Alongside the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, OnePlus has also announced its latest TWS earbuds in the Nord Series, the OnePlus Nord Buds are the first pair of TWS earbuds from the Nord series itself and are priced at ₹2,799. Features include 12.4mm Titanium drivers, up to a whopping 30 hours of battery life, a new trendy design, and comes with ultra-fast charging that gives 5 hours of battery life in 10 minutes of quick charging. Here’s all about the earbuds in our OnePlus Nord Buds review.
Design, Build & Ergonomics
The OnePlus Nord Buds are the first earbuds in the Nord Series and it lies in the midrange segment under the price of ₹3,000. The Nord Buds differs in the looks and aesthetics compared to the OnePlus Buds Series. One of the key features that we can see is its long 30 hours of battery life, trendy flat case design (unlike the curved and oval shapes), IP55 dust and water-resistant, and fast charging feature.
Looking at the Nord Buds, they seem unique and look completely different in terms of design if we compare them to its OnePlus Buds line-up. The Nord Buds come with a neat matte finish design and a flat-case design with modern looks, the front has an LED indicator and the backside has a pairing button and a USB Type-C port for fast charging.
Opening the case and you can see the glossy mirror-like head on the earbuds that reflects the lights. The case offers a lightweight design with an oval-shaped on the front while being flat on the sides. The design of the earbuds is also similar and matches its case, with flattened edges, and a curved design.
The earbuds are easy to hold and easy to carry due to their sleek design. The Nord Buds weigh around 41.7 grams (case) and 4.2 grams (each bud). The earbuds look quite unique from their rivals and also look fantastic when you wear them.
The OnePlus Nord Buds is available in two colors – Black Slate and White Marble, we have the Black Slate color variant with us which you can see in the photos we shared.
Performance, Features & Connectivity
The OnePlus Nord Buds equips 12.4 mm dynamic drivers (Titanium) with support for AI Noise Reduction (much like the ENC Environmental Noise Cancellation) that helps block external and ambient noise. You won’t find active-noise cancellation on these earbuds which may be a letdown for some peeps who are looking for such a trait, seeing as both the OnePlus Buds Pro and OnePlus Buds Z2 offer ANC.
In addition to that, you will find 94 ms ultra-low latency for smooth lag-free gaming audio which is useful for online multiplayer gaming. You also get Dolby Atmos support for stereo surround sound. Since no ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) is available, you also don’t get the Transparency feature as well.
The audio quality of the Nord Buds sounds quite great, the highs and the mids are good so as the lows (bass), you can expect a reasonable sound output from these earbuds. You have the SoundMaster Equilizer to tune the audio to your desired playback needs.
Pairing is easy, it has a Bluetooth 5.2 support and uses OnePlus Fast Pair for instant pairing. It is also compatible with the HeyMelody app which lets you access more features of the earbuds using your smartphone.
The HeyMelody app lets you connect earbuds to your smartphone, use its features, and also enables you to download firmware updates. It displays battery information and lets you customize gesture controls. The app is available on Android and iOS platforms.
Battery Runtime & Charging
About its battery, the Nord Buds offer a stunning 30 hours of battery life which is far better than many opponents, the 30-hours battery is combined including the case. Assuming that if you use the Nord Buds for 3 hours in a day, you can expect it to last about 10 days or more on a full charge.
Each earbud can last up to 7 hours of music playback and up to 3.5 hours of calling means both buds if used individually can last up to 7 hours for calling and 14 hours of playback (which varies according to your usage and volume levels).
There’s one more great thing about the earbuds, a quick 10-min charge gives you ample battery runtimes, you get a whopping 5 hours of playback in just 10 minutes of charging. A total of 5 hours of battery is just too good for this price and is also the best in the segment.
Verdict
The OnePlus Nord Buds offer a stunning 30 hours of battery life with ultra-fast charging support, it can deliver up to 5 hours of battery in just 10-minutes of charging which is faster than expected. Aside from these, its modern design, IP55 waterproof rating, exceptional sound quality, and support for Dolby Atmos make it a decent contender. For those with a budget of ₹2,800 and who want to add a pair of earbuds along to their Nord Series smartphone, the OnePlus Nord Buds can be a great pick. If you are looking for earbuds with an active noise cancellation feature, look for other options.
