Samsung Galaxy Buds FE / Sony WH-1000XM4

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE: Galaxy Buds FE (SM-R400); Graphite or White. The Galaxy Buds3 FE released in 2025 is a separate product.

Sony WH-1000XM4: WH-1000XM4 closed over-ear wireless headphones; Black, Platinum Silver and Blue. The WH-1000XM3 (previous) and WH-1000XM5 and XM6 (later) generations are separate models.

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy Buds FESony WH-1000XM4
Release year20232020
Driver and sound1-way speaker; Scalable (Samsung proprietary), AAC and SBC codecs

The Scalable codec is Samsung’s codec that adjusts bitrate to connection quality and works with Galaxy devices; other phones use AAC or SBC. The high-resolution SSC Hi-Fi codec is not supported.

Samsung		—
Noise cancellationActive Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Ambient Sound

ANC picks up outside sound with microphones and suppresses it with an inverse wave; Ambient Sound lets outside sound in so you can hear without removing the buds.

Samsung		—
Microphones3 microphones per earbud (2 outer + 1 inner)

Samsung says automatic personalized beamforming and a DNN separate speech from background noise.

Samsung		Five microphones for Precise Voice Pickup Sony
BatteryEarbud 60 mAh, case 479 mAh (typical); 6 hours with ANC on (21 hours with case), 8.5 hours with ANC off (30 hours with case); talk time 3.5 hours with ANC on

The case does not support wireless charging; it charges over a USB-C cable.

Samsung		—
ConnectivityBluetooth 5.2; Auto Switch, SmartThings Find

Auto Switch moves audio automatically between Galaxy phones, tablets and watches on the same Samsung account. SmartThings Find shows the buds’ last location.

Samsung		—
Fit3 sizes of ear tips and 2 sizes of wingtips

Wingtips grip the ear to help the buds stay in place during exercise.

Samsung		—
SensorsProximity, Hall, touch

The proximity sensor pauses music when a bud is removed; the touch surface controls playback and modes.

Samsung		—
CompatibilityAndroid 8.0 or later with more than 1.5 GB of RAM

Some features do not work on non-Samsung devices.

Samsung		—
Size and weightEarbud 17.1 × 19.2 × 22.2 mm, 5.6 g; case 50.0 × 27.7 × 50.0 mm, 40.0 g Samsung—
Noise cancelling—HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1; two noise-sensing microphones per cup; adaptive sound control

QN1 works with a new Bluetooth audio chip to sample ambient noise many times a second and cancel it with an inverse signal.

Sony
Driver and frequency—40 mm dome-type driver (CCAW voice coil, aluminium-coated LCP diaphragm); wired 4–40,000 Hz; Bluetooth 20–20,000 Hz (44.1 kHz), with LDAC 20–40,000 Hz (96 kHz, 990 kbps) Sony
Bluetooth and codecs—Bluetooth 5.0; A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP; SBC, AAC, LDAC; about 10 m range

LDAC enables up to 990 kbps with compatible Android phones; iPhones use AAC.

Sony
Multipoint—Simultaneous connection to two Bluetooth devices with switching between them

For example, you can switch between a phone and a laptop without re-pairing.

Sony
Battery and charging—Up to 30 hours with NC on, 38 hours off; full charge in about 3 hours over USB-C; about 5 hours of playback from 10 minutes

The 5-hours-from-10-minutes figure is given with the optional AC adaptor.

Sony
Wired use—Detachable cable of about 1.2 m with OFC strands and gold-plated 3.5 mm plug Sony
Smart features—Wear detection sensor; Speak-to-Chat; DSEE Extreme

The wear sensor pauses music when the headphones come off. Speak-to-Chat stops music and lets in ambient sound when you start talking. DSEE Extreme tries to upscale compressed files in real time with AI.

Sony
Design—Closed dynamic, circumaural; cups swivel inward to fold into the carry case Sony