OnePlus Buds Pro review: Sound thrills but controls ruin user experience

 

Since its integration with OPPO, things are shaping up quite differently for OnePlus – mostly in a good way. Changes in the Nord 2 5G (review) smartphone were subtle yet apparent, and same is the case with the recently launched OnePlus Buds Pro wireless earbuds. On paper, the OnePlus Buds Pro comes across as an all-round package deal in the wireless earbuds segment. But how does it fare in real life? Let’s find out:

Design

This is one area where OPPO’s influence is apparent. The OnePlus Buds Pro looks similar to the OPPO Enco X in more ways than one, but with a better texture and design language. It boasts in-ear design with a tiny stem protruding from the earbuds. Made of plastic, these earbuds have a matte black finish (review unit) with a dual tone colour texture. The matte finish makes the buds easy to handle and use. As for quality, the earbuds seem to have a durable and sturdy build. They might withstand everyday abuse, but they do easily become dirty and require regular cleaning to stay in a good condition. The Buds Pro is IP55-rated for water and dust resistance.

 The black matte finish extends to the earbuds' charging-cum-storage case. It is a tiny rectangular unit with curved corners which makes it slide easily even in the most cramped spaces like a jeans pocket. On the front, there is a tiny LED battery indicator that doubles up as the pairing light indicator. The back side sports the case USB-C charging port. The top, surprisingly, is not boring and features the OnePlus branding. The OnePlus Buds Pro’s charging case is heavier than those of most peers, but it is one of the few that come with wireless charging support. The case is water resistant too (IPX4) but not dust resistant.

Features and performance

From adaptive active noise cancellation to wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, and Dolby Atmos support, the OnePlus Buds Pro is brimful with premium features. However, most of its key differentiating features are limited to OnePlus smartphones, and that too not all of them. For example, the buds’ fast pair function is available on the OnePlus 6 series smartphones and above. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos is available only on the OnePlus 7 series smartphones and above. The earbuds support LHDC (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec), besides SBC and AAC. But then there are not many smartphones compatible with LHDC. Therefore, the Buds Pro mostly uses AAC as standard for audio transmission.

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