OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Earphone Specifications
Another good partner for OnePlus smartphones, the Buds Pro 2 has great ANC capability, very good call quality and good comfort levels, but it is not the most exciting or dynamic real wireless network to listen to.
Key features
Bluetooth audio supports SBC, AAC and LHDC codecs
Noise cancellation up to 48 dB from ANC Adaptive
IP55 rated water resistant protects against dust and water
Introduction
It has become fashionable for smartphone brands to launch a pair of true wireless earbuds as an accessory to the launch of their latest phones. After all, with the success that Apple has achieved, you would be foolish to allow another brand to be the headset used with your smartphones.
Samsung does it, Oppo does, nothing does, and so does OnePlus, which after several attempts, finally hit the oil with the original OnePlus Buds Pro, which we felt was the best bud that OnePlus easily produced.
With a new phone in the OnePlus 11, they are back again with the Buds Pro 2, flowing with synergy and hoping to make the same argument that Apple convincingly made by making sure to buy the Buds Pro 2 with your new smartphone.
design
Small and lightweight
Great fit and comfortable
The force sensor can be very sensitive
The design of the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 does not seem to have shifted from the original, which is good given that our reviews of this pair highly rated comfort levels.
It will be easy to portray them as imitations of the AirPods Pro, and although they take a similar shape, the look and style differ. They take on a graceful appearance, and the protruding trunk has an attractive and high-quality finish. Such shoots look well-formed and certainly not cheap.
t where the default option resulted in a loose fit (three sizes of antibacterial ear tips are provided).
Once pressed, the seal is well formed, and the noise insulation properties of the design already dissipate some environmental noise. There is no discomfort, no sensation that they may fall either. With an IP55 rating, matching the likes of Jabra's Elite 5, they can adequately cover low levels of dust and water splashes.
They use force sensors on the trunk, which I will admit, I'm not a big fan of - their use can be difficult and unresponsive in the worst of times. The controls are responsive, accessible in terms of their simplicity and with my fairly large numbers, holding the leg doesn't bother with the fit or seal.
However, not all news is good. There's no volume control on the panel, not even the option to set it to an action in the settings, and either the in-ear detection is too sensitive or the brush sensor on my skin causes the buds to stop music and activate their transparency mode. Interestingly, I managed to do this by just yawning.
The case is made as well as buds - small in size and can fit in a pocket, with a nice matte finish that speaks of the overall sense of quality. The case is rated on IPX4 for added protection when getting wet, with an LED on the front to judge battery life and a Bluetooth pairing button inside. He, like buds, comes in two forms: Obsidian Black and Arbor Green, the latter seems to be exclusive to Amazon in United Kingdom.
Attributes
Long battery life
Impressive noise cancellation
Very good call quality
There are a lot of features to look out for on top, so let's start with the Bluetooth-specific OnePlus performance. The connective tissue between it and the phone is the latest spec in Bluetooth 5.3, with SBC, AAC and LHDC codecs supported. The latter is more prevalent in Asia and is not common in the West where Sony's LDAC has wider support.
The version here is LHDC 4.0 which covers high-resolution (but lossy) audio transmission via Bluetooth. OnePlus also claims to have seamless Bluetooth connectivity between the speakers and a compatible phone, with OnePlus Buds Pro 2 set to be upgraded to version 5.0 via an update.
If you don't have a phone that supports LHDC, AAC is the codec that you will listen to music. It gets stuck and scattered along when connected to the (obsolete) OnePlus 7T until it finds some relief.
For Android phones, Google Fast Pair is there to instantly connect to the earbuds without searching for them in the Bluetooth settings, and Bluetooth multi-point technology is supported if you want two devices at the same time.
The quality of the call is very impressive, as you suppress vehicles as they pass, the person on the other end of the call noticed that my voice was always audible, although perhaps a little less when the buds had to deal with loud noises, but not to the point where people in the past had become a distraction. This is a very reliable performance of call quality from Buds Pro 2.
The battery life is 25 hours (including the charging case) with ANC and 39 hours without it. OnePlus seems reluctant to mention how much charge is available per bud with ANC on (9 hours without that), but multiple attempts to play for an hour from Spotify have drain 10%, so it seems like these earbuds can last for a while before another charge is needed.
Fast charging gives you an extra three hours of charging for 10 minutes, while the case supports wireless charging if you want to go the slow (often) way to charge these headphones.
There is no app like this if you are an Android user because the settings are stacked in the smoothness of the Android operating system in the Bluetooth settings section (iOS users and those with Android up to 7.0 will need to deal with the Hey Melody app). Head over there and you'll find a range of features including EQ options, which are balanced by default but have other options as well as a five-band equalizer to create your profile. Hans Zimmer teamed up with OnePlus to create his own EQ, through an update in February 2023.
Golden sound claims to deliver studio-quality sound tuned to "ear canal structure and hearing characteristics." Zen Mode Air is triggered by pressing the trunk for three seconds, turning on white noise, but calling it "noise" will be difficult. The option includes "warm sunrise", "Iceland" and "night camping" to play some soothing and relaxing natural sounds.
Other features include the Earbud Fit test (performed in noisier settings for the best effect) and Find my earbuds that play a sound to help locate them.
About noise cancellation, which is impressive. Commutes to and from work are mostly done in silence, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is good at silencing other people's voices on the train. Continuous sounds are handled though not always removed; trips on the tube are fairly good although the roar of the Jubilee line in virtual listening levels can (only) surpass them. Overall, they keep more than they allow for very effective performance.
There's a Smart ANC that automatically reduces noise cancellation based on what it senses (jumping to the minimum or maximum levels on a dime), and there's a custom ANC that matches performance with your ear canal, but I can never see much difference with these "custom" modes.
Transparency is good, filtering through sounds clearly if not at levels of criminal detail. It is good for spatial awareness and when turned on it does not lead to an immersive sensation of flowing noise, which some may appreciate.
Sound quality
Warm offer
Seamless mid-range performance
The relaxation approach lacks a degree of excitement
What I'm excited about with OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is partnering with Danish masters Dynaudio on the audio interface. Oppo used its expertise in the real Enco wireless series, which worked well.
OnePlus and Dynaudio boast the sound of music lovers, but I don't agree with these claims. What you get here is a powerful performance, rich and warm but not excessively, with a smooth mid-range approach all in a wide acoustic range.
Presentation for music lovers is probably possible with smartphones that support the largest bandwidth of LHDC for high-quality sound, but considering that it is not widespread this is less a feature and more disadvantage, especially if you have an older OnePlus or Android phone.
The warmth of the presentation causes the top end of the frequency band to appear as rolling – it's clear and bright enough to distinguish from GoGo Penguin's Atomised midband but lacks that brilliance and sharpness to really shine. The warmth makes the sounds smooth, while bass levels are good if they don't feature the greatest depth and span – if anything, OnePlus takes a fairly tasty approach with low frequencies.
It is the lack of dynamism that prevents these earbuds from approaching the class leaders about this price. Van Halen's Jump (Tidal Master) isn't the most impressive, with the ups and downs instead displayed in the middle making OnePlus instead a single note in terms of shifts in momentum, while singing lacks a degree of dynamism that would make it more realistic.
Neither Marlena's voice what in California Soul or Norah Jones in I Don't Know why he really reaches out and grabs the listener by the scruff, Buds Pro 2 lacks that sense of enthusiasm and excitement for her voice.