Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen comparison, as someone who has purchased both pairs of earbuds with my own money.
I’ve conducted thorough testing of both wireless earbuds, and I will break down a winner for each category including:
- Comfort and Fit
- Features
- Battery Life
- Microphone Quality
- Noise Cancelling Performance
- Sound Quality
- Value
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNOW YouTube channel with over 19,000+ subscribers and over 4 million+ views, where you can watch the video versions of all of our reviews and comparisons.
Let’s dive right in!
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Comparison in Short
The newer Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is $50 cheaper than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen while having arguably better sound quality and microphone quality. They’re both elite in comfort for the class, and the Bose still has the advantage for its best-in-class noise cancelling performance.
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Comfort, Features, Microphone Quality, and Battery Life
Comfort
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro comes with 3 pairs of soft silicone eartips.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen comes with 3 pairs of silicone eartips, and 3 wing tips for a more secure fit.
These are currently two of the best wireless earbuds in the market when it comes to comfort while maintaining a secure fit.
The stem-design of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is nice for handling and touch controls.
The extra wingtip attachments of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd gen help to secure the fit even further.
Unlike most comparisons, I don’t actually have a preference between the two, as they’re both firmly in the “forget you’re wearing them” category.
Features
One of the biggest differences between these two are that the Bose has native apps for both iOS and Android users, while the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is only fully managed on Android, and more specifically only modern Samsung Galaxy devices can unlock its full sound quality via “SSC UHQ”.
The Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 supports the high-res aptX Adaptive codec, which is accessible via a Bluetooth dongle on both iOS and Android.
The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are rated at an impressive IP57 rating (submersible in water and dust-resistant), while the Bose is rated at a lower IPX4 (sweat and light splashes of water).
Both earbuds have Spatial Audio for a surround-sound effect.
Microphone Quality
One advantage that the newer Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro has over the Bose QC Ultra 2 is microphone quality.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2 has above average mic quality, but the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro makes a case for the #1 in mic quality for the wireless earbud class entirely.
Bose has improved significantly upon the original 1st gen of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in the mic quality department.
But thanks to its 3-microphone array and bone conduction sensor per earbud, the Samsung is superior in mic quality.
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Battery Life
- With ANC on: 6 hours of battery life on a single charge / 26 hours total with charging case
- With ANC off: 7 hours on a single charge / 30 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 10 minutes = 85 minutes of playback
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Pro Battery Life
- With ANC on: 6 hours of battery life on a single charge / 24 hours total with charging case
- With ANC off: 6 hours on a single charge / 24 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 20 minutes = 2 hours of playback
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro has a very slight battery life advantage over the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Score: 9.5 out of 10
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Score: 9.5 out of 10
Winner: Tie
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Noise Cancelling Performance Compared
These are two of the best wireless earbuds for active noise cancelling performance in the market today, outside of the AirPods Pro 3 and Sony WF-1000XM6.
Now this is an area where the Bose QC Ultra 2 do have a noticeable advantage over the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
The Bose QC Ultra 2 earbuds are arguably #1 for noise cancelling performance currently, and are able to deliver impressive silence across the frequency range.
I’d put the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro just below the AirPods Pro 3 and Sony XM6 earbuds, which is quite impressive considering how comfortable they are, but just slightly less powerful.
Both earbuds have strong Transparency Modes, but I do slightly prefer the Samsung which sounds more natural to my ears.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Score: 8.5 out of 10
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Score: 9.5 out of 10
Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen
Sound Quality
These are two of the most popular earbuds in the market currently, so how does their sound quality stack up to the 20+ earbuds we’ve tested to date?
First off, let’s discuss the technical details in their high-res codec support.
On paper, both earbuds support high-res codecs for more bitrate and resolution from your smartphone or similar device.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro requires a modern Samsung device (such as Samsung Galaxy S23 or newer) to unlock its exclusive “SSC UHQ”, or “Samsung Seamless Codec Ultra-High Quality”, which can go up to 24-bit/96kHz.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen supports aptX Lossless and Adaptive, which also goes up to 24-bit/96kHz.
So on paper, both earbuds are capable of high quality transmission, with the Bose being slightly more accessible as you can simply add a USB-C dongle to either iPhone or Android to unlock aptX Lossless and Adaptive.
Now how does this all translate to their actual sound quality?
I’d say the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro receives about a 5-10% improvement in sound, while the Bose QC Ultra 2 receives a lower 3-5% improvement in sound.
Starting with sound profiles, both are actually tuned fairly V-shaped and consumer-friendly, emphasizing the bass and treble over the mids.
But that is where the similarities end, as the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro has the superior fidelity and clarity across the frequency range.
Part of the reason in sound quality differences is due to the dual-driver, dual-amp architecture of the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, featuring a massive 11mm woofer to handle bass and mids, with a 5.5mm planar tweeter to deliver sharp treble detail.
The Bose features a single 9.3mm dynamic driver, and is less capable of delivering that deep sub-bass with crystal clear highs like the dual-driver setup of the Samsungs.
The Bose QC Ultra 2 doesn’t sound bad by any means, but it’s simply outshined by the seriously impressive Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, which is just so crisply detailed while delivering one of the best bass responses I’ve tested to date.
Essentially, the Samsung beats Bose at its own game of going for that fun, energetic, V-shaped sound signature.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Score: 8.4 out of 10
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Score: 7.9 out of 10
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
Value
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro retails at $249.99 USD.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen retails at a higher $279 USD, but is currently on sale for $279 market price brand new.
Simply put, I think you’re getting more for your money with the cheaper Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
I find it superior in sound quality and microphone quality, while remaining competitive in noise cancelling and comfort.
I will say the Bose QCU2 is superior in pure noise cancelling performance, if that’s your top priority.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Value Score: 9.0 out of 10
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Value Score: 8.0 out of 10
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
Overall Scoring Breakdown
- Best-in-class comfort
- Very fun and detailed sound
- One of the best mic quality
- Incredible bass response
- There is better noise cancelling
- There is slightly better sound quality
- World-class noise cancelling
- One of the most comfortable fits
- aptX Adaptive support
- Improved mic quality over 1st Gen
- There’s better pure sound quality options
- On the pricier side
Our Verdict: Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
Although the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen is a solid earbud all-around, the superior sound quality of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is what ultimately puts it ahead of Bose for me.
I want to reiterate that the Bose doesn’t sound bad, it’s just that the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro sounds so good for what it’s trying to be, which is a fun, bassy, consumer-friendly sound.
The Bose is still superior in the noise cancelling department, but the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro is fairly “decent “good enough” for most use cases.
Both of these make for outstanding daily drivers, and it may just boil down to your ecosystem and preferences.
The Samsung does heavily remind me of being an “AirPods” for Android users, and even better if you’re on a Samsung Galaxy to take advantage of its full sound quality via SSC UHQ.
Lastly, if you’d like to save some money and keep supporting RecordingNOW.com’s 100% independent, unbiased reviews, do consider using some of our affiliate links below to shop and even just compare prices. We purchase all products we review with our own money to maintain the highest level of integrity, and your support goes into that plus a continuously improving site experience.
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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