Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Which flagship earbuds are better?

Yes, it’s official: Samsung has a new flagship earbud ready to beat out the big-name competition. For a while, the commercial earbud game has been all about Apple, Sony, and Bose, but I think Samsung has really made something special with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Are these new earbuds enough to be some of the best earbuds around, though? If you value bassy sound, then yeah, definitely. The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are chock-full of meaty bass and appealing features… but most of these are locked behind the Galaxy ecosystem.

I decided to compare Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro to the iconic Sony WF-1000XM6 to see which earbuds come out on top. Bring it!

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Specs

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Price

The Sony WF-1000XM6 are pretty pricey these days: $329 from Amazon U.S. and £249 from Amazon U.K..

Comparatively, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are $TK from Amazon U.S. and £219 from Amazon U.K..

Obviously, this means the Samsung option is considerably cheaper, saving you $TK and £30 respectively. If you’re not fully sold on either the Samsung or Sony buds, though, you might want to check out the AirPods Pro 3 ($249/£219), the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2 ($299/£299), or my favorite underrated earbuds, the Status Pro X ($299/£225).

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Design

If you prefer a stem design, then the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will suit you better — conversely, if you prefer a pebble design, then I’d recommend the WF-1000XM6.

This is a personal preference, but I would struggle to use pebble-style earbuds as my primary earbuds. I have weirdly small ears, and the bulbous design of the 1000XM6 proved a little painful during my testing. Even with the smallest tip size, I was only able to wear the buds for about an hour before my ears started aching. This is a play-it-by-ear situation, though, so don’t take my word as gospel if you’ve had luck with pebble earbuds in the past.

None of my colleagues seem to have this issue (darn, their normal-sized earholes!), but it’s worth noting that if you have weirdly small ears, I’d recommend stem-style earbuds. For example, I’d recommend the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro or AirPods Pro 3 — as they are a little more comfortable.

Both the WF-1000XM6 and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro look fantastic, though, and have straightforward controls. You can easily adjust the controls via Samsung’s Android-only Wearables app or the built-in bud settings on Galaxy Phones. On iPhone, you can’t adjust anything.

Regardless of use with an iPhone or Android, you can customize all settings with Sony’s Sound Connect app.

Winner: Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Features & connectivity

I tested both sets of earbuds with three phones: my personal iPhone 16 Pro, my testing Samsung S25+, and our office testing Asus Zenfone.

Connecting both the 1000XM6 and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro to all these phones is super easy. Simply hold down the pairing button and the earbuds know what to do. However, obviously the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are designed to sync seamlessly to Galaxy phones, just as AirPods are designed to work seamlessly with iPhones.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro only have multipoint if you’re using Galaxy devices — for example, an S25 phone and a Galaxy tablet — whereas the WF-1000XM6 have multipoint built in as standard.

Even so, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have super-new-and-stylish Bluetooth 6.1 — which boasts a range of 984 feet — whereas the 1000XM6 are trailing behind with Bluetooth 5.3 I’m a little disappointed that Sony didn’t use a newer version of Bluetooth — 6.0 and 6.1 came out last year — but AirPods Pro 3 use Bluetooth 5.3, as well, and the differences aren’t hugely tangible.

Although the WF-1000XM6 win for connectivity types, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro boast a slew of fancy-schmancy features. You get everything from seamless AI integration — think Bixby and Gemini, depending on your phone — to Interpreter (live translation), and increased call quality.

If you’re an iPhone user, you get many more features with the WF-1000XM6 than the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. However, if you’re a Samsung Galaxy phone user, you get loads more AI features with the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro than the WF-1000XM6.

Frustratingly, a lot of benefit comes down to which ecosystem you want to sink $$$ into: already got an iPhone? Then get the WF-1000XM6 or AirPods. Got a Samsung Galaxy, or want one? Then go for the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Features that everyone can benefit from, regardless of ecosystem, are also present. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are IP57-rated, whereas the Sony WF-1000XM6 are just IPX4. AirPods Pro 3 are also IP57, and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Gen 2 are IP55-rated.

While IPX4 sounds pretty mid, the WF-1000XM6 are still splashproof, so would survive bouts of rain.

Winner: WF-1000XM6, because said features are available on more devices.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Sound quality

Now onto arguably the most important thing: sound quality. To test sound, I listened to music on both my iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25+ on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles.

I listened to genres from grunge to pop to electronic to glam rock to acoustic, and both the WF-1000XM6 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro performed extremely well. I really don’t think there’s much in it — both models are flagship earbuds, and boy oh boy, you can tell.

In general, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are better at handling bass, although sacrificing detail in heavy genres like metal. The WF-1000XM6 sound closer to the AirPods Pro 3 — treble and upper mids brought forward, bass pushed back a touch, but with a more expansive soundscape.

Personally, I actually prefer the sound of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro ove the WF-1000XM6. The AirPods Pro 3 are able to strike the balance between expansive soundscapes, detail, and bass, but for me, the WF-1000XM6 are a little too light on the bass. Conversely, the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are the opposite — a little too bassy, which sacrifices detail.

Again, this one depends on your personal preference. I think I would actually go for the Buds 4 Pro, though.

Winner: Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: ANC

The ANC on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is practically flawless. When I was testing these earbuds, I was completely in my own world. Colleagues couldn’t get my attention, no matter how hard they tried. Traffic noise outside my apartment was obliterated.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are seriously some of the best ANC earbuds I’ve ever tested, and I’ve tested a lot.

Conversely, I wasn’t overly enamored with the ANC on the WF-1000XM6. The earbuds cut out most environmental noise, but they weren’t as good as blocking high-frequency sounds like keyboard clacking.

I’d give this round to the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Call quality

If you’re using the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro with a Samsung S24 and newer, you get up to 16kHz of call quality. However, even when you use these earbuds on an iPhone, you get excellent call quality.

I tested these earbuds by calling my boyfriend, who said I sounded perfectly clear and audible. There was no metallic weirdness happening to my voice. The Buds 4 Pro are also excellent at minimizing ambient noise — I played a traffic noise track at 75dB and my boyfriend said he couldn’t hear a thing. He reported that my voice sounded a little muffled, but the environmental noise was completely silent.

The Sony WF-1000XM6 also have excellent call quality. Our reviewer Ashley said the mics isolated her voice even over the top of construction noise, and her voice was clear and audible throughout her testing call.

We’ll say this round is a draw.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Battery

This one’s a pretty easy decision: the Sony WF-1000XM6 last for a whopping 12 hours (without ANC) between charges, and the charging case holds 24 hours of battery life.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have just 7 hours (without ANC) in the buds themselves. Even though the Samsung charging case offers 30 hours of battery life, having 12 hours in the buds alone is a major competition killer.

Winner: Sony WF-1000XM6, as they’d be able to keep you locked and loaded for an entire 12-hour shift — although you’d be charging the case more often.

Sony WF-1000XM6 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro: Verdict

Personally, I would go for the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro based on comfort and sound quality alone. However, if you want more bang for your buck and you have a non-Samsung Galaxy phone, you might be better off with the Sony WF-1000XM6.

So if you’re of the non-Samsung-Android or iPhone persuasion and you want all those nice, meaty features hidden away in companion apps, I’d say you should go for the Sonys. This is really annoying, as I genuinely prefer the sound quality on the Samsungs, but, unfortunately, many of the flagship Samsung features are locked behind S24-and-newer phones.

Even so, I think the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are much better value, so I know which ones I’d personally buy — although the Sony WF-1000XM6 are markedly more versatile.

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