Are Apple AirPods Pro 3 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Actually The Best?

Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds hold a high rank for true wireless earbuds. For people who are brand loyalists and trust the names they know, these two devices are easy choices for music listening. But what if you were to upgrade further? What happens when you decide to look into hi-fi audio companies? I was able to put a few different true wireless earbuds to the test, both consumer-level and audiophile-level. Today, we're comparing the Apple AirPods Pro 3, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, and the Noble Audio FoKus Prestige Encore. All are flagships from each company, but which is really giving you the best sound quality? What might you be missing by simply settling for the brand you know? 

Let's look at the physical design of all these earphones. All three have their distinct differences, with Apple and Samsung sharing the most similarities. They are both stemmed earbuds, though the Samsung has a flatter outer surface and the Apple AirPod stays rounded. The stems are about the same size, and the bud part that goes in the ear is about the same as well. The eartips are both made of the same soft silicone material, so the in-ear fit is very comfortable. They are lightweight and easy to wear for longer periods of time, offering premium comfort as a first impression. While the Galaxy Buds come in a few different color variations, the Apple AirPods still retain their classic, all-white design that is instantly recognizable. 

On the other hand, the Noble Prestige Encore takes on a completely different shape. The Prestige Encore is closer to the shape of a classic IEM, forgoing the stem design and opting for just the earbud. The shape is curved uniquely to be ergonomically fit to your ear. Instead of having touch sensors on stems, you have a touch sensor right on the earbud itself for easy music management during listening. The Prestige Encore is very different in terms of size and fit, as the larger IEM is heavier and bulkier than the consumer brands. This doesn't make it uncomfortable or less practical; in fact, the bit of heavier weight makes it feel more solid and luxurious. Instead of just being one solid color, the Prestige Encore comes in two variants of blue and black wood, showing off unique but uniform designs that make each unit special. 

Like the AirPods and Galaxy Buds, you have a large assortment of eartips in the Prestige Encore. The charging case you get for each earbud varies in shape and size, with the Galaxy Buds coming in with the most compact case. The AirPods have a slightly larger case, and the Prestige Encore has the largest. 

True wireless earbuds are jam-packed with features, and these three earbuds are no exception. One common feature they all share is their active noise cancellation (ANC), which is highly effective on all three. When using any of the earbuds, I was able to fully lock into my listening and let the world around me fade away. When it comes to their features, you can see that these three earbuds have a lot of differences based on the audience they are for.

When you look at the Apple AirPods or the Samsung Galaxy Buds, you are met with a lot of features that focus on communication. These are earbuds that are meant to be worn all day, every day: ear health is a forefront concern when you look at the design. They are lightweight and designed to fit smoothly in the ear, almost as though you don't realize you're wearing them. They advertise an effective Ambient Mode that allows you to hear what's going on around with the utmost realism, so it's like you don't even have to take off the earbuds to go about everyday life. The microphones are made for phone calls that will stay crystal clear, making the earbuds an easy office accessory and good for home use. The AirPods and Galaxy Buds have a Live Translation feature, where you can automatically translate languages you aren't familiar with into something you know. You can have conversations over the phone, in person, or at home, and you'll be left with no barriers to make things as clear as possible. 

The Apple AirPods take this everyday wear to the next level with their Advanced Health App. The AirPods are equipped with advanced heart rate sensors that track your health stats more accurately than before. On top of that, the AirPods advertise their multi-use as a pair of hearing aids, protecting your ear health above all else. This hearing aid feature is new and makes the AirPods an essential accessory as opposed to just something you want for enjoyment. The Galaxy Buds don't have the same health tracking features, keeping things mainly focused on the microphone quality and the integration into everyday life.  

Meanwhile, the Noble Prestige Encore focuses its efforts on the music. The features of adaptive noise cancellation, clear phone calls, and comfort still stand, but the ability to tune the sound is the most advertised feature. In the Noble FoKus app, you can customize the EQ with 10 individual bands for the exact frequency ranges. Not only are you given genre-based presets, but you can save your own EQ preferences to reference later whenever you want. You have an option for just adjusting the curve to be brighter or bassier, and the visual sliding scale makes it easy to interpret everything happening to your sound. 

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

Now for the real test: what do all these earbuds sound like? The Apple AirPods, Samsung Galaxy Buds, and Noble FoKus Prestige Encore all have slightly different sound signatures that make them easy to distinguish between. When wearing all these for the first time, I noticed a distinct trait in each that made them different from each other. The Apple AirPods and the Samsung Galaxy Buds were similar in making tracks sound familiar. I was able to enjoy the sound out of the AirPods and Galaxy Buds without issue. Everything sounded honest and correct. The AirPods had more distinct separation than the Galaxy Buds, where the Galaxy Buds had a little more cohesion across the soundstage. Either way, both earbuds had a fairly wide stereo image that expanded backwards for depth and upwards for height. 

The Noble Prestige Encore takes that type of sound and elevates it further. The Encore had a wide and open soundstage, expressing more dynamics in the signature to keep your attention and focus on the music. Where the other earbuds were good for background music and something to soundtrack your everyday activities, the Prestige Encore comes in to grab your attention and keep it on the music. It unveils smaller details and separates instruments across the vast soundstage so you can appreciate all the individual elements. For people who prefer a more relaxed sound, this may be an overwhelming jump to go from AirPods to the Prestige Encore. 

Overall, you'll find you may be able to make a choice based on those initial signatures alone. If you're someone who likes a more dynamic, musical sound signature, you'll find more enjoyment from the immersive Prestige Encore. If you prefer something more analytical and natural, the Apple AirPods may be more up your alley. The Galaxy Buds will be for listeners who like something natural but on the more relaxed side. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

The bass, in any earphone, is what lays the foundation for every other frequency to build up from. The true wireless earbuds with the strongest bass response to my ears were the Noble Prestige Encore. The bass was punchy and thick, taking up space that extended into the sub-bass to let the frequencies both feel and be heard. I liked the color of the Prestige Encore, making the bass feel fun and entertaining. With the pairing of a dynamic driver and a planar magnetic, you get a powerful bass response that feels natural, but also one that maintains clarity and detail to avoid making instruments sound muddy.

On the other hand, the AirPods and Galaxy Buds have a slightly similar bass response. It is punchy, driving, and definitely detailed, but it doesn't have the same slam that the Prestige Encore does. It keeps instruments and bass frequencies honest, letting the midrange and treble take the stage for detail and clarity. You get a solid foundation for frequencies in these two earbuds, but they don't hold the same color and separation as something from the Prestige Encore. The Apple AirPods have a little more distinct punch and drive than the Galaxy Buds, which do a better job in keeping the bass more relaxed. You still get clean detail that doesn't turn muddy or washed out. Instead, it stays crisp and well-tuned to make all those instruments pop out and easy to recognize. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange in all the earbuds shows off impressive detail and pristine clarity. These earbuds all impress in their midrange clarity and detail, but they have a spark of individuality that sets them apart. The Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds bring the naturalness in the midrange, keeping timbres honest and true to what you know. The vocals come right to the front, which makes sense in earbuds that have live translation features. Everything is very detailed and precise, though the Galaxy Buds are a bit more cohesive and together than the others. The AirPods have better separation, so you can appreciate all the individual elements, though both have the same natural sound reproduction in any genre. 

The Noble FoKus Prestige Encore also sounds very natural, but it has an added flair of color. It has a very distinct separation in the midrange, making it stand out as a more entertaining earbud. The vocals are very realistic and sit in the front of the midrange, with everything else filtering around it to build the stereo field in front of you. The layers are more distinctly separate, elevating the clarity of instruments and giving them space to live and be appreciated individually. In comparison to the AirPods or the Galaxy Buds, the Prestige Encore is more colorful and louder. The Encore focuses on the musicality of instruments and adapts to different genres very well. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

To round out the signatures, we examine the treble responses and see what kind of reproduction we achieve at the very top end. The Apple AirPods have a relatively relaxed treble response, providing just enough clarity and brightness to make the bass less heavy. I liked how the AirPods were able to maintain a very open top end, and there wasn't an awkward cut-off point that made the space sound more enclosed than it already was. The Galaxy Buds behaved similarly, with the treble response remaining relaxed and breathable, allowing you to listen at louder volumes without fatigue. This extends your listening sessions, and the detail that comes through is still enough to make instruments distinguishable and not washed out. The Apple AirPods have a little more sharpness to them, making them sound a bit brighter and more precise in detail. 

Looking at the Prestige Encore in comparison, you have a treble response that focuses on color. The treble is very bright and precise, treading the line between shrill and pointed. The sound reproduction in the Prestige Encore's treble is honest enough to make elements easily recognizable, but there is a definite difference in the added flair you hear to make those parts more entertaining. You can hear the space of the soundstage in the treble based on how you can hear reverberations and the tails of frequencies fade out. The treble was much more forward on the Prestige Encore than it is on the AirPods or the Galaxy Buds, so if you are a fan of a bright and detailed signature, the Prestige Encore may be more tuned to your ear. The treble and bass are very well-matched in terms of power and forwardness, keeping the midrange at the front but still coming in strong. The Apple AirPods and Galaxy Buds have a similar balance between the two extremes, though the signature is noticeably more V-shaped in comparison. 

After looking at all the elements of these true wireless earbuds, how do you make a choice? All of them are impressive devices, but they fall into two very different categories. People looking for a cohesive device ecosystem and something to wear at all hours of the day may find the Apple or Samsung earbuds to be a better choice. For music lovers who want pristine detail and immersion for their music listening, the Noble Audio FoKus Prestige Encore may be a better choice. With that in mind, if you didn't want to jump to that flagship immediately, you can always take a look at some other Noble Audio true wireless buds that fall in a similar price range to the AirPods and the Galaxy Buds. The Noble Rex5 and the Noble Amadeus are both great choices if music quality is your first priority.

If you want musicality in your earbuds and something exclusively for music, choose the Noble FoKus Prestige Encore. You'll be impressed with the wide soundstage and intense detail, as well as the immersive quality from the strong noise cancellation that puts you right in the center of your listening. 

If you value accessibility and everyday use integration, choose the Apple AirPods Pro 3. You'll find the lightweight design and ergonomic shape very comfortable, and the plethora of features makes this an easy device to integrate into all your daily tasks. 

If you want something simple but built for comfort and practicality, choose the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. You'll get a good sound for your music, clear call quality, and immersive noise cancellation. It is a great device for the person who wants something they can rely on for music and calls without issue. 

No matter which you choose, you are sure to have a good audio experience. I highly suggest taking a listen to all three or just the one that speaks to you the most to decide which will be your true wireless companion.