OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review: Iffy performance drags down otherwise nice earbuds

Sometimes “pretty good” isn’t enough.

This is the case with OnePlus’ new flagship earbuds, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. These $180 earbuds do a lot of what you want in earbuds for that price. Its sound quality is beyond acceptable. The wealth of customization options and the battery life are really impressive.

However, Bluetooth bugs and inferior active noise cancellation compared to competitors like Apple Beats Fit Pro Keep your Buds Pro 2 away from great things. Anyone who buys these will probably be happy, but you can do better without dropping more cash.

minor face lift

Skipped for some reason 2021 OnePlus Buds Pro Because of their appearance, I have bad news for you: nothing has changed in that department.

Aside from a slight reduction in size and the addition of a new ‘Arbor Green’ colorway, the Buds Pro 2 look almost identical to their predecessors.i.e. they look like off-brand AirPods ProIt has a slightly oval body, silicone eartips, and an elongated stem that protrudes from the underside of the body.

There are no noteworthy changes to the charging case either. It retains its vague rectangular (with rounded corners) shape from last time, and as far as I can tell, it’s exactly the same size as before.

OnePlus also retains the same touch-sensitive stem as last time.Instead of a simple press, you can actually use squeeze Control playback with the stem. Squeeze once to pause and play, squeeze twice to skip ahead, and squeeze three times to return to the track. Just in case you need to order food or something without taking off the earbuds, hold the squeeze button for a few seconds to toggle between ANC and Transparency modes.

To clarify, I have no problem with this. In keeping with the “Pro” nomenclature, the OnePlus Buds Pro looked sleek and understated. I’ve worn these for a few hours at a time with very few issues.

Anyone who sees these on the street might think they have the black or green AirPods Pro. Of course they would be wrong, but who cares? Let people think what they want.

applicative

Another thing that hasn’t changed much from the previous incarnation of the OnePlus Buds Pro is how the earbuds are configured, and on OnePlus phones, it’s easy. Simply open the earbud case on the side of your phone, connect using OnePlus’ fast pairing feature, and you’ll find customization options in the Bluetooth section of your phone’s settings menu.

A little cumbersome on iPhones and Androids, but not a big deal. Just download the HeyMelody app from app store(opens in new tab) again play store(opens in new tab) And you can go

To OnePlus’ credit, there’s a great deal of feature parity in this regard across devices. iOS and Android users can adjust ANC levels, create their own sound equalizer settings, and conduct an ear fit test to ensure the earbuds are fitted correctly. You can also calibrate the touch controls here or perform firmware updates.

A great returning feature from last time is a short hearing test you can take.The earbuds then create a custom audio profile to match your ears. a bit It got better after I did this.

When it comes to features unique to OnePlus phones, there aren’t many.there is a new spatial audio A feature similar to what Apple introduced years ago. In theory, this is meant to make the music sound like it’s all around you, not just in your ears. This works for a small test tone in the Buds Pro settings menu, but other than that I didn’t find it to have much effect. Of course, your mileage can vary from song to song and app to app, so it can vary.

Aside from that, OnePlus phone users can enjoy “Hi-Res Audio,” which is supposed to provide better quality audio at the expense of battery life and latency. We didn’t, but it might work better for you: You can also use your OnePlus phone to find your earbuds if you lose them. This is a nice touch and a pretty decent selling point to join the OnePlus ecosystem if you really like these earbuds.

Surprisingly Inconsistent Bluetooth Connection

Unfortunately, evaluating the performance of the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 begins to cause problems. This is the most important thing for earphones, so it’s pretty disappointing.

Let’s start with the positive. Sound quality here is above average, with the bass kicking acceptably hard as long as you don’t crank the volume up too much, and the overall sound profile doesn’t drown out the more subtle instruments in dense configurations. If there’s value in being able to do it, you shouldn’t.

As before, I used Sturgill Simpson’s “Call to Arms” as my test material. Not only is it a frenetic banger, but it’s also full of instrumental elements. The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 do a good job of conveying everything the song is trying to convey. I really have no complaints about the raw sound quality.

The noise canceling is… fine. Even with ANC set to maximum, it’s a little too noisy when walking down a busy street in Brooklyn, for example. It’s a particularly demanding stress test, but the Beats Fit Pro passes it without a hitch. OnePlus doesn’t do it all that well, but it gets the job done most of the time.

Sadly, I had a really hard time getting the earbuds to work consistently. Large scale Problem with my test. The Buds Pro 2 work fine in static settings like your bedroom or office, but when you take them out, things change. In my experience, mundane activities like riding the subway or walking down a busy street can create so much Bluetooth interference that you essentially lose what you’re trying to hear.

Of course, we understand that not everyone lives in New York City. If you don’t deal with urban density on a daily basis, you may not have this problem. All I can say is that in my experience the Buds Pro 2 weren’t always up to the task when I wanted to take them out of the house.

Having said all that, I would point out that you can get around 6 hours of listening time with the Buds Pro 2. When ANC is onIt’s pretty sweet.

hard sell

There’s a lot to love about the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. Its sound quality is nice enough and ANC works most of the time. You can wear it comfortably for hours at a time and look super cool. On top of that, you get a cool set of app-based features with good parity across both OnePlus and non-OnePlus devices.

It’s a shame it doesn’t perform well in crowded environments, at least at the time of writing. Perhaps a firmware update could fix it, but for now these bad boys are a bit hard to recommend given the competition For just $20 more, the Beats Fit Pro beats the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 in almost every way.The same goes for Google Pixel Buds Proif you’re looking for something a little more Android-centric.

If OnePlus negotiates a slightly lower price (perhaps in the $150 range), this could be a different conversation. However, as things stand, you’d be better off buying another pair of earbuds.