I tested the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra: here's the winner

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the most daring earbuds Samsung has made thus far. Thanks to the bassy sound signature and a slew of AI features — whether you gravitate to said AI features or not — these are some serious contenders for the best earbuds title.

But every time there's a new contender on the scene, you can't forget the old faithfuls that came before. AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 are all main players, so it's only right that we pit these flagship buds against one another. Right? It's all about the competition.

So I thought I'd throw the Bose and Samsung offerings into the ring and see which ones come out on top. Will it be the Bose QuietComfort Ultrs Earbuds Gen 2 or the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro?

Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Specs

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Price

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen are $299 from Amazon U.S. and £299 from Amazon U.K.. Comparatively, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are $249 from Amazon U.S. and £219 from Amazon U.K..

The writing's on the wall here: the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are $50 cheaper, therefore Samsung takes this round.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Design

Just as with the Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, your opinion here might not match mine. Whether you prefer the Bose or Samsung buds will depend on how you like your buds: pebble or stem?

The Bose buds are closer to your "pebble" style, with a short stem and a mostly inside-ear design, whereas Samsung elected for an Apple-adjacent "stem" style that comes out of your concha. Don't get me wrong, the QC Ultra 2nd Gen aren't entirely pebble, but they're shorter than the Galaxy 4 Pro.

Personally, I'm a fan of stem style buds. Pebble styles tend to hurt my ears after a long time. If you have weirdly small ears (join the club!) then you might want to go for the Samsung option due to the smaller overall design.

Even so, if you have medium-to-large ears, the Bose option is more viable. These buds are larger in the nozzle, with a stout stem used for touch controls.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have a stem for touch controls, too. Both the Bose and Samsung options are easy to control, with customizable options in the relevant apps (Samsung's app isn't available on iOS).

Even though AirPods Pro 3 come with five silicone ear tips, the Bose and Samsung buds only come with three. Both Bose and Samsung's ear tips are easy to remove and apply, so fear not.

This is a really hard battle to judge, because I think the QC Ultra 2nd Gen look more striking, but hurt my ears after a while. On the other hand, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are a little plainer, a little less likely to attract attention, but they're more versatile for large and small ears.

I'm going to give this round to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro as they're a comfortable option for more people.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Features & connectivity

If I discuss every single feature present in the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, we'll both be here all day. You'll fall asleep at your phone. Let's just say that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro can do basically everything you'd ever want from earbuds, except measure your heart rate.

If you use your phone's AI assistants, you'll be able to chat to these agents directly through the earbuds. There's also a live translation (Interpreter) feature, siren aware ANC, and Bluetooth 6.0

However, as expected, most of these features are locked behind Samsung's Galaxy ecosystem. Only AI-enabled Galaxy phones can take advantage of these. I tested out the buds with a Samsung Galaxy S25+ and all these features worked seamlessly — but they're also nonexistent on non-Galaxy Androids and iPhones.

Comparatively, Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen have fewer "impressive" features, but said features are more widely available. You can use Bose's Immersive Audio, multipoint (even from Android phones to MacBooks), and EQ presets for watching movies or listening to music.

See, it's a draw right now. I don't really gravitate towards any AI or health features anyway, so I'm not going to hold the lack of these against the Bose buds. However, I am going to hold the next feature against Bose.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have an IP57 rating... and the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen have an IPX4 rating. This means the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro can withstand (brief) immersion and are a little dustproof. However, the QC Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen can only survive being splashed.

The Sony WF-1000XM6 are only IPX4, too, so it's not unheard of at this price point, but I wish the Bose buds were a little more durable.

However, most of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro's features aren't available on iOS — whereas Bose is usable with both iOS and Android.

It's tricky, but this round is a tie.

Winner: Draw

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Sound quality

I'm going to start by saying the Bose and Samsung buds are both tuned in a way I can only describe as wall-wobbling, floor-thumping, eardrum-rattling bass. This isn't inherently positive or negative — it just is. Some earbuds are bassy, some are more detail-focused.

AirPods Pro 3 and WF-1000XM6 are both detail-heavy, so if you find the sound on those earbuds lackluster, you might be a secret basshead. Come to the dark side. Muahaha.

Although I listened to a lot more music than I have space to discuss here, I'll analyze three specific tracks: 'Crystalline Green' by Goldfrapp, 'Going Under' by Evanescence, and 'BLUE' by Billie Eilish. All three of these tracks have complex soundscapes, whether that's glitchy electro, crunchy nu-metal, or wispy harmonies.

As both the earbuds are bass-heavy, they have a similar signature sound. When listening with the Bose buds, the synth pulses on 'Crystalline Green' were prominent throughout the song, and the shifty bass effect trembled in the background of the track. The vocals were presented in the middle of the track, not overpowered by the laser sound effects or the glitchy bass.

Similarly, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro balanced the heavy bass with the distorted vocals well, and the tremulous bass wobbled in my ears delightfully. Both earbuds handle electronic exceptionally well.

When I played 'Going Under', the Samsung buds handled the volume of the crunchy guitars and glitchy percussion well. The piano riffs were a touch pushed back, as was the subtle electronic bassline. This was a similar issue on the Bose buds; the crunchy guitar pummeled the rest of the track, almost overpowering the subtle electronic bass. Even so, Amy Lee's fearless vocals led the song without shying away from the challenge.

Last, there's 'BLUE' by Billie Eilish. The Bose earbuds layered every instrument delicately: the floaty instrumental gave way to a guitar-driven verse, and Eilish's layered vocals danced across the soundscape like butterflies. The bass was a touch too loud, but this is adjustable with EQ customization in the Bose app. The electronic breakdown at the end of the track was excellent, with expansive sound and supreme instrument separation.

When listening with the Samsung buds, I noticed the same overzealous bass, but it was loud enough to overpower Eilish's soft vocals a little. This still isn't a major con, though, as the rest of the song sounded excellent; the guitar licks were audible in the right earbud, and the harmonies in the verses.

This is a close round, but it's going to be the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen. If you have an iPhone or a non-Samsung-Galaxy Android, you won't get access to Samsung's 'UHQ' listening mode. As the Bose buds sound better on a wider range of devices, it's got to go to Bose.

Winner: Bose

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: ANC

For a long time, Bose has been the undisputed champion of ANC. Bose's premium line is literally called Quiet Comfort. Wait — Bose literally invented ANC. Yeah, it's serious stuff. For years, Bose has made the "best" ANC gear.

But other brands are catching up. Samsung's Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are utterly excellent. The ANC performance is divine: when I was testing these buds, I couldn't hear any office noise, nor traffic outside, nor any of my colleagues trying to get my attention. I recently tested them on a train, and it was so silent that I could've been in a private booth.

Even so, the ANC on the Bose QC Ultra 2nd Gen is still world-leading. As soon as I put in the Bose buds, I was in my own world. Usually, high-frequency sounds like clacking keyboards can leak through even powerful ANC.

Not with the QC Ultra 2nd Gen. I couldn't hear myself typing, couldn't hear any traffic noise. It was me and my music against the world. As much as Samsung and Apple are edging closer to Bose-level ANC, Bose are still unbeatable.

Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Call quality

If you've got a Samsung S23 or newer, with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro you get access to improved call quality. Even on my iPhone, though, these earbuds had near-perfect call quality. My voice was clear and audible, even when I was playing a traffic noise track at max volume. The person on the other end of the call couldn't hear any of this track, but did admit that my voice sounded a little muffled.

Even so, if you often find yourself in loud environments, you'll be able to trust that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will be able to isolate your voice.

Equally, the Bose QuietComfort perform exceptionally well. In our review, we wrote, "Despite the noise of the road I was walking beside. The AI noise isolation is top of the tree, and made chatting over the buds a joy."

Both Bose and Samsung have made some excellent-sounding buds with excellent call quality to boot, therefore this round is a toss-up.

Winner: Draw

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Battery life

Samsung Galaxy 4 Pro have a rated battery of 7 hours in the buds and 30 hours in the case. Conversely, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen have a rated battery life of 6 hours in the buds and 24 in the case — the same as 2023's AirPods Pro 2. You'd think that Bose could do better than that, wouldn't you?

Still, neither buds are as impressive as the Sony WF-1000XM6 — 12 hours in the buds and 24 hours in the case. You'd be able to listen from dawn to dusk (and then from dusk back to dawn).

It's a no brainer, really — I'm giving the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro this round.

Winner: Galaxy Buds Pro 4

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen vs Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Verdict

This is a tricky decision, because it's so close. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are truly excellent and have put Samsung on the audio map. However, Bose won the more "important" rounds — ANC and sound quality.

It depends on what you look for in earbuds: do you want the best sound and ANC? Go for the Bose earbuds. Or do you want more impressive "flagship" features? Or do you want better battery life? Then you might want to go for the Samsung buds.

Or, if you have an iPhone, it's a no-brainer: choose Bose. The Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen are more versatile and work seamlessly across more ecosystems.

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