Tech-N-Things

Well, you have seen all my videos and written thoughts on these two earphones. There is so much that I discovered in the last day or so that I need to unpack. I do want to preface this by saying nothing I have decided changes these facts.

• The Xm6 is the superior Sounding earphones.
• The Xm6 has the superior ANC levels
• The Xm6 has the superior battery life.
• The xm6 is the most useful universal earphone for the most types of phones.

Sony deserves so much respect for their hard work on the XM6. They basically check most of the boxes that count. I’m still in awe over the hard work and overall accomplished work that Sony put in this year. And if the Sonys fit your ears, you should be too. In fact, I encourage most people to buy the XM6.

So why the title then? Because for me, the fit and comfort mixed with the look and ability not to sacrifice sound quality to stop skipping and cutting out changed everything. This made the choice to stay with the Samsung more real. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First things first. The Samsung 4 pros aren’t perfect. They have flaws. One such example is their eartips. They rip so easily. Such is what happened to me, and so I switched to a larger tip to continue to test them out, only to find out that switching to the larger tips actually hurt the sound quality surprisingly. So there I was, sure now that I was going to return them, period, and stick with the Sonys. Why keep them? Sonys are better. But even with the sound quality affected, what I noticed was that I kept reaching for them the majority of the time everywhere I went: on walks, in the house, exercising, or just talking on the phone. Why?

The fit and comfort of the Sonys just became more of a chore than an experience. I got tired of trying to find the right amount of depth in my ears to keep them from looking like a science experiment. Got tired of trying to find the exact turn for the right seal. I basically could put my Buds 4 Pro in and out of my ears 3x before I even got a chance to adjust the XM6s.

Then another death happened when I did take the XM6 outside and got cutouts and skips. I’m a big complainer about such things, especially in 2026, and no, I shouldn’t have loose sound quality by not using LDAC to make it work without skips. Next was the waterproofing or lack thereof. Raining or showering was no problem with the Samsung, but a huge issue with Sonys; rain could destroy it. Sleeping in them was also impossible too but yet the Samsung I could, if  I needed to, for those nights where my neighbors dog wanted to keep barking or my wife wanted to snore.

I literally went to the store to return them to stick with my Sonys and ended up exchanging them and getting back my default tips, and once I did, my sound returned. The sound that took me by surprise and challenged my Sony was back. And I was so relieved to have them still. Why? Because the reality that these were more dependable and useful dawned on me, and the thought of giving that up for the Sony all came crashing down on me when I was faced with the moment in the store. I didn’t want that. I would rather take my Sonys back than have to give up the convenience, comfort, fit, and great everything else of the Buds 4 Pros. The 4 Pros already had great sound, great ANC, great hear-through, waterproofing, and biggest and most important, they were comfortable and fit easily without me trying to find ways to make them fit. The focus was placed mostly on the  overlooked subjects: Comfort and convenience.

I didn’t realize just how much I was attached to or relied on them until I was faced with a situation where I was about to return them. Then all of a sudden, the Sony’s superior sound, ANC, universal multipoint, and 9.40 hours of battery life didn’t matter. The Samsung had great sound, ANC, 7 hours of battery life, and multipoint with all my devices (because I have a Samsung tablet, watch, etc.). The idea that I was about to lose the convenience of all that I had just because another device checked the most boxes, didn’t remain my priority for long. When the rubber met the road and I had to make a choice, it didn’t come down to boxes checked, hype, or anything like that. In the end, it just came down to basic convenience, reliability, and trust.

So again, I want to stress, my experience and 180 isn’t because Samsung is overall better. Again, it’s not that they beat the Sonys in overall sound, ANC, or battery life. For this, Sony is still the clear winner. But comfort, fit, and convenience are just not what Sony do well, and if that means something to you, you might find that the Samsung  sound, ANC, and battery life look even better than what the paper says because it’s a better complete package for you because of the fit.

But again, this might not apply to you and your ears or experience, so don’t just assume I’m the right one here. But if you are to believe one of the greatest YouTube Tech Reviewers, MKBHD, who called the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro his sneaky winner for earphone of the year even over the xm6. And even he had similar outcomes on the convenience and use of the 4 Pros versus just the focus of sound on the Sonys. So take that with a grain of salt as well. But one thing is for sure: the Samsung Buds 4 Pro are something special, and they are going to make some serious impacts on the Bluetooth world in 2026.