OnePlus earphones, Nord Buds TWS launched in India; first impressions

Last week, OnePlus Nord Buds, TWS earbuds debuted alongside the highly anticipated OnePlus 10R and the budget OnePlus Nord 10 CE Lite 5G smartphone. The latest Nord Buds is the newest member of the earbud’s portfolio. These TWS earphones come with an ergonomic design. Furthermore, these earbuds feature 12.4mm, titanium drivers. Moreover, the latest OnePlus Nord Buds earphones come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) feature.

The OnePlus earbuds get Bluetooth v5.2 for connectivity regarding other key highlighting features. They are IP55 rated for dust, sweat, and water resistance. During the OnePlus keynote, the tech giant claims that the new TWS earbuds can offer a total playback time of up to 30 hours and the charging case. The new OnePlus TWS earphones can compete against similar offerings from the brands like Realme, Oppo, Xiaomi, and others.

Table of Contents

OnePlus Nord Buds earphones price in India

The new OnePlus Nord Buds price in India sets at Rs 2799. The latest TWS earbuds come in two colors: Black Slate and White Marble color options. OnePlus confirms that the new Nord Buds will go live on sale starting May 10 in India during the launch event. Interested customers can purchase their TWS earphones via the OnePlus website, Amazon India, Flipkart, and OnePlus Exclusive Stores.

OnePlus Nord Buds: Specifications

In terms of specifications, the OnePlus Nord Buds comes with a 12.4mm Titanium driver. These audio drivers can deliver a frequency response range of 20Hz – 20000Hz. Furthermore, with a driver sensitivity of 102dB, the OnePlus Nord Buds can offer better bass and sound quality.

OnePlus confirms that these drivers were handpicked by their acoustic engineers for rich bass production and sharp treble. Also Read – OnePlus Nord 2 design and other details, a OnePlus 9R look alike

Dolby Atmos and Noise Cancellation on OnePlus earphones

Like the OnePlus Buds Z2, the Nord Buds feature Dolby Atmos. Dolby’s spatial audio technology simulates 3D audio effects from a standard surround sound system while consuming content-compatible movies and music or games. These OnePlus TWS earphones, according to the manufacturer, may use AI-powered noise reduction algorithms and feature a mechanical design to reduce wind noise.

Connectivity and Latency Rate

The lightweight Nord Buds come with an ergonomic design. The new OnePlus Nord Buds support Bluetooth v5.2 and have a maximum operational distance of 10 meters. The earphones have a latency rate of up to 94 milliseconds when used with some OnePlus smartphones that have gaming pro mode activated.

Fast Pairing Technology on OnePlus earphones

Furthermore, the OnePlus earphones include four microphones. They work with both Android and iOS devices. Like the OnePlus Nord Buds, the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 utilizes the company’s fast pairing technology. The earbuds can pair with the OnePlus smartphone as soon as the charging case is opened. These TWS earbuds get an IP55 rating for dust and sweat resistance.

Battery Life

According to OnePlus, the OnePlus Nord Buds earphones can deliver up to seven hours of playing on a single charge. The earbuds come with an oval-shaped charging case, and the combination is touted to provide up to 30 hours of playtime. Furthermore, these OnePlus Buds claim to deliver five hours of listening duration on a single 10-minute charge. Each earbud contains a 41mAh battery, while the charging case includes a 480mAh battery. To charge the case, use the provided USB Type-C cable.

The OnePlus Nord Buds earphones measure 67.9x 35.5x 28.68mm with the case. Each earbud weighs 4.8 grams, and the earbuds combined with their charging case weigh 41.7 grams. Now, let’s take a look at the Nord Buds. Also Read about Xiaomi TWS 3

OnePlus Nord Buds: First Look

After the highly successful OnePlus Nord smartphone series, which came in 2020, and the OnePlus premium series smartphone, the Nord series offers much more budget segment devices than the other premium segment smartphones. Recently, OnePlus launched the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G smartphone in India, which comes under Rs 20000 price bracket.

Besides these smartphones, the OnePlus also has a lot of earbuds and earphones. The latest OnePlus Nord Buds launched recently are priced below the regular OnePlus Buds earphones. Henceforth, the latest TWS earbuds come under the affordable category of earbuds from the company. Remember that these are the first series of earphones under the Nord branding. First, let’s take a look at the unboxing of the Nord Buds.

OnePlus earphones unboxing

The all-new OnePlus Nord Buds earphones come in greyish black and blue color box packaging. The TWS earphones come inside a rectangular-shaped box packaging. The OnePlus Nord Buds are mentioned in big and bold letters on the box packaging. Furthermore, the design of the TWS earbuds is also depicted on the box packaging itself.

Once we open the box packaging, we get the OnePlus Nord Buds TWS earphones inside the charging case. Along with this, we also get a user guide and some Nord stickers. Furthermore, we also get four ear tips of different sizes. The box packaging also contains one Red Cable Club Invite.

Charging case: Outside Design

The latest OnePlus Buds come inside the black color charging case. Looking at the charging case, we can see that the charging case’s design language is entirely different from what we get with other OnePlus Buds. The OnePlus Nord Buds charging case comes with a box design. The charging case gets a matte finishing, which offers an excellent in-hand feel. Moreover, this charging case gets curved edges.

The OnePlus logo is inscribed into the case itself at the charging cover. The charging case gets an LED indicator to confirm the charging on the front side. The backside of the charging case gets a Type-C port for charging the charging case. We can connect the USB Type-C charging cable to charge the OnePlus Nord Buds charging case. Furthermore, a button beside the Type-C port enables the pairing if you have to pair your OnePlus Nord Buds earphones for the first time.

Charging Case: Inside Design

After opening the charging case, we can see another level of design. The design of the charging case from the inside looks funkier. The cuts for each earbud inside the charging case look good with glossy finishing. Moreover, the Left and Right earbuds are mentioned for each OnePlus Nord Bud. The inside portion of the charging case is glossy, while the top section comes with a matte finish. The opening and closing mechanism of the charging case comes with a powerful magnet.

OnePlus Nord Buds: Design

The overall design of the TWS earbuds with the charging case looks good, and it is pretty compact and easy to hold in hand. Talking about the design of the OnePlus Nord Buds, these earphones come with an exciting design to be more precise because the area where we need to touch for controls is marked. This touch area comes with a glossy finish in a circular layout. The rest of the portion on the TWS earbud comes with a matte finish.

The earbud stem is also tiny, and the stem is slightly different from the stem of other TWS earbuds. The earbud stem on the Nord Buds is wider and shorter. The earbuds design also looks nice, and these are comfortable to hold in ears for a more extended period. The charging point and the ear tips are also neatly integrated into the earbuds. The design of these OnePlus Nord Buds earphones looks funkier and is a unique design.

The OnePlus Nord Buds comfortably fits inside the ears. These earbuds come with a traditional kind of design. When we put these earbuds into our ears, it does not make much difference, and the stem design looks nice. Overall, in terms of comfort level, OnePlus has done an excellent job with these earphones. Also Read about OnePlus Nord 2 in India; specifications, price, colour

Audio Drivers on OnePlus earbuds

OnePlus offers 12.44mm, titanium-coated drivers with the latest OnePlus Nord Buds. These earbuds also support Dolby Atmos. However, based on our usage, we can say that the Dolby Atmos support remains limited to the OnePlus devices only. The Dolby Atmos support is only available on premium smartphones starting from the OnePlus 7. On other devices, we are unable to access the Dolby Atmos functionality.

Call Quality on Nord Buds

OnePlus Nord Buds come with AI Noise cancellation functionality. While calling, these TWS OnePlus earphones are pretty good. We don’t see any issues, and both speaker and the caller could hear the voice correctly. Even the sound clarity was good while international calls. We did not see any problems in terms of call experience. Also Read about Asus Zenfone Mini smartphone

Sound Experience on OnePlus Buds

Talking about the sound experience, the OnePlus Nord Buds are pretty good in terms of sound experience. The sound signature is good. Furthermore, there is a good balance of bass and treble. Even the vocals are also good. While testing, we found that the bass experience is pretty rich. In terms of sound quality, these OnePlus TWS earphones are relatively decent for the price.

People who love bass music will definitely goanna love these earbuds. Not only the bass, but the overall sound clarity looks good. Even the touch control works perfectly fine. As mentioned above, the area for touch controls is marked. These touch controls will be helpful while playing/pausing the music, skipping the audio tracks, playing the next track, and more. Overall, the touch controls on both earbuds work perfectly well.

Interacting with OnePlus Nord Buds

If you are using a OnePlus device, you will be easily able to access the OnePlus Nord Buds. However, suppose you are using a non-OnePlus device or an iOS device. In that case, we have to install the Hey Melody app to access these earbuds. With the Hey Melody app, we can configure these OnePlus earbuds. Also Read – Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 TWS earphones with ANC launched

Battery Life on OnePlus earphones

OnePlus claims that these Nord Buds can offer around seven hours of battery life on a single charge. At the same time, the charging case can deliver about 30 hours of battery life. This time duration is a pretty good promise on paper. However, we get around six hours of battery life with regular usage in reality. However, while playing games, we get around five and a half hours of battery life. Even five to six hours of battery backup is decent.

Gaming Experience on the latest OnePlus earphones

We don’t suggest these OnePlus Nord Buds for the gamers based on our usage. These earbuds are not that suited for gamers because the lowest latency promised by these earphones is 94 milliseconds, which is not that good for gamers. Furthermore, this 94-millisecond delay is only possible on specific OnePlus smartphones when Game Mode is enabled. On other devices, the latency rate could be even higher.

Final Verdict

Should you buy these OnePlus Nord Buds? With Rs 2799, these Nord Buds are excellent earbuds. We like the design of these TWS earphones. These earbuds’-built quality, fit, and finishing are also excellent. The battery life on these earphones is decent. We even get the IP55 rating for sweat and dust resistance. The sound quality and voice clarity are also good on these OnePlus Nord Buds earphones. These earphones also get fast-charging support. Overall, it is a good package if you are on a budget. We suggest you buy these earbuds only if you own a OnePlus device. Else, you can explore the market for other options.