You can find a pair of wireless earbuds pretty much anywhere these days. OnePlus entered the market last year with the Buds Pro wireless headphones. Well, you can’t have a hit without a sequel. OnePlus announced the Buds Pro 2 today and we’ve been testing these earbuds for a few weeks.
Let’s get into the deep dive of these great new wireless earbuds from OnePlus.
Design
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2s have a familiar design. Nothing to write home about here, but I will say the hardware screams premium. The top portion has a silicon-covered earpiece and is followed by a metal stem.
The stem is also where it gets interesting with controls. We’ll get into that more later, but as far as the hardware, there’s a clickable portion inside the stem that allows you to interact with the playback. I know that’s been done before, but OnePlus put this together well.
The lightweight design makes for all-day wear a non-issue. I never once felt like the OnePlus Buds Pro 2s were giving me ear fatigue or nagging me. The earbuds stayed in position no matter if I was in a hard workout or just working at my desk.
These wireless Buds are activewear ready as well. The Buds Pro 2 earbuds themselves are IP55 water-resistant while and should be up for any weather or sweaty workouts. Even the case is IPX4 rated to make sure you are protected as you travel without the buds in your ears.
Audio
OnePlus has partnered with Dynaudio to produce really great sound here with the Buds Pro 2s. Using the MelodyBoost dual drivers the audio production is balanced and crisp. I found that all styles of listening performed well with this setup. Podcasts come through with natural voiced tones and music ramps up regardless of the genre to deliver a nice listening experience.
The Dynaudio drivers consist of 11mm and 6mm drivers. This allows for bass and mids to pack a punch but still have highs that deliver a clean balance as well. The equalizer has a default Dynaudio setting, but you can choose three other custom settings of Bold, Serenade, and Bass.
You also get the new Spatial Audio from the latest Android updates and Fast Pair profiles. Spatial Audio is in collaboration with Google to create an immersive audio experience that manipulates the sound based on your movements and surroundings. It is similar to Surround Sound for your earbuds.
The Fast Pair and Audio profiles work as expected too. The OnePlus 11 immediately saw my Buds Pro 2s and asked to connect. This is something we’ve previously only seen on Google devices and Pixel Buds, and nice to see this expanded to OnePlus. Another neat trick is once you’ve Fast Paired to the first device linked to your Google account, it will seamlessly be available on all your other devices.
This is a neat addition when you also consider the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 earbuds can simultaneously be dual connected to up to two devices. Yep, I’ve been consistently bouncing from the OnePlus 11 and my Pixel, and the connection just works.
App and touch controls
You can even manipulate many of the audio and profiles directly in the Bluetooth settings of the OnePlus 11 or using the HeyMelody app on other Androids. This opens up a plethora of things like changing the equalizer, the transparency settings, turning Spatial Audio on or off, and even the click controls of the earbuds.
The defaults of both earbuds are clicking once for play/pause, twice for skipping a track, and three times to move to the previous playback. The single press also answers/ends calls and the double press rejects incoming calls.
Pressing and holding for one-second changes the noise cancellation from either full intelligent noise cancellation or Transparency. Full intelligent mode fully blocks out most outside interference with active noise cancellation while Transparency allows you to stay focused while still hearing those around you for work-related conversations or hazards.
A longer three-second hold activates Zen Mode Air. This puts you in an audial atmosphere to relax you with soothing sounds while blocking out the noise around you. It’s a little campy but works. It’s kinda nice when you want a moment of meditation or winding down at night.
Battery life
OnePlus rates the Buds Pro 2s to last up to 25 hours with noise cancellation active and a whopping 39 if you keep that stuff turned off. I’ve found this pretty accurate and estimate the earbuds getting 8-10 hours per use without the case. With mixed usage throughout my days, I’ve been able to get a full work week per charge with the case topping them off while not in use.
When you do need to charge the entire kit, OnePlus made sure you don’t have to wait long. You can get three full hours of listening by dropping the Buds Pro 2s back in the case with fast-charging capable USB-C. If you just hate wires and have more time, you can also utilize Qi-charing for wireless docking.
Conclusion
As I mentioned in my opening, you have to truly make a good set of earbuds stand out to me at this point. With options cropping up all over, OnePlus needed to nail the Buds Pro 2s from fit and finish to performance. I’m happy to report the company delivered with a Grade A level execution.
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 wireless earbuds are my clear-cut winner in the current market and that’s with the stiff competition of late. These earphones have great battery life and sound with a functional yet comfortable design. Pack in all the latest tech from Google, Dynaudio, and OnePlus and it’s a wrap for me.
Now, let’s talk about the final hurdle of price. Again, I think OnePlus has a reasonable entry of $179 full retail. These earbuds are well worth that investment and if you hit our retail guide for the new OnePlus devices you can find them discounted for pre-order at many outlets.
