/ The battle for the best premium earbuds starts here.
Reya Collins is a tech reviewer who reviews those products which individuals wear, put on their desks and pin to their bags and she does not even take them lightly. She studied consumer behaviour and has 5 years of writing experience in this field. She joined as a review writer of wearables, smart home and different accessories of the tech industry. She even values the purchase of 100 dollars of any consumer and this thing reflects in her writing style as well. One more thing about her is that she is extremely creative and loves to paint in her free time and her favourite painter is Alex Katz.
Premium earbuds have evolved from simple wireless audio to offering advanced features like ANC, real-time translation and health tracking. Right now, two best names, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, are competing for your attention. Both are at the top of the market, both are just as compactly-packed as they come with a lot of technology, and both are competing for position in your ear. While deciding which one is truly worth your money, here is the honest breakdown.
First things first: these two sets of earbuds are designed for different sorts of folks. The AirPods Pro 3 is an iPhone owner’s dream, sleek, sophisticated, with health options. Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is a step up from the original Galaxy Buds 4 in terms of audiophile appeal, and is a worthwhile upgrade for Android and Samsung phone users who value Hi-Fi audio but prefer to not carry a pair of over-ear headphones.
Both are premium. Both are expensive. But they have different audiences.
| Feature | AirPods Pro 3 | Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $249.00 | $249.99 |
| Audio | Adaptive Audio, Voice Isolation, ANC | Dual Speaker, ANC, Adaptive EQ |
| Microphones | Ultra-low-noise mics | 6 mics (3 per earbud) + DNN |
| Call Quality | Voice Isolation | Super Clear Call via Super Wideband (SWB) up to 16 kHz |
| Smart Features | Live Translation, Heart Rate Sensing, Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, Hearing Protection | Galaxy AI Interpreter, Voice-Ready AI Agent (Bixby), Head Gesture |
| Battery (ANC on) | Up to 8 hours | Up to ~6 hours |
| Battery (ANC off) | Up to 10 hours | Up to 7 hours |
| Total with Case | 30+ hours | 30+ hours |
| Water Resistance | IP57 | IP57 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 wireless | Bluetooth 6.1 wireless |
| Controls | Touch (press + swipe), Siri Interactions | Pinch Control, Head Gesture |
| Colors | White | White, Black, Pink Gold |
AirPods Pro 3 have Apple’s iconic stem design, with the ear tips turned inwards to create a significantly tighter fit. Apple also added five ear tip sizes, including a thin new XXS one, with a hybrid thin foam-silicone construction that can cut out more outside noise passively before the ANC kicks in. They feel trapped even during movement.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro takes things way out of the box with a genuine aluminum blade serving as a design feature and touch control area. So premium in its metal appearance it’s not just skin-deep, it’s built-in. Designed by Samsung, the ergonomic contours should fit many different ear shapes. When extended use, neither pair gets fatigued, but the Buds 4 Pro are a bit bulkier in the ear canal.
They both have an IP57 rating, which means they can handle sweat, rain and can even be dunked in water for a short time without problems. This is the first update for the AirPods Pro series and Samsung is continuing to set the bar high.
Winner: Apple wins on fit versatility, Samsung wins on material quality.
This is where it truly gets interesting, and where the two products can have wholly different philosophies.
The new multiport acoustic architecture has been carefully designed into the inside of AirPods Pro 3. This translates to a deeper bass, wider soundstage and clarity of vocals that’s almost unreal at times. Every facet is controlled by Apple’s custom H2 chip, and its Personalized Spatial Audio feature is based on your actual head geometry, using your iPhone’s TrueDepth camera, which really makes the listening experience look 3-D. These are virtually unfair for podcast and vocal music fans.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro offers Samsung’s definition of “true Hi-Fi” in earbuds, and that’s not an empty promise. The sophisticated 2-way speaker design uses a wider woofer and a dedicated tweeter, both powered by their own amplifier, so that it delivers sound over the entire range with minimal distortion as compared to a single-driver design. With Ultra High Quality Audio (UHQ) turned on, the Samsung Seamless Codec delivers 24-bit / 96 kHz audio that’s available in a high-end wired system, not wireless earbuds. You’ll have plenty of space to shape the sound you like with 9-band EQ.
The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro has the huge edge in terms of pure audio fidelity and technical specifications, particularly for those who value separation and resolution when listening to songs. The AirPods Pro 3’s spatial processing is difficult to beat when it comes to an immersive, everyday listening experience.
Winner: Galaxy Buds 4 Pro for music quality; AirPods Pro 3 for immersive spatial experience.
Apple made a bold statement here and somehow it is true. The AirPods Pro 3 offers up to 2x more noise cancellation than AirPods Pro 2 and up to 4x more than the original AirPods Pro. The new ultra-low-noise microphones and enhanced acoustic seal work together to produce an almost unsettling level of silence that truly eliminates the noise of a café, airplane and street.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come with their own Adaptive ANC, which adapts in real-time, in accordance with the wearer’s ear fit and their surroundings. Samsung introduced Adaptive Noise Control that adjusts the intensity of ANC and ambient sounds according to the surrounding environment. What you find here, such as Siren Detect (auto-switch from ambient mode when it hears an emergency siren) and Voice Detect (changes when you start talking) is serious engineering investment.
Raw noise blocking is slightly stronger on the lower frequencies, where traffic rumble resides, with the AirPods Pro 3 on top with back-to-back testing in a commute. However, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is not to be taken lightly and its adaptive functionality in real-world situations is smoother.
Winner: AirPods Pro 3 narrowly, but clearly.
Voice Isolation mode is another feature that AirPods Pro 3 have that creates great voice isolation on voice calls. Anyone on a phone call on a noisy street hears you and not the street.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro takes it one step further in terms of technology. Three microphones per earbud are connected to an advanced Deep Neural Network (DNN) which intelligently separates your voice from the audio. Super Clear Call feature transmits up to 16 kHz, which is a significantly deeper and more natural sounding call than normal narrowband voice. Samsung explicitly promises that this is “best enjoyed” with Galaxy smartphones.
Winner: Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, the six-mic DNN setup is a genuine step ahead for calls.
AirPods Pro 3 introduced Apple Intelligence into the equation in very practical ways. Live Translation allows you to hear what someone is saying in a different language in real time through AirPods Pro 3. If both you and the person have AirPods Pro 3, you can both talk in your own language, and hear each other’s speech translated instantly.
Heart rate sensing is also new and optical sensors. Gadgets can monitor your heart rate and calories burned during exercise in the Fitness app. This is a big deal. Converts your earbuds into a fitness device.
Oh, and there’s the built-in Hearing Aid feature (FDA-authorized), automatic Conversation Boost, and a Hearing Test, a complete hearing health ecosystem that no other earbuds can compete with.
Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will utilize Galaxy AI to offer functions such as the Interpreter (that lets you hear languages in real time via the earbuds), Voice-Ready AI Agent (which lets you use Bixby without using your hands), and Head Gesture controls (nodding or shaking your head to answer phone calls or interact with Bixby). Auto Switch seamlessly switches devices within the Galaxy ecosystem.
Both are impressive. But Apple’s heart rate sensing is a true differentiator, none of the other earbuds at this price point can beat.
Winner: AirPods Pro 3, heart rate sensing alone puts them ahead.
If this is the price of your earbuds, then battery anxiety is real.
AirPods Pro 3 gives an ANC for 8 hours and up to 10 hours in Transparency or Hearing Aid mode. Add the charging case to that and you have 30+ hours. This is a significant improvement over the Pro 2’s only 6 hours of ANC, which is about a workday.
The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro paces the total amount of hours it lasts on the battery when ANC is on and active, which is around 5-6 hours based on real usage. Not so bad but definitely not close to Apple when it comes on without the case for the majority of the day.
They both support fast charging, so if you’ve got a quick top up in the case, then you’ll get back up and running quickly. The AirPods Pro 3, however, are an obvious superior choice if long listening sessions without having to reach for the case are more important to you.
Winner: AirPods Pro 3
AirPods Pro 3 are exclusively for iPhone users. Set up is immediate, open the case close to your iPhone weblog, and you’re connected in seconds. Automatic Switching up iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV is seamless. Galaxy users will still be able to connect them via Bluetooth, but almost all the smart features are gone without the iPhone. For those who are not in the Apple ecosystem, half the product is locked up.
While Galaxy Buds 4 Pro demand One UI 8.5 for the complete experience, they work well with any Android device. Setup and controls are now built directly for Samsung Galaxy users into Galaxy settings and the Quick Panel.
For Galaxy users, the need for a separate Galaxy Wearable app was eliminated, with everything now being part of the Galaxy settings and Quick Panel. It’s as seamless as AirPods with an iPhone for Samsung Galaxy phone users.
Winner: Depends on your phone. This one isn’t debatable, buy what works with what you already use.
Both are among the top earbuds available today. The one area where the AirPods Pro 3 have the edge is on ANC, battery and health. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro shines in terms of audio resolution and call quality. There is no right or wrong option. They are just designed for different systems, different people, different ears.
Choose the one that matches your cell phone. Then, enjoy your music. For a detailed review, Read AirPods Pro 3 and Galaxy Buds 4. For alternatives, Read Apple AirPods Max 2.
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