Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 have quietly introduced a feature that could put them ahead of Apple’s AirPods in one key area: high-resolution wireless audio. The new earbuds support Ultra High Quality (UHQ) audio at up to 24bit/96kHz, a specification that pushes into the realm traditionally reserved for wired headphones and dedicated hi-fi devices.
On paper, this is a big deal. Due to Bluetooth bandwidth limitations, most wireless earbuds heavily compress the sound. Apple’s AirPods, for example, still rely on the AAC codec, which prioritizes stability and efficiency over lossless playback. Samsung’s UHQ feature, on the other hand, aims to deliver higher resolution audio with more details, greater dynamic range and improved clarity.
But there’s a catch…
Samsung’s own documentation confirms that UHQ audio only works with select Galaxy devices running One UI 6.1.1 or later. At launch, support is limited to newer flagship phones and tablets, including the Galaxy S26, S25, S24, S23 series, current Galaxy Z Fold and Flip devices, and select Galaxy Tab models. The feature is also disabled by default and must be enabled manually in Settings.
Just as Apple ties its best AirPods features to iPhones, Samsung reserves UHQ audio for its own latest Galaxy hardware. If you pair the Galaxy Buds 4 with a non-Samsung phone or an older Galaxy device, you’ll still get regular Bluetooth audio, but not the flagship UHQ experience. To be fair, the exclusivity technically makes sense. Providing 24-bit/96 kHz audio over Bluetooth requires tight hardware and software integration, including support for Samsung’s proprietary codec and newer Bluetooth implementations. Still, this means that the Headlines feature is not widely accessible, even for Android users.
However, for Galaxy users with compatible devices, this could be well worth it. Wireless audio has been moving closer to wired quality for years, and UHQ support is another step in that direction. It may not be a universal victory yet, but within its own ecosystem Samsung has significantly raised the bar. If this is the direction wireless audio is headed, the competition will only get more interesting from here.
