With the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G, the company introduced the new mid-range family headphones, the OnePlus Nord Buds 2which come to replace the first generation, offering good sound quality, decent autonomy and a somewhat different design from its rivals.
Features OnePlus Nord Buds 2
- One push.
- Press twice.
- play/pause music; answer/end the call.
- triple press.
- Skip to the next song.
- Long press on one side.
- Reject the call.
- 40dB active noise cancellation.
- Low latency mode 94ms.
- IP55.
- voice assistant.
- Bluetooth 5.2.
- 10m connectivity radius.
- charging case
- 67.9 x 35.5 x 28.68mm
- Weight: 37.8 grams (the 2 headphones and the charging box). 4.8 grams 1 bud.
- 7 hours for buds.
- 30 hours with charging case.
Same design, new color
The headphones and their box are the same as the previous year’s model. I haven’t had the opportunity to test the OnePlus Nord Buds and I must admit that I liked their design.
As expected, they have earpads to improve noise cancellation, and while that might turn some people off, I personally consider it a hit.
In addition, the outer part, with very straight lines, is perfect for gripping the headphones and putting them on or taking them off. Even touch gestures work well on this flat surface.
What I didn’t like too much was the box, as it’s too big to carry in a pocket unnoticed, and it obviously doesn’t fit in the small inside pocket of some jeans.
Also, the color of the loaner unit, gray, is unusual because it has a kind of sheen to it that in everyday life looks like dirt. Even friends who have tried them have tried to brush off the dust specks they thought they had as part of the design.
excellent sound quality
This drew my attention to the sound quality of these OnePlus Nord Buds 2, especially the bass. The equalization system that we have in the helmet settings helps, which we can also customize according to our preferences.
Also, the noise cancellation is quite good, which we didn’t expect, probably because these are mid-range headphones, not like the OnePlus Buds 2 Pro we tested a few weeks ago, which cost 100 dollars more.
Good gestures, but one is missing
In the gestures section, we have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I like that there’s the option to use one key, instead of the mandatory two or three, and that they’ve opted for keys, not presses, as seen in Nothing Ear (2).
is missingHowever, the ability to change the volume of the helmet, something that forces us to remove the mobile from where we have it.
But the biggest problem is not that, but the absence of a presence sensor. This means that when we remove the headphones, the music does not stop, which is a mess. Nothing’s headphones were glowing.
Good autonomy
The battery of these headphones promises us an autonomy of around 7 hours continuously with around 30 additional hours from the charging case.
As always, it will depend on several things, such as whether or not we have active noise cancellation activated, the volume of the music, if we talk a lot on the phone, etc.
What we don’t have here is wireless charging, which is normal since it’s usually reserved for high-end products.
conclusion
OnePlus has managed to create headphones with good sound, a beautiful design and a reasonable price, at least by today’s standards.
The 69 dollars of the RRP of these OnePlus Nord Buds 2 may seem a bit high, but they are not if we compare them with the Nothing Ear 2 or the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 that we recently tested.
They keep the good design, sound quality and active noise cancellation, but forgo high-end materials and wireless charging to cut costs. And that’s not a bad strategy.
- Compare OnePlus Nord Buds 2
You may be interested
Follow the topics that interest you
Table of Contents