Where have the blade lights gone on the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro?

Samsung introduced a substantial overhaul of the design of its wireless earbuds last year. The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro adopted a sleek look with stems that had a light strip in them. These blade lights, as they were called, were a significant departure from any design choice previously made for this product category.

One would have expected such a significant design change to be kept around for the future. However, merely a year on, Samsung has decided to get rid of them for no apparent reason.

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro this week. It has redesigned the earbuds once again and while it has the same stem design like its predecessor, Samsung has opted for a more understated look for its new earbuds.

Keeping in line with the new aesthetic, it has removed the blade lights from the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, opted for a brushed metal finish for the stems instead. It hasn't really explained why the decision to remove them was made.

What was introduced as potentially a signature design feature of the Galaxy Buds series has been taken away quietly after a year. There was a lot of potential here that could have been exploited. For example, Samsung could have made them customizable, maybe added RGB options, etc.

Maybe it felt that the lights were making the design appear gimmicky, and it wanted to pivot to a more refined look instead. Whatever it's reasons may have been, such rapid flip flops of design direction are never a good look.