OnePlus Buds review
Introduction
OnePlus is the latest company to join the TWS game. Surprisingly, OnePlus didn't use the Bullets branding for this product, which is simply called the "OnePlus Buds".
That's somewhat puzzling seeing how the Bullets lineup has quite a few dedicated fans,but OnePlus was seemingly very keen to underline that it's a completely different product. The company's latest pair of wireless earbuds don't hang around your neck, but they do still pack a punchy bass.
With the newBuds, Oneplus promises an elevated experience when paired with OnePlus smartphones. Outstanding sound and comfort are among the things promised with the Buds. Bass Boost, Super Low Latency, and 30 hours of battery life are all on the list of features, as well as Environmental noise cancellation" which refers to the microphones for phone calls. We'll be testing all these claims.
Specs:
Hardware : Smooth matte plastics case, smooth glossy earbuds; Nord Blue,Gray, and White: IPX4 splash/sweat resistant
Dimensions: Earbud (18.8 x 16.1 x 37.9 mm ) ; Case: (52.2 x 59.6 x 37.9mm)
Drivers : 13.4 mm dynamic ; 97dB (+-) 3dB @ 1KHz sensitivity
Microphones: 3X per Bud ; Environmental noise cancellation for voice calls ;- 38dB (+-) 2 dB sensitivity
Connectivity : Bluetooth 5.0 AAC (only)
Frequency responce range ; 20 Hz-20 KHz
Battery and Charging ; 35mAh per Bud; 430 mAh for charging case; 10W USB-C Fast charging (10-minutes charge of the case = 10 hours of playback: 10minutes in the case = 100 minutes of music on Buds)
BatteryLife : 7hours (music) 4.3hours (phonecall) up to 30 hours with charging case
The OnePlus Buds dont support wireless charging out of the gate, which honestly is a shame considering the Oneplus 8 Pro reverse wireless charging. However, with the of the OnePlus Buds price set to $79 ($109 CAD), its much lower then the Pixel Buds and the entry-level AirPods. Perhaps this is a nice setup for Oneplus to later introduce a more premium set of buds or simply a wireless charging case down the line. One the other hand even now they docome with fast charging over wire
You get the charging case with the earbuds inside, and a document pack which includes warranty info, a quick start guide, and a short USB-A to C cable. You can use this cable on either a OnePlus Warp charger or any other 10W charger to achieve the advertised 10-minutes charge time for10 hours of use
Design
The One Plus Buds are undeniably inspired by Apple's Airpods; a small white charging case and Earpod-style tips with white stems. Even the charging case has a similar akin to a pack of dental floss. The distinct part of the Buds apperance is its exterior, which features the CD-accent also found on OnePlus other Bullet headphones.
The case measures 52.2 x 59.6 x 37.9 mm while each buds comes in at 18.8 x 16.1 x 37.9 mm. The case is quite compact, but no compact enough to fit in a pair of jeans coins pocket.
There's a pin-hole at the front where an LED will indicated the battery life of the case and the Buds. it shows the amount of battery left in the case once you remove the Buds from it. At the bottom of the case is a USB-Cport and the back of the unit has a sync button that double as a way to check on the battery status of the Buds inside. The back of the hinge has a small silver metal platting that gives the white case a nice accent.
The Nord Blue OnePlus buds are the most playful of the three model color's (there's also a gray one). In person, this color is verymuch teal. The Buds and the case match while the interior of the case is green-tinted yellow like the color of a construction workers vest. The color scheme is playful and fun.
The only hint of brading on the Buds id " Designed by OnePlus" in laughably tiny letters. OnePlus could have opted to put a large "1+" logo somewhere on all the empty space of the case, but we appreciate it keeping the buds looking clean and classy.
Fit and Comfort
Since the Buds dont have interchangeable tips, it might limit the number of people that would be able to use the Buds with a snug fit. Personally, when I use earbuds tips, I'm in between a medium and larger tip, so if you have a small ear canals, these might be too large for you.
For me, the OnePlus Buds fit snugly and don't wiggle out. They are comfortable enough to wear for a few hours at a time, and I can even wear them when I got on long bike-rides without signs of slipping out of my ear.
Even in my hour-long yoga sessions, the Buds stay put and don't try to slide out before I'm dont with them. Again, this will depend on the size of your ear canals, so it yours are on the smaller side, you might want to look at the something else.
Features and in-call quality
The Buds are a bit limited when it comes to the feature list. the CD- resembling pads on the Buds are actually touch pads. Each one is able to recognize a double-tap command, which can be customize if you have them paired to a OnePlus smartphones. Otherwise, the Buds double-tap action on each bud will only skip to the next song.
The buds support multi-device connection. i found out that a long-press of either Bud disconnects them from the current device and connects to a previously-paired device. I like this features. it lets me switch between my main smartphone and a laptop
I wasn't able to adjust any of the double-tap settings, but an OTA updates is planned for the end of the month for OnePlus phones. With this OTA, you'll be able to set either Bud to activate the following actions with a double-tap: Play/pause, skip forward, skip back, answer/end call, and activate voice assistant.
There's also a built-in "Find device" features, so long as youre connected to a OnePlus device. This could come in handy if you happen to drop a Bud under some furniture and it still freshly connected, but probably wont if you placed it down somewhere a day ago.
Although the OnePlus buds are compatible with all non-OnePlus Android phones as well as iOS devices, there is currently no companion app to go along with the OnePlus Buds. if OnePlus did release an app for its Buds (which it should) I would recommend that it adds EQ presets for its Buds. It would also allow non-OnePlus phones to change the double-tap action for each bud.
The Buds to have in-ear detection, so they'll automatically pause if you pull one out. if you put the Bud or Buds back in shortly after the music will resume playing.
OnePlus menstioned that these earbuds features environmental noise cancellation in the microphone which work well for phonecalls. I placed a few calls using the Buds and although they could tell I was using a Bluetooth headset, my callers were able to hear me clearly, even with music playing at a moderate volume around me. Although they could hear there was music, they were unable to make it out.
On the other hand i could hear my caller clearly, and since these Buds dont have a noise isolating tips, i was able to hear my self speaking without the strange disorientation that i'd feel if my ears were otherwise plugged.
The Oneplus Buds are rated for music playback and 4.3 hours of voice calls on a single charge. when you add in the extra charging from the case you get 30 hours of playback.
Meanwhile, OnePlus says you can recharge the case for just 10 minutes on any 10W charger to yield an equivalent of 10 hours of listening. On that note, throwing the Buds into the case for 10 minutes should get you enough charge for about 100 minutes of listening.
Pros:
. Sleek and attractive design with solid hinge
. Loud, powerful sound
. Calls in noisy environments are not an issue
. Greate battery endurance
. Warp Charge
. Competitive price
Cons:
. Sound out of the box needs EQ tuning
. No wireless charging
. No companion app
. Only supports AAC codec
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