---
title: 'Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs AirPods Pro 3: Ultimate Comparison & Testing'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=rK4SMttjJZQ'
video_id: 'rK4SMttjJZQ'
date: 2026-08-06
duration_sec: 937
---

# Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs AirPods Pro 3: Ultimate Comparison & Testing

> Source: [Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs AirPods Pro 3: Ultimate Comparison & Testing](https://youtube.com/watch?v=rK4SMttjJZQ)

## Summary

This video compares the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and Apple AirPods Pro 3, both priced at $249. The reviewer tests design, ANC, transparency, microphones, sound quality, and features, concluding that the choice depends on ecosystem and priorities.

### Key Points

- **Introduction and Price** [00:02] — Both earbuds have the same $249 price tag and share features like live translate, but have major differences. The reviewer polled viewers and most wanted a comparison with AirPods Pro 3.
- **Design Differences** [00:32] — AirPods have a smaller case, aluminum materials, and a lanyard. Galaxy Buds come in white, black, and pink, with a transparent lid and plastic build. AirPods case closes automatically, while Galaxy Buds can stand upright and stay open.
- **Pairing and Charging** [02:49] — AirPods have a hidden pairing button and LED, while Galaxy Buds have an obvious button and LED. AirPods charge via USB-C, wireless, MagSafe, and Apple Watch chargers; Galaxy Buds only via USB-C or wireless.
- **Finding Features** [03:28] — AirPods case has precision finding and a speaker, allowing location via iPhone like an AirTag. Galaxy Buds lack precision locating, only playing sound from the earbuds if lost.
- **Controls and Voice Assistants** [04:07] — Both have pinch controls, volume swipes, and head gestures. Galaxy Buds support Bixby, Gemini, and Perplexity on Samsung phones; AirPods are limited to Siri.
- **Fit and Comfort** [04:35] — Galaxy Buds are slightly more comfortable due to ear tips that don't apply pressure. AirPods use foam-filled silicone tips that block more sound but are less comfortable.
- **ANC Test Results** [05:13] — In a jet sound test, Galaxy Buds blocked 59 dB, AirPods blocked 65 dB. In a speech test, Galaxy Buds blocked 38 dB, AirPods 42 dB. AirPods also have less white noise in silent rooms.
- **Transparency Mode** [07:19] — Both sound natural, but AirPods have less white noise. Galaxy Buds allow adjusting ambient sound volume, which AirPods do not.
- **Microphone Tests** [08:02] — Galaxy Buds can connect to Samsung camera app for recording, support 360 audio and 16 kHz audio. AirPods performed well indoors; outdoor tests showed both block background noise effectively.
- **Sound Quality and Codecs** [09:36] — Galaxy Buds have dual drivers, EQ, and higher resolution codecs (SSC 24-bit/96kHz) but only with Samsung phones. AirPods have a neutral sound, no EQ, and standard codecs.
- **Durability and Features** [11:38] — Both have IP57 rating. AirPods have hearing aid features, hearing test, and decibel limiter. Galaxy Buds have adaptive ANC, speech detection, and siren detection.
- **Heart Rate Sensor and Other Features** [13:05] — AirPods Pro 3 have a heart rate sensor more accurate than most smartwatches. Galaxy Buds have customizable controls and Auracast. Both have spatial audio and ecosystem-specific features.
- **Multi-point Connectivity** [14:15] — Neither has true multi-point connectivity, which is a frustration for users switching between devices like a laptop and phone.
- **Conclusion and Verdict** [14:41] — Both are $249. AirPods win on ANC, Galaxy Buds win on customization and appearance. The choice depends on ecosystem and priorities.

### Conclusion

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and AirPods Pro 3 are both excellent earbuds, but the best choice depends on your smartphone ecosystem and whether you prioritize ANC (AirPods) or customization and design (Galaxy Buds).

## Transcript

stack up against the AirPods Pro 3? They both have the same $249 price tag. ecosystems. They both have live translate, a lot of the same features. there are some pretty major differences between these earbuds. I pulled everyone
on my channel and said, "What should I compare the Galaxy Buds 4 to?" And the overwhelming majority of people said the AirPods Pro 3. So, let's see why comparison. After trying them side by side, I have a lot to say in this video.
quite interesting. We'll talk about the sound quality, the microphones, and of to know when comparing these two pairs of earbuds. But, I think we should probably start off with the design. You can see a fundamental difference in the
designs here. The AirPods have a smaller case in two dimensions, but the Galaxy The Galaxy Buds come in three different colors. You have white, black, and pink don't like white, you can also choose white. The AirPods
aluminum, which is quite nice, and an aluminum hinge on the back. So, slightly more premium materials in that sense. The Galaxy Buds do not have a lanyard outside. It's pretty much all plastic. But, looking at the cases from the top,
transparent case on or the transparent lid on the case of the Galaxy Buds. It there and just know that they're definitely there when you grab the case and leave, so you don't end up getting on your flight, open up the case, and
oops, you forgot to put your AirPods back. The Galaxy Buds also have a We'll talk about the Actually, we could talk about it now. You can leave a comment and let me know which one you think looks better aesthetically. Um the
It's kind of hard to talk about the aesthetics of AirPods because there's kind of this social aspect to it where so many people have AirPods that no you have AirPods. No one's going to comment on, "Wow, those earbuds look
different." Like, they're just AirPods. Whereas the Galaxy Buds, being newer, being less common, at least here in the States, uh they are more of a statement. And I kind of like the premium, like brushed metal design on the outside.
if you want to look a little bit more like AirPods. Um the black ones, I think look quite nice. And pink gold actually looks pretty good as well. Also, the case designs are quite different in how they sit on your desk, which is subtle,
but after using these earbuds a lot, it's something that I've observed, and I I kind of does matter to me. So, the AirPods, when you open them and set them down, the case always closes, which kind of goes back to what I was saying of if
somewhere, the case is already closed, and you could forget your AirPods are not in there. The Galaxy Buds, on the other hand, can sit upright, can stay leave it open on your desk, use the earbuds, and yeah, they function quite
pairing mode, you have a hidden button, tapping the front of the case. You'll on the front. Whereas the Galaxy Buds have a very obvious button on the back, and an LED, which is also quite obvious
kind of sneaky and premium, and I like the way the AirPods did this. The AirPods also charge with USB Type-C, wireless charging, MagSafe, and Apple Watch chargers. So, you have quite a few options when charging these. The Galaxy
Buds charge with USB Type-C or with a wireless charger. They don't have any magnets, and they don't charge with any kind of watch chargers. The AirPods case also has the advantage of precision finding and a speaker. So, if you lose
your case, not only can you use it can you use your iPhone to basically find it like an AirTag with precision locating, giving you an arrow and a distance to find them, but you can also play a sound on the speaker on the case, not just on
can also play a sound on them, of course. The Galaxy Buds, on the other hand, I've been saying for a few generations really need to add something like that. They have the ability to play the sound in the earbuds themselves if
the earbuds fall out, but really no good precision locating features similar to the AirPods. The controls on these are unsurprisingly quite similar. They both have pinch controls, they volume swipe controls, you have head gestures to nod
commands with the native voice assistants on both platforms. Although, if you're using a Samsung phone and the Galaxy Buds, you do have an advantage of voice assistants, whether that is Bixby, Gemini, or now Perplexity as well.
Whereas the AirPods, you're pretty much just stuck with Siri and well, Siri's Siri's got a little bit of work to do. As far as the fit and the comfort similarly well during workouts. I don't have a problem with either of them
falling out. The Galaxy Buds are slightly more comfortable to me, and I think that comes down to the fundamental difference in the ear tips. The AirPods have silicone-covered foam ear tips, or foam-filled silicone ear tips if you
want to think of it like that. And that means that they apply a a bit of a pressure actually in your ears, and they You have to push a little bit harder, which is not uncomfortable, but I think
it's less comfortable and convenient than the Galaxy Buds. But, the reason Apple did that is because, well, I mean, foam does an excellent job at blocking sound. Think about any earplugs you might have used on a job site. And well,
category of the active noise cancellation, where you really start to see the wins from those ear tips. So, one, we've got the jet sound test. I distance, turned the volume up until the earbuds were no longer able to
comfortably block it out. The Galaxy Buds blocked up to about 59 decibels, which is very respectable, but the AirPods are pretty much top two or three in the industry right now. They blocked up to 65 decibels. So, noticeably more
untrained ears, could try them both and say, "Yeah, the AirPods are definitely blocking more sound." However, I did fly just last week with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and it was a it was a pleasant experience. I don't feel like they're
lacking. I feel like it did a good enough job of blocking the sound that, in the toughest environments, yeah, the AirPods did pull ahead. Test number two then is a speech test. I played an interview, turned up the volume until
the earbuds again were no longer able to block it out. And this, the higher frequencies, are the less based on the algorithm and the ANC engine, and a lot more based on the ear tips. And here, again, the Galaxy Buds blocked 38 dB, 4
dB less than the AirPods, which were blocking 42 dB. You could probably argue tips for both of these and probably improve that quite significantly. Um maybe I'll I'll check it out. Usually Comply sells ear tips. I've worked with
them in the past. Um so, I'll put a link down below if I can find some some foam And I really think that would probably improve it a bunch, but again, ANC definitely leans towards AirPods two to zero in this category. Then the third
silent room test. What if you're in a place that doesn't have a lot of sound? don't want to have white noise or anything like that. The AirPods really have no white noise or hissing. The Galaxy Buds, if you listen closely, they
do have marginally more noise um on the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro compared to the AirPods. So, unfortunately for the Galaxy Buds, this category goes to the AirPods. The transparency is also a similar story, kind of based on like the
Both sound very natural. It sounds very, very good. Samsung also allows you to sound. The AirPods do not, so I think that's a benefit there. But, Apple, I opinion, due to the absence of white noise. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, although
they don't have much white noise with the ANC, they definitely have measurably more white noise if you go to ambient sound mode and turn it up to the highest most natural then. It's not like really amplified. It sounds pretty much on par
amplified. It sounds pretty much on par volume-wise with the AirPods Pro 3. But, a lot of people kind of conflate ANC and microphones blocking the background. couple microphone tests. Starting off with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, we're
indoors and I'm recording this on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which allows you to connect the earbuds to the camera app. And I think this is really interesting this. One, you're able to use your camera and set it like, you know, far
as a microphone if you're okay with Um and you should get a pretty natural and clear sound. These also have the ability to record 360 audio. So, if there's something moving by, your
video's going to have uh a 360 audio experience that you could experience it back. These also have 16 kHz audio, so should be fairly high resolution, but AirPods. And then we'll go outside to a tougher environment. So, now these are
the Apple AirPods Pro 3. Again, indoors, so this should be a fairly easy situation for both of these earbuds. Outside, we'll see which one blocks more sound. I'll just go in uh I'm going to do a call. I'll do a Google Meet um just
so I can use both a Android and iPhone and get a similar experience there. And low-quality recording, but you'll hear how well these are able to block the phone call type way. >> All right, so this is a microphone test
outdoors with the Apple AirPods Pro 3. There's some noise behind me. It's not particularly windy, but we'll see how well this blocks out the sound in kind of a a natural phone call setup like this. And now, this is the microphone on
the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. Again, a lot of sound behind me, but we'll see if this natural way. So far, we've kind of been trading blows. So, a win for the AirPods, a win for the Galaxy Buds. The sound quality is going to kind of
solidify a theme between the two of these, which is the Galaxy Buds give you more customization and more flexibility, whereas the AirPods are pretty rigid. not a whole lot you're going to be customizing with them. So, getting into
the sound quality, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have dual drivers. They've got like a tweeter and a woofer, which are improved over last year as well. So, that should give you more of a kind of dynamic range available. Um the Galaxy Buds also have
an EQ, which is a huge benefit. The AirPods don't have an EQ. You can get some workarounds, but there's no like just native EQ that's ready to use. We also have higher resolution codecs on the Galaxy Buds, but really only if you
use Samsung phones. Kind of a bit of a downside. These both have SBC and AAC, the basic kind of low-res codecs, but for more high-fidelity, you can use SSC, believe is what they call it. That's what that stands for, which gives you
24-bit 96 kHz audio. Unfortunately, only with Samsung phones. They didn't have LDAC on here. Not sure why they removed that. So, if you're using like a a Pixel not going to get that same high-res. Either way, definitely higher resolution
than the AirPods if you're connecting a Samsung phone to a Samsung Galaxy Buds. But the AirPods Pro 3 actually sound really good. The preference is going to depend on what kind of music you listen to. I think the Galaxy Buds are a bit
darker. They have more of a bass emphasis, but they also have a bit of a downsides of the Galaxy Buds, they have a lot of bass and a lot of highs, but they kind of feel a little bit harsh up around I want to say like 5,000 or 5
kHz. Um and they have a bit of a bass lift as well. I don't mind the bass think it can be really good with certain genres of music. And in the EQ, you can totally address that. So, I think that's a big benefit. The AirPods are a bit
kind of a more of a neutral curve, I would say. Um personally, I like them both. They sound really good for a ton of different genres. So, for this Samsung just because they have higher resolution codex and they have an EQ.
they could potentially win this category. As far as durability goes, these are both rated IP57 for the buds. So, that's better than most earbuds out going to This is an interesting one. These both have quite different
features. The AirPods have some pretty massive ones that not many other earbuds address. So, they've got their kind of hearing suite. They've got like a a hearing aid ability. They've got a hearing test on here and they have a
decibel limiter. So, if you go into transparency mode and like their sounds bring it down to a a safer level inside your earbuds. The Galaxy Buds have something similar with their adaptive ANC and both these do have the ability
to detect speech. So, if you have ANC on and you start talking, if the setting's enabled, it'll turn on a transparency or ambient sound mode, turn your volume then go back to your music afterwards. The Galaxy Buds also detect sirens,
biking or walking on the side of a a road. The AirPods also have live translate as do the Galaxy Buds. They're both okay best position to try them a lot cuz I don't find myself translating all that
them, you can leave a comment and I would love to see what your experience is. They both are kind of good. They're okay. I don't know if the translation is that accurate yet, but one thing that is very accurate, which I was quite
surprised about with the AirPods Pro 3, is the heart rate sensor. These have a heart rate sensor in them, which is more accurate than most smartwatches I've by that. This could be beneficial for anyone who either doesn't want to wear a
like, I don't know, boxing and like you have to wear gloves and it covers up situation is, it's kind of nice that you have a good accurate heart rate sensor on the AirPods. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have uh customizable controls. That's a
big thing that the AirPods really don't really have. They also have Auracast, so that's another benefit if that is something that you think you'd be using. And both of these do have some features that are ecosystem specific. For
example, audio sharing. If you have an iPhone and you have two pairs of AirPods or or Beats and AirPods, for example, you can connect both to the same iPhone and play, you know, two audio two audio outputs at once. Galaxy phones can
Bluetooth devices. Doesn't have to be Galaxy Buds. Both of these do have the They both have their own voice assistants. They've got spatial audio. know, a lot of the similar standard features you would expect. One complaint
have their seamless switching within the ecosystems, but neither one of these has true multi-point connectivity, which I think is a huge frustration. If I have like a a Dell laptop and either one of these devices,
between my iPhone and my Dell laptop or my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and my Dell That's the way it works. The price on these, like I said, the MSRP is $249 for
both of them. They're very likely to see a lot of very competitive sales between description down below. But, who actually won this? it depends. It definitely does, though. If you care a lot more about ANC, the
AirPods definitely won. If you care a lot more about customization or appearance, the Galaxy Buds definitely give you more options. For me personally, I am going to continue using the Galaxy Buds because they're new and
I really want to test them and compare to different devices. But, if you want polled everyone and we've got a couple other options probably coming soon. Be sure to subscribe to the channel. Hope you enjoyed this video. It was kind of
more of a fun video. It wasn't meant to be like which one to buy because obviously if you're in the Samsung ecosystem, you can't update AirPods even going to be able to do much with them. And the other way around is also true.
So, thanks for watching guys. I'll see you in the next video.