- RATING
The Samsung Buds4 Pro are easily Samsung’s best earphones and tick all the boxes for comfort, audio quality, active noise cancellation and call quality. They’re Samsung and they're seriously good.
Samsung’s new Buds4 Pro earphones are a huge improvement over the previous model and proof the electronics giant that is already No 1 in smartphones and TVs should also be taken seriously on the audio side as well.
Audio quality and active noise cancellation put the Buds4 Pro in the same ballpark as Bose, Sony, Apple, Sennheiser and JBL. They are also up there around the same price at $399.
The look and fit has changed to a bud and blade design.
The Buds4 Pro a have now smaller ear bud that offers a more comfortable and universal fit and a blade that offers easier access to onboard controls with the recessed control area that are easy to find.
Fron the earphones we were able to control the music and adjust the volume.
These controls take a little while get used to the amount of force to press/squeeze the buds.
We found the Samsung Buds4 Pro earphones were really comfortable and secure and they stayed in place even when we were walking and exercising. They have an IP57 rating so all good for sweat and wearing in light rain.
On the audio side we are pleased to report the Samsung Buds4 Pro sound amazing.
That’s thanks a new two-way speaker and a dedicated dual amp. There’s also a wider woofer and an advanced adaptive equaliser.
These add up to a purer natural sound that will surprise you with its clarity and warmth.
And the crispness remained even when the music was cranked up to higher volumes.
Vocals were also clear and unmuddied and felt like they had their own channel into our ears.
Now these won’t match the quality of the new Sony WF-1000XM6 earphones – the Sony’s are a more expensive – but they are not far behind.
On the Active Noise Cancellation side, the Samsung Buds4 Pro earphones also hold their own.
They have outer microphones and use an algorithm to take the ambient sound and push it way down.
We used the Samsung Buds4 Pro earphones on planes, in busy streets and shopping centres and at home and found they did a great job suppressing the noise.
The ANC was impressive but again not the best but in same ballpark. There is room for improvement to challenge Sony and Bose but it was still better than average.
For use we were able to really focus on our content even better when those other sounds could not be heard.
At home we were able to hear our audio brilliantly as we sat in our office less than two metres from a blaring TV.
The TV became invisible to our ears. Same thing happened to the plane’s engines and the bustling sounds and traffic on the street.
What was one of its best features was the call quality. We made a lot of calls wearing the Samsung Buds4 Pro and the person at the other end, including my wife, could not tell the difference and had no idea we weren’t talking directly into the phone.
And this was when the earphones were paired with a Samsung phone, an Oppo phone and other Android devices.
This feature stood it above most other high end earphones – the closest to match the call quality was the Sony WF-1000XM6 earphones.
Battery life was about six hours with ANC and the small charging case has a further 30 hours of power.
The case is small with a transparent lid and easy to carry around with you.
The earphones snap into place magnetically so there’s no half measures taking them in or out of the case.
The Samsung Buds4 Pro are available now in black, white and pink gold and are priced at $399.
VERDICT
The Samsung Buds4 Pro are easily Samsung’s best earphones and tick all the boxes for comfort, audio quality, active noise cancellation and call quality. They’re Samsung and they are seriously good.
