OnePlus announced its first model of truly wireless earbuds last Tuesday alongside the new OnePlus Nord affordable smartphone series. The OnePlus Buds are now available, selling for $79 or £79 exclusively on the OnePlus web store. Unlike the OnePlus Nord, the earbuds are available in the U.S., as well as in Europe and India.
Adopting a design similar to Apple’s AirPods, the OnePlus Buds come in a chargeable case that provides up to 30 hours of battery life (430mAh battery). On their own, the truly wireless earbuds last about 7 hours (35mAh battery per bud). With a Warp Charge feature for the USB-C port, users can add 10-hours of audio power in a 10-minute charge of the case.
Soundwise, the OnePlus Buds support 13.4mm dynamic drivers to provide ambient noise reduction for ideal sound for calls and voice recordings. Other audio tech includes Bass Boost, Dolby Atmos, and Dirac Audio Tuner support, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 and Fast Pair for easy connecting to devices and automatic touch controls for navigating music or video. There is also an automatic pause mechanism for when users remove one of both of the earbuds from their ears.
The OnePlus Buds are rated IPX4 for “splash proof” water resistance. Color options include White, Gray, and Nord Blue; however, only the white version is on sale currently. The gray version is set to release sometime in August, while there are no details on avilability for the Nord Blue version.
Those who have done early hands-on reviews of the OnePlus Buds report recent sound quality, though bass appears to be light. They note some downsides include the lack of Active Noise Cancellation and wireless charging, and that the buds can be challenging to remove from the case. Overall, the OnePlus Buds seems like they are set up to be well recieved.
* Updated with details after the market launch of the product.
