OnePlus Buds review: 'Sounds' good at just Rs 4,990

A combination of style with cool functions, OnePlus Buds will suit everyone - be it a sports enthusiast, music lover or someone who spends a lot of time on calls.

Inspired by the Apple Air Pods design, the buds have a stem design. They are neatly placed in a compact charging case that has a matte finish outside and is glossy from inside. Buds are available in three colours - white (looks elegant), gray, and the combination of green and blue (looks funky). My review unit was in the Nord Blue colour, which looked just fine. Rounded from the top and bottom, the case has an LED indicator along with a button for pairing mode and a Type-C charging port.  The LED comes handy in learning about the charging status and when in pairing mode. The innards of the case is a little cramped and I often struggled to remove the buds from the case.

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Compatible with both iOS and Android devices, the OnePlus Buds work best with OnePlus smartphones. Unlike premium wireless buds, the OnePlus Buds do not have a compatible app and I was able to pair it with the iPhone from Bluetooth settings. Keeping things simple, I could use double tap on the bud to answer the incoming call or disconnect the ongoing call. The double-tap also helps in skipping to the next track.

Thankfully, just the way a smart bud should be, this one pauses and resumes music playback when the buds are removed or worn back. Customizing the double-tap functionality (between next track, previous track, activating voice assistant or even play or pause) from under Bluetooth and device connection only works with select OnePlus devices including the OnePlus 6/6T/7/7 Pro/7T/7T Pro/8/8 Pro/Nord devices.

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Water and sweat-resistant, the buds come with IPx4 rating. As it stays put, it is a great workout companion. The audio while taking calls as well as listening to music is commendable for the price it comes for. The 13.4mm dynamic drivers do a pretty impressive job as the buds sound good while listening to music. The vocals were clear with balanced mids and bass. However, OnePlus claims about cutting down the environment noise fell flat and the mics picked up a lot of background noise. The long-lasting battery of the buds offered close to six hours on a single charge can easily get you through the work calls for the day. Plus, the case holds another 30 hours battery.  In my case, I got close to four days of calls and music. When completely drained out, a ten-fifteen minutes charge juices it to last a day. However, it does not support wireless charging.

Overall, the OnePlus Buds mostly live up to what the company claims and it should be on your list if your budget is less than Rs 5,000.

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