Battery is good but not class-leading, at around 6 hours with ANC on
- Only three ear tip sizes, and the case is not water resistant
- RM999 is a lot if you are not on a Galaxy phone
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