Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Review

Samsung's latest Galaxy Buds are perhaps some of the most professional and impressive pieces of kit in the marketplace.

But more than that, for users, they represent a quality of sound and a precision design that makes wearing them a real pleasure. 

While the Buds 4 Pro offer little in terms of groundbreaking features compared to previous generations, what they do is maintain the company's space in a rapidly growing crowded market and even set a precedent for continued quality - even if the best features are locked inside Samsung's eco-system.

While it's disappointing that there's no USB-C charging cable inside the box (part of a industry-wide push to cut down on e-waste), the package itself is a pretty compelling, albeit minimalist, one. With just the charging case, the Buds themselves and a couple of different-sized silicon-made eartips, there's little in the packaging to suggest bloat or arrogance of propaganda from Samsung. (Though you could argue a lack of protection of the outside case leaves it prone to scratches.)

It's almost as if they simply want the product to speak for itself.

And it has to be said, that's something it does exceptionally well. From sleek stems and a minimalist black aesthetic, the Buds 4 Pro represent the pinnacle of good-looking tech - but more than that, they offer a comfort fit that doesn't cause issues for hours within ears. If that sounds like a silly statement, it's worth noting that not all earbuds fit snugly within the ear canal and consequently can make the wearing and handling of them more of a trial than needs be.

While connecting them to either a laptop or phone caused a few issues initially (you have to open the case, hold down a button at the back to send into pairing mode, something that wasn't the easiest to do), the quick Bluetooth connection means the Buds 4 Pro are pretty much up and running as soon as you are - and then, it's all go from there.

With a rich sound that has a decent amount of bass, overall the Buds 4 Pro deliver consistently good output for those wanting to simply listen to music. Call quality's solid, if not spectacular too, with occasional recipients sometimes sounding somewhat tinny. But it's worth noting that it's audible and clear and crisp.

ANC for the Buds 4 Pro is solid, but at only 6 hours of battery life when it's turned on, there's a feeling that there are better longer-running pieces of kit out there. But it does well to block out some of the extraneous environmental noise to ensure you can keep on track. 

Keeping them within Samsung's eco-system feels a little like a tough recommendation, given that the higher end phones offer plenty of customisable options, be it tweaking the ANC or enabling the Pinch controls and Head Gestures to answer or reject calls. It's a nice touch, and a welcome one, but you'll need the latest range of phones to get all of this out of the Wearable App - which for Samsung fans is probably no big deal.

Where the Buds 4 Pro seem to work best - for this user particularly - is in the controlling of tinnitus sounds. Keeping them nestled in the ears for a few hours while listening to music, there wasn't quite the heady whooshing rush noise within the ears that sometimes over the ear cups manage to deal with. It's a welcome surprise, and while Earbuds in general don't seem to be tackling that issue yet, the fact it's been able to minimise it has been an extremely welcome one.

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro offer premium quality, clarity of audio and a comfort fit that makes them pleasurable and beneficial to own.