Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6: the high-end wireless battle is heating up

Samsung just revealed its next generation of Galaxy Buds 4 models, upgrading them in multiple ways. Design, fit, sound quality, ANC, and even the Bluetooth connectivity standard they run on.

And just a couple of weeks ago, Sony released their new WF-1000XM6 earbuds, with more microphones, improved ANC and sound quality, and new design of their own. It's a tough time to be an earbud shopper!

As we wait to spend more time with the units, here's everything we know so far:

Table of contents:

Grab the Galaxy Buds 4 at Samsung

$179 ⁹⁹

The standard Galaxy Buds 4 have just been announced. The earbuds come with an improved design and better audio quality, making them a great pick for many. Pre-order yours at Samsung.com.

Pre-order at Samsung

Pre-order the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro at Samsung

$249 ⁹⁹

If you're looking for Pro-grade Samsung and a super-comfortable design, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the ones for you. The earbuds stand out with ANC performance and Galaxy AI features. The best part? You can now pre-order a pair at the Samsung Store.

Pre-order at Samsung

Sony WF-1000XM6

True Wireless Earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation, QN3e and V1 Processors, Improved DAC and Amplifier, Dual Beamforming Microphones, Bone Conduction Sensor, AI-Powered Noise Reduction Technology, Auto Ambient Sound Mode, IPX4 Water Resistance, On-Ear Controls, Up to 8 Hours of Uninterrupted Listening Time, 24 Hours of Battery Life with Charging Case, Black and Platinum Silver Color Options

Pre-order at Amazon

Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6 design

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro refined the stem design much further than we had expected, considering how their predecessors looked. Now, they are smaller, sleeker, and have a sweet brushed metal accent over their flat stems. There are still physical controls on them, via pinching or swiping on the stem, with a groove mark placed for easy tactile navigation.

But the design wasn't only led by a desire to look modern. Samsung's new shape is informed by 100+ million ear scan data points, taking a page off Apple's book. The result is a pair of buds that feel comfortable in the ear and provide a better seal, even for those of you that have picky ear canals.

Sony's WF-1000XM6 also appear much less bulky in this iteration, but Sony does not boast virtual simulations or data point references. We'll have to wait and see (feel) how well they fit.

What is evident, though, is that the Sony buds still use touch controls on their outer shells, which many users dislike. It leads to accidental taps when adjusting a bud, or just an unpleasant feeling when tapping on it, as it jabs against your ear. But others are used to the control scheme.

The new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro case has a smaller footprint than before, designed to lie flat, and still has a transparent lid. It's a bit thicker as a result, but generally a more compact charging case.

Sony's charging case is a rounded stone-like design that isn't going to be too big, too, but will still look slightly bulkier than the Galaxy Buds case.

What's more important here is the IP rating. Samsung gives us IP57 on the buds, meaning limited dust protection and adequate water ingress protection. The WF-1000XM6 buds have IPx4, which means no guaranteed dust protection, and they are only rated to survive mild splashes of water.

Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6 Sound and ANC

Samsung has been using a dual-speaker system with a dynamic woofer and planar tweeter since last year. That sounds impressive, but doesn't mean much if the acoustics and tuning are not on point. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro seeks to improve the soundstaging and presence of the sound with a wider woofer membrane. So far, we definitely like the upgrade.

Sony still bets on a single driver in its earbuds, which is not necessarily bad — single speaker in-ears can still sound great and we have plenty of examples for that.

And what's even better is that both of these manufacturers give you custom EQs within their respective apps, so you can somewhat fine-tune their sound. But yeah, we all know we have to start with good sound, not try to polish it ourselves.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come with a new Adaptive ANC 2.0, which actively monitors ambient noise and chooses which frequencies to attack instead of relying on pre-set profiles. 

Sony offers the same with a new dedicated HD noise canceling processor in the buds.

If you pair the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro to a Samsung phone, you will get to enjoy the Samsung Seamless Codec, for a 24-bit, 96 kHz sound quality. Otherwise, you will be using AAC, which is a fine codec but audiophiles frown at it.

Sony supports the high-res LDAC codec, which is pretty much standard on high-end wireless earbuds today. 

Voice calls

When paired to a Galaxy phone, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will use dual-band Bluetooth connection to transfer your voice with more clarity — up to 16 kHz, Samsung says. That should make sibilant sounds much more clear for the other caller to hear. For non-Galaxy phones, the Buds 4 Pro also use LC3, which is newer and much better than the tired SBC codec,

Sony pretty much just bets on LC3. And that's good — my experience with the previous slew of high-end Sony headphones is that they deliver very clear voice audio for the caller.

Special features

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro now have nod and shake gestures to accept and decline calls. These join voice commands like "next song", "pause music", and "volume up/down". Sure, you can also do it with a voice assistant, but with the feature built-in (when on a Galaxy phone), it's even more convenient.

The Sony WF-1000XM6 also introduced nod and shake gestures. Even better, if you get auto music playback (because you have it set up to start when you enter a location), you can shake to quickly cancel it.

Both earbud models have a feature to cut ANC if you are speaking with someone. Sony also has the feature where you can hold a finger over an earbud to temporarily stop ANC and enhance voice frequencies for a quick conversation.

The Buds 4 Pro now also come with dual AI support — you can call up either Bixby or Gemini without the need to switch them in settings. Sony's buds can still listen for "Hey, Google", if it's set up on your phone.

Live Interpreter — the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, when paired to a Galaxy phone, can live-translate conversations or phone calls in 22 different languages. To be fair, there are plenty of 3rd party apps that can do that if you choose the Sony earbuds.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come with Bluetooth 6.1, which improves spatial audio performance, as well as device stability and handshake speed. A lot of behind-the scenes upgrades that you technically won’t feel in your day-to-day, but should be there on a modern tech product.

Sony still bets on the tried-and-true Bluetooth 5.3 standard, which is still considered to be high-quality. The only thing you lose is bragging points. 

Multi-device

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro does not support Bluetooth multipoint, but will connect easily to Android devices that have the Galaxy Wearable app and is logged into your Samsung account. You do need to go in the app and tap on them to activate them.

Sony's WF-1000XM6 support Bluetooth multipoint for dual-device connectivity — it will just switch to the device that started playing audio most recently.

Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6 battery life

The batteries on the Buds 4 Pro give you 6 hours of use with ANC on, 26 hours with the case total. Sony gives you more from the buds, up to 8 hours with ANC on. But a slightly lower total with the case — 24 hours.

Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Sony WF-1000XM6: which ones to get?

For the moment, I will reserve judgment until I spend ample time with both models. Feature-wise, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have a little bit more going for them. And, I do prefer the stem design for the superior control with mixed pinch and swipe gestures.

That said, if the Sony sound is on point — I am about to have a hard time deciding! How about you?