Open-fit earbuds are having a moment in 2026, and three of the most talked-about pairs come from Xiaomi, Samsung, and Apple. The Xiaomi Buds 6, Galaxy Buds 4, and AirPods 4 all skip the silicone tip that seals your ear canal, trading deep noise isolation for all-day comfort and awareness. If you can’t stand the plugged-up feeling of traditional earbuds, this is the category you’ve been waiting for.
The catch is that these three look similar on paper but pull in different directions, and the right pick leans heavily on which phone is in your pocket. Here’s how the Xiaomi Buds 6 stack up against the Galaxy Buds 4 and AirPods 4 on sound, noise cancellation, battery, features, and price, so you can land on the pair that actually fits your setup.
How They Compare at a Glance
| Feature | Xiaomi Buds 6 | Galaxy Buds 4 | AirPods 4 (ANC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Semi-in-ear, open | Open-fit, tipless | Open-fit, tipless |
| Hi-Res / lossless | aptX Lossless, 24-bit/48kHz | 24-bit/96kHz UHQ (Galaxy) | No, AAC only |
| ANC | Yes, dual ANC | Yes | Yes |
| Battery (ANC on / off) | 3.5h / 6h | 5h / 6h | 4h / 5h |
| Water resistance | IP54 | IP54 | IP54 |
| Best with | Snapdragon Android | Samsung and Android | iPhone and Apple |
| Price | £99.99 / €119.99 | $179.99 | $129 base, $179 ANC |
The Short Version
Price: $139
Where to Buy: Xiaomi
If you’re on a Galaxy or Android phone and want the most complete feature set, the Galaxy Buds 4 are the easy call. If you live in Apple’s world, the AirPods 4 are hard to beat for how seamlessly they work across your devices. The Xiaomi Buds 6 are the value and audio pick, undercutting both on price while pushing the best codec story, as long as you can actually buy them where you live.
Sound and Codecs
This is where the Xiaomi Buds 6 swing hardest. They support Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless, pushing 24-bit/48kHz audio at up to 2.1 Mbps, and they’re tuned by Harman’s Golden Ears team with multiple sound modes. The honest caveat is that aptX Lossless only works with a compatible Snapdragon phone, so the headline codec is wasted on an iPhone.
The Galaxy Buds 4 counter with 24-bit/96kHz UHQ audio, but that high-res path is locked to Samsung Galaxy devices. They use a single wide-range speaker and lean on Samsung’s tuning, a simpler setup than the dual-driver Buds 4 Pro.
The AirPods 4 keep it simple. Apple sticks to the AAC codec with no lossless or high-res support, leaning instead on the H2 chip and Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking. On an iPhone, that keeps things seamless, even if it means no spec-sheet codec win here.
Noise Cancellation and Calls
None of these will silence a plane the way sealed in-ear buds can, because an open fit physically can’t block much sound. That said, all three now include some form of ANC, which is impressive for tipless designs.
Price: From $99
Where to Buy: Amazon
Xiaomi gives the Buds 6 dual noise cancellation for both listening and calls, plus a 3-mic AI system rated to isolate your voice in surroundings as loud as 95 dB. The AirPods 4 with ANC use the H2 chip and upgraded mics to knock down low-frequency noise like engines and traffic, plus Adaptive Audio that blends transparency and ANC on the fly. The Galaxy Buds 4 also bring ANC and a larger mic array, and Samsung leans on its Super Clear Call processing for clarity in noisy spots. By design, all three deliver light noise reduction rather than true isolation.
Battery Life
Battery is closer than you’d think. Xiaomi rates the Buds 6 at 6 hours a charge with ANC off and 3.5 hours with it on, with the case bringing the total to a class-leading 35 hours. The AirPods 4 with ANC manage about 5 hours a charge, or 4 with ANC on, and up to 30 hours with the case. The Galaxy Buds 4 land at 6 hours a charge, or 5 with ANC engaged, and up to 30 hours total with the case.
If squeezing the most listening out of a single case matters most, Xiaomi’s 35-hour figure is the standout, with the AirPods 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 both close behind at 30 hours. The AirPods case also adds the convenience of wireless charging on the ANC model.
Features and Ecosystem
This is the real deciding factor. The Galaxy Buds 4 are loaded, with Auracast, Bluetooth LE Audio, and live translation, and they’re at their best paired with a Samsung phone running the latest software. The AirPods 4 trade raw feature count for tight integration, with instant pairing, automatic device switching, Find My, and Spatial Audio that all just work across an iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Price: $149.99
Where to Buy: Amazon
The Xiaomi Buds 6 sit in the middle. They work with both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find Hub, carry IP54 water and dust resistance, run on Bluetooth 5.4, and include app-based gesture controls plus a few months of Spotify Premium for new users. They’re the most phone-agnostic of the three, even if you need a Snapdragon device to unlock their best audio.
Price and Availability
The Xiaomi Buds 6 are the value leader, confirmed at £99.99 in the UK and €119.99 across Europe after a global launch last May. The big asterisk is the US, where Xiaomi doesn’t sell the Buds 6 through official channels, so there’s no official US availability and buying usually means importing the global version without a local warranty. Note the cheaper Redmi Buds 6 sold in the US are a separate, lower-tier line, not these.
The AirPods 4 are the most widely available, at $129 for the standard model and $179 for the version with ANC. The Galaxy Buds 4 launched at $179.99, which puts them right up against the AirPods 4 ANC for anyone shopping the open-fit category.
Which One Should You Buy
Pick the Galaxy Buds 4 if you’re on Android or Samsung and want the deepest feature set, including Auracast and live translation. Go with the AirPods 4 if you’re in the Apple ecosystem and value seamless switching and Spatial Audio over a spec sheet. Choose the Xiaomi Buds 6 if you want the best price and codec story, you’ve got a Snapdragon phone to make the most of them, and you can buy them in your region.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds, Active Noise Cancellation, Live Translation, Heart Rate Sensing, Hearing Aid Feature, Bluetooth Headphones, Spatial Audio, High-Fidelity Sound, USB-C Charging
(as of June 28, 2026 12:23 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
