Headphones for $ 50 prove that there is no point in overpaying. OnePlus Nord Buds review

The OnePlus Nord was originally billed as “virtually everything you need” in a modern smartphone – although it lacked some of the features of the competition, the smartphone boasted an impressive list of benefits and features for a relatively modest price.

And OnePlus says they’ve taken the same approach to the Nord Buds, the cheapest TWS earbuds on the market today. The manufacturer still did not pursue additional features like support for wireless charging or active noise cancellation, focusing instead on the most important thing – decent sound quality at a competitive price. As a result, the gadget received the same drivers as the premium Nord Buds Pro headphones, only they are packaged in a less attractive case, but they also cost half the price, providing an additional bonus in the form of IP55 sweat and dust protection.

Of course, if the user wants active noise cancellation or more convenient charging options, it is worth looking at other models. But in every other way, the Nord Buds are one of the best affordable wireless earbuds on the market.

Design and ergonomics

The OnePlus Nord Buds boast a minimalist design, with a tablet-shaped case made from matte plastic and a two-tone finish for a more modern look. There is also a USB Type-C port on the back of the charging case, and an LED indicator on the charging process on the front side.

And I found the fit of the Nord Buds to be quite comfortable, even for quite a long time using the earbuds with medium-sized ear cups – they come pre-installed out of the box, although there are small and large options in the box. At the same time, the headphones themselves are quite light, with a tight fit in the auricle, so they should not fall out during running or active sports. Also, while most wireless earphones of this size don’t have any issues with a little bit of sweat, the Nord Buds give you extra confidence with an IP55 protection rating.

Sound quality

In terms of content playback quality, the Nord Buds offer a very balanced sound, although like any other OnePlus headphones, they tend to overemphasize bass and drums. However, whether I listened to YouTube videos, podcasts or music, I have always been pleased with the sound quality of these headphones – they give more than you expect from this segment. I didn’t notice any audio distortion even at fairly high volume levels – this is probably due to the same 12.4mm drivers found in the premium OnePlus Buds Pro. What’s more, for supported content, the Nord Buds even include Dolby Atmos technology to simulate surround effects.

You can control the Nord Buds headphones using the proprietary HeyMelody application, which is a common hub for all audio devices from OPPO and OnePlus. This application, despite the low user ratings, works great on various Android smartphones, even from OnePlus, so I could easily update the headphone firmware and make all the changes I needed in the settings. But if you use Nord Buds with OPPO or OnePlus smartphones, then this function will already be built into the Bluetooth menu – you do not need to download the application separately.

But exclusive to OnePlus smartphones is the low-latency gaming mode, which provides a response time of 94ms. Admittedly, I didn’t notice any effect of this feature while testing the Nord Buds with OnePlus’ new Nord 2T smartphone, but maybe your reaction will be better. And owners of OnePlus smartphones will be able to use the quick pairing function – very convenient.

autonomy

I was pleasantly surprised by the battery life of the Nord Buds, which, in general, is quite in line with OnePlus’ claimed seven hours of active use on a single charge. For example, after a 40-minute run followed by a 20-minute walk, the headphones at maximum volume typically discharged up to 90%. After a couple more hours of listening at home, I reached the 60% mark.

Also, while I have rarely encountered a situation in which modern wireless earphones charge slowly, OnePlus decided to impress potential owners of Nord Buds with speed from recharging. Just a few minutes of charging from a decent power source is enough to take the user out of the danger zone, returning him to listening to content. OnePlus has even said that a 10-minute charge is enough for 5 hours of music playback, and the total battery life, including the charging case, is 30 hours. This means that you can easily go away for the weekend without worrying about the battery running out soon.

What disappointed

If you’re looking for active noise cancellation, which is generally not to be expected at this price point, you’ll be disappointed. The AI-based noise cancellation technology in the Nord Buds doesn’t even come close to true active noise cancellation. The same can be said about wireless charging – this nice bonus is extremely rare in the $50 price bracket this year.

I also have no problem with how these headphones look (I even prefer them to OnePlus’ earlier designs), but the shape of the case brings some problems. Yes, the case size is the same as that of the Buds Z2, but the novelty has a more square shape and, due to this, the device is more difficult to fit in a pocket. Of course, this is not such a critical problem, but it is worth paying attention to – there are cases with a flatter shape that naturally fit in any pocket.

As with the Buds Z2, I’m a bit disappointed that OnePlus hasn’t been able to implement volume gestures on the Nord Buds. The reason is likely that these affordable headphones use a simpler capacitive touch sensor that doesn’t allow for this. The only gestures available to the user are single, double, triple and long presses.

Competitors

The Creative Outlier Air 3 wireless headphones are a direct competitor to the OnePlus product – for the same $ 50 they also lack active noise cancellation and come in a rather bulky case, but this model at least has support for wireless charging, and battery life is 10 hours.

Accordingly, give preference to OnePlus Nord Buds if:

  • you have a limited budget;
  • you need decent sound quality with an emphasis on bass;
  • you don’t need active noise cancellation;
  • you have a OnePlus smartphone.

You should not buy these headphones if:

  • you need a case that does not bulge in your pocket;
  • Do you want to listen to music in noisy places?
  • there is a need for close integration with a voice assistant;
  • you can afford to spend $100 on a much more advanced model.

Review

Accordingly, assuming noise cancellation isn’t a necessary requirement, Nord Buds deliver the same sound quality as headphones that cost twice as much. And this, of course, is an impressive advantage for connoisseurs of high-quality sound.

Advantages

  • Excellent sound quality.
  • Fast and easy pairing.
  • Comfortable fit and interchangeable ear pads included.
  • Fast charging and long battery life.

disadvantages

  • No active noise cancellation.
  • Poor case shape.
  • No support for wireless charging.
  • There are no gestures to control the volume.

This is a translation of the Android Central review.

Source: Trash Box

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