Sony WF-1000XM4 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 2
Is the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 designed better?
The Sony WF-1000XM4 has a pretty traditional design for true wireless earbuds, there are no stems or wacky holes where the nozzles should be. Instead, the WF-1000XM4 buds look like the more affordable WF-C500 with the addition of gold accents. Sony provides three sets of polyurethane foam ear tips rather than the traditional silicone ear tips. This makes the buds fit more comfortably, and helps maintain their stability in your ears. Be aware: memory foam tends to wear down faster than silicone, so while the buds’ IPX4 rating allows you to exercise with them, you may need to buy a few replacement ear tips.
Unlike the Sony WF-1000XM4, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 includes three sets of silicone ear tips—there’s no memory foam here. Futuristic as they may be, the glossy plastic earbuds look almost candy-like, especially if you go for the Olive or Lavender colorway. The buds are pretty slippery and may not be well suited for the clumsy, but once you get past that, they’re pretty easy to insert and remove. Just be sure that you don’t drop the buds into a puddle since they only have an IPX2 rating.
Both the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 have touch controls
Left bud | Right bud | |
---|---|---|
One tap | Left bud
Mute/ANC/Ambient sound |
Right bud
Play/Pause |
Two taps |
Left bud
N/A |
Right bud
Track forward/answer call |
Three taps |
Left bud
N/A |
Right bud
Track backward |
Long press |
Left bud
N/A |
Right bud
Smart assistant |
Similarly, each Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 earbud has a touch panel where you can control playback or field calls. It also has automatic ear detection and pauses playback when you remove the buds. Like all Samsung Galaxy Buds before it, the Galaxy Buds 2 touch panels are very sensitive and often register unintended taps. See the table below for more detail:
Action | Either earbud |
---|---|
One tap |
Play/pause |
Two taps |
Next track; answer/end call |
Hold |
Previous track; custom option; decline call |
Does the Sony WF-1000XM4 have better software features than the Galaxy Buds 2?
To get the most out of the Sony WF-1000XM4, you’ll want to download the Sony Headphones Connect app (iOS/Android). You can use the app’s ear tip fit test to check if you chose the properly sized ear tips for the best isolation and sound quality. Other popular features include the ability to remap the touch controls, EQ the sound signature, and more. The WF-1000XM4 has voice assistant support for Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. It also supports Sony’s 360 Reality Audio in streaming services like Tidal, Deezer, or Amazon Music HD.
In addition to ANC, the WF-1000XM4 has an ambient sound mode, which allows environmental noise to filter through. You can toggle between the settings by tapping on the left earbud. The headset also has speak-to-chat which automatically enables audio passthrough when it detects you speaking to allow for quick conversations.
Other features include an ear tip fit test a handful of EQ presets, the ability to toggle ANC on/off, transparency mode, and more. Transparency mode is quite good here and sounds pretty natural, you can even adjust the intensity to suit your preferences.
Samsung took a note from Apple’s playbook and the earbuds support automatic device switching across Samsung devices affiliated with the same account. That means you don’t have to manually disconnect from one device before connecting to another. This is different from Bluetooth multipoint, which instead lets you connect to two devices at once.
What Bluetooth codecs do you get with the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2?
On the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, you also get Bluetooth 5.2 and support for SBC, AAC, and the Samsung Scalable Codec. Samsung’s proprietary codec only works with Samsung devices and operates similarly to aptX Adaptive by adjusting the bit rate from 88-512kbps to balance connection and sound quality.
Is the battery life better on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 or Sony WF-1000XM4?
Our Galaxy Buds 2 battery test is ongoing, but Samsung’s official battery life for the headset is just 5 hours with noise cancelling enabled. The case provides an extra 15 hours of battery. Like Sony’s case, you can charge the Galaxy Buds 2 with a USB-C cable or with a Qi wireless mat. Additionally, you can charge the case atop a Samsung device with Wireless PowerShare.
Both cases can fast charge the earbuds at the same rate: a 5-minute charge grants you 60 minutes of playback.
Does the Sony WF-1000XM4 have the better noise cancelling?
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, on the other hand, has slightly less effective sub-bass attenuation but it’s still pretty good and surprisingly better than the Galaxy Buds Pro. With the Galaxy Buds 2 ANC enabled, low frequencies sound one-half to one-quarter as loud as they would without the buds in.
You really can’t go wrong with either set of buds, but the Sony WF-1000XM4 outperforms pretty much every set of noise cancelling earphones on the market.
Does the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 sound better than the Sony WF-1000XM4?
Which pair of earbuds has a better microphone?
Sony WF-1000XM4 microphone demo (Ideal):
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 microphone demo (Ideal):
Which microphone sounds better to you?
0 votes
Should you buy the Sony WF-1000XM4 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 2?
The Sony WF-1000XM4 is unquestionably the best pair of wireless noise cancelling earbuds you can buy, but what holds it back is the $279 USD price. Listeners willing to pay a premium will be able to tinker with the sound directly from Sony’s comprehensive mobile app, and take advantage of things like Sony 360 Reality Audio. Of course, you also get a comfortable fit and IPX4 water-resistant rating from Sony’s earbuds, and we love the in-app ear tip fit test too.
All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over time, and vary by region. Unfortunately, we cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.
Even though the Sony WF-1000XM4 has the best noise cancelling of any wireless earbuds around, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 has its place: it costs about half as much as the WF-1000XM4 and sounds very good right out of the box. With the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, you’re going to want to pair it with a Samsung phone to get the most out of your experience. If you don’t care for Samsung 360 Audio or Wireless PowerShare, however, the experience is by and large the same on any Android phone.
All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over time, and vary by region. Unfortunately, we cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.
What should you buy instead of the Galaxy Buds 2 and WF-1000XM4?
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus is a great alternative to the Galaxy Buds 2, because the Buds Plus is cheaper, just as durable, and lasts over 11 hours on a single charge. The case is among the most compact around, making the Galaxy Buds Plus a pocketable headset. We also like that you can use the Buds Plus on an Android phone or iPhone, since the software is supported on both platforms.
If you’re drawn to the Sony WF-1000XM4 for its stellar noise cancelling, consider the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. This is the second-best pair of noise cancelling wireless earbuds on the market. Bose’s active noise cancelling is less consistent than Sony’s and passive isolation is less impressive with Bose’s buds too. Still, it’s quite the feat that the Bose QC Earbuds can render 250Hz frequencies nearly one-sixteenth their original loudness.
Sound quality is much more pleasing right out of the box with the Bose earphones than with the WF-1000XM4 because the QC Earbuds’ treble response closely follows our house curve. You can see a comparison chart for the Sony and Bose frequency responses here. If you want to mix things up with Bose’s earbuds, you can customize the frequency response within the Bose Music app. Like Sony, Bose’s app works just as well on Android as it does on iOS.
Frequently asked questions about the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2
To pair the Sony WF-1000XM4 to your smartphone, put the buds in your ears and hold down on each touchpad for 6 seconds. A voice will announce that you’ve entered pairing mode and you should be able to select it from your smartphone’s Bluetooth menu. Every subsequent time you take the buds out of the case, it will try to automatically pair to a device it’s been paired to before.