OnePlus has launched its second pair of Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds in the Nord series, called the OnePlus Nord Buds CE, following the highly popular OnePlus Nord Buds. The Chinese tech brand launched the Nord Buds CE earlier this month, at an affordable price point. These earbuds offer up to 20 hours of music playback time with the charging case and can run up to 4.5 hours without it. The Nord Buds CE features 12.5mm dynamic drivers and offers 94ms ultra-low latency. Additionally, the new earbuds come equipped with AI noise cancellation technology for calls. The company also launched OnePlus Wired earphones alongside these affordable earbuds.
Last week, Chinese tech company OnePlus launched the OnePlus Wired earphones in India. These wired earphones are already available globally with a 3.5mm connector compatible with OnePlus and other Android devices. During the launch, OnePlus announced that the Nord Wired earphones are available exclusively on Amazon India’s official website and come in only one color option, Black.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE price in India
The recently launched OnePlus Nord Buds CE in India have an introductory price of Rs 2,299 from the company, although there has been no announcement regarding how long this introductory offer will last. The original price of these TWS earbuds is Rs 2,699. The official OnePlus Twitter handle announced the launch of these affordable earbuds in India via a tweet.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE TWS earbuds come in two colour options – Moonlight White and Misty Grey. As for the availability, the OnePlus Nord TWS earbuds are available for purchase on the official OnePlus India website and Flipkart. Also Read – OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite, dual SIM mobile phone with 5000mAh battery
OnePlus Nord Wired Earphones price in India
Like the OnePlus Nord Buds CE, the Nord Wired are affordable earphones from the company. The recently launched OnePlus Nord Wired Earphones price in India is Rs 799. These wired earphones are available on the official OnePlus India website. Interested consumers can also purchase these earphones via Amazon.com and the OnePlus official app from September 1, 2022.
The all-new OnePlus Nord Wired Earphones will compete against JBL C100SI and the Realme Buds 2 Wired Earphones. Considering the competitors, the JBL earphones offer a decent sound output. In comparison, the Realme Buds 2 Wired earphones come with magnetic earbuds. Also Read – OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G Phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, price in India
OnePlus Nord Buds CE specifications
The Chinese tech players claims the Nord Buds CE TWS earbuds can offer up to 4.5 hours of music playback time at 50 per cent volume levels with full battery backup. It can also offer up to 3 hours of calling time with a full battery. The company also claims that these TWS earbuds can last for up to 20 hours when fully charged with the charging case.
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Battery
With 10 minutes of charging, these OnePlus Nord Buds CE TWS earbuds can offer 80 minutes of playback time. In terms of battery details, each earbud packs a 27mAh battery, whereas the charging case gets a 300mAh capacity battery. The new Nord TWS earbuds features AI Noise Cancellation technology for calling. These earbuds are rated at IPX4 for water resistance.
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Hardware and Connectivity
Regarding hardware, the newly launched One Plus Nord Buds CE earbuds pack in 13.4mm titanium dynamic drivers with 20Hz to 20000Hz frequency response. These earbuds come with a special closed-tube design. This design helps to boost the booming bass by up to 3dB. For the connectivity option, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE earbuds get Bluetooth v5.2 for wireless connectivity.
OnePlus claims that these TWS earbuds can connect wirelessly with a range of up to 10m. These earbuds also feature support for AAC and SBC Audio formats. Furthermore, for charging, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE charging case gets a USB Type-C port. Additionally, these TWS earbuds also get 94ms ultra-low latency. Remember, the latency rate can vary from the smartphones they are connected to.
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Other Features
The Chinese tech player, OnePlus, also offers the Fast Pair feature on the newly launched Nord Buds CE. This feature allows earbuds to connect to the OnePlus smartphones with more ease. The all-new TWS earbuds also get Sound Master Equaliser, which can be accessed on smartphones via the HeyMelody app. Additionally, there are four suitable EQ modes – Bass, Gentle, and Serenade.
Unfortunately, the iOS version of the app is not available for the OnePlus Nord Buds CE. Furthermore, these Nord earbuds also get a Game Mode. Three taps on the earbud can activate the Game Mode. It will make the game sound perfectly in sync. Each earbud weighs around 3.5 grams, while the charging case weighs about 33 grams. Let’s look at the newly launched OnePlus Nord Buds CE TWS earbuds.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE: Review
The Nord Buds CE is the latest affordable TWS earbuds from the Chinese tech players. These earbuds are the second variant after the highly popular One Plus Nord Buds. In addition to these TWS earbuds, the OnePlus Nord series also includes OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite, OnePlus Nord CE 2, OnePlus Nord 2, and OnePlus Nord 2T smartphones. The company recently launched wired earphones with the name, OnePlus Nord Wired earphones.
These are the company’s cheapest earphones currently available in the Indian markets. With the OnePlus Nord Buds CE launch, the company aims to offer the truly wireless stereo (TWS) experience to users at a pocket-friendly price point. Now, let’s look at the OnePlus Nord Buds CE design. Also Read – OnePlus Nord CE 5G smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor, other online specs
One Plus Nord Buds CE: Design
The newly launched Nord Buds CE comes with a classic, one-size-fits-all earbud design. I have seen this kind of design on the highly popular Apple AirPods. Moreover, OnePlus also used this design with its original OnePlus Buds. But this is the first Nord series TWS earbuds to use this design. Design-wise, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE looks similar to the Apple AirPods.
We call this design the Hairdryer style design. The stem on the OnePlus Nord Buds CE is shorter than on AirPods. Furthermore, these earbuds also feature capacitive touch for gesture control. Being affordable earbuds, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE does not offer in-ear detection support. Therefore, there is no automatic play or pause while we insert or remove the earbuds from our ears. Luckily, One Plus Nord Buds CE is IPX4 rated for sweat and water splashes.
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Charging Case Design
The OnePlus Nord Buds CE Charging case is relatively smaller and comes with a curvy design. It gets the same glossy finish as the earbuds. With this finish, the charging case and earbuds can get scratched. The lid of the charging case gets a spring mechanism. In my experience, the opening and closing of the lid were easy. There is no button for pairing.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE automatically enters pairing mode as soon we open the charging case’s lid. Additionally, a USB Type-C charging port is on the bottom of the charging case. OnePlus Nord Buds CE comes in two distinct colour options – Moonlight White and Misty Gray. Also Read – OnePlus company launched the Nord CE, design details and camera configuration
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In-ear comfort
It is hard to comment on the comfort level of the OnePlus Nord Buds CE, as it comes with a one-size-fits-all design. This type of design rarely works for everyone. Depending on the ear shape, the Nord Buds CE can either be too small or too large. Henceforth, this will affect not only the comfort levels but also the sound quality. This type of design is mostly out of fashion. Therefore, it isn’t easy to comment on the in-ear comfort levels.
The OnePlus Nord Buds CE fits exactly like the Apple AirPods. Luckily, these TWS earbuds are the same size and shape as my ears. I did not feel any danger of them to be falling out. Even these Nord earbuds fit well in my ear, but the comfort level was not as good as AirPods. Compared with the original OnePlus Buds, these Nord Buds CE are much better in design and comfort levels.
OnePlus Buds Application for Nord Buds CE
The OnePlus Nord Buds CE can work with OnePlus and other Android phones. These One Plus Nord Buds CE can be accessed via the HeyMelody app. Meanwhile, it can be controlled directly on the OnePlus smartphone. One Plus phones get a system-level application that can control the functionality of the Nord Buds CE TWS earbuds. This application works well within the Bluetooth settings menu.
But this can be a negative point for most users, as the options are buried too deep inside the Bluetooth Setting menu. Once we get to the settings, there are not much of adjustments. The settings get a fairly basic feature set. Here, we can modify the EQ presets and the tap gestures. We can also enable an option to take pictures by a simple double tap on the earbuds while accessing the camera app.
Previously, the built-in audio option on the OnePlus phones was handled by the OnePlus Buds app. This app handles the functionality of the One Plus Buds. Moreover, this app can be directly updated from the Play Store. This functionality was eventually relocated to a system-level program, which only updates with OS changes.
HeyMelody app for Nord Buds CE
For other Android phones, we need to install the Hey Melody app, which is available on the Google Play Store. With this HeyMelody app, we can access most of the features except the option for taking photos. In the HeyMelody app, we also get the option to update the firmware for the TWS earbuds. Also Read – OnePlus Nord Handy Fanny Pack on OnePlus official website
Moreover, there is a manual Game Mode option to lower the latency. The Low-Latency option automatically enables as soon as we activate the Game Mode on the HeyMelody app. In my experience, the HeyMelody app is easy to use because it is available right away on the app drawer. Also Read – OnePlus Nord 2 CE 5G mobile phone specs and price in India
Meanwhile, the HeyMelody app is also available on the iOS platform. But the tech giant has decided not to enable support for the Nord Buds CE in the iOS app. These earbuds still work on iOS devices. But we don’t get the ability to change the features like EQ, touch gestures, and others. If these features are available on the iOS platform, then OnePlus Nord Buds CE could be a great low-cost alternative to the expensive AirPods.
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Equaliser on OnePlus Nord Buds CE Earphones
For EQ functionality, OnePlus offers four EQ presets in the HeyMelody app. These EQ settings can be applied to the earbuds using the app. That is, they are retained in memory and are enforced independently of the device with which you link the earphones, even if that device does not have the HeyMelody app. This also holds for the earbud controls. This means you can setup them up on an Android phone and then use them on other devices with your settings intact.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE: Performance
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Audio Quality
The newly launched Nord Buds CE comes with a single 13.4mm titanium dynamic driver. This driver is on the larger side compared to other brands’ earbuds. This is necessary to overcome the lack of proper seal and a larger air volume between the driver and the ear drum. Moreover, these TWS earbuds also get Bluetooth v5.2 and SBC/AAC codec support.
Remember, these OnePlus Nord earbuds may sound different for different users based on their ear size and how well they fit. The Audio quality may alter as the earbud moves around in your ears. Therefore, you don’t need to get the same audio quality every time you wear these TWS earbuds. This typical design could be a major factor among consumers when selecting these TWS earbuds.
Furthermore, the all-new OnePlus Nord Buds CE comes with four distinct EQ presets Bass, Balanced, Serenade, and Gentle. Here, Bass EQ preset is the default setting. I tested these earbuds with Balanced Preset settings. With the Balanced preset, I found that the audio quality drastically improves on the Nord Buds CE.
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Sound Experience
In my experience, I must say that the sound quality on the Nord Buds CE is decently good. The audio quality offers richness and airiness, which one must not expect from TWS earbuds at this price point. The special closed-tube design helps to boost the bass response by up to 3dB. The Nord Buds CE produces an excellent bass. The bass levels are not as humpy as in earbuds with silicone tips.
With its open-back design, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE sounds more open and spacious than most earbuds with silicone tips. This design excellently separates the imaging and stereo sound. Overall, the Nord Buds CE outperforms its price tag regarding audio quality, providing you find the appropriate fit. Furthermore, there isn’t a lot of ambient noise.
I still like the Nord Buds’ quality since they give greater isolation and deeper bass, but the Nord Buds CE are quite close in terms of overall performance. We can change the EQ preset simply by using the HeyMelody app.
OnePlus Nord Buds CE: Other Features
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Microphone
The microphone performance on the Nord Buds CE is quite mediocre. While recording in a quiet environment, I noticed the voices garbled and felt robotic. Although, in a noisy environment, the AI Noise reduction does a perfect job of keeping the ambient noise levels down. You can use these TWS earbuds for occasional voice calling. The caller should have no complaints about the audio quality. Overall, the microphone quality is below average. I suggest you consider the wired option for calling purposes.
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Noise Cancellation
Being affordable TWS earbuds, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE 2 does not offer any active or passive noise cancellation. We can hear almost everything happening around us. While playing music, the lows are masked. This makes the high frequencies more startling and abrupt. This sound quality issue is not exclusive to the Nord Buds CE and affects all earphones with this design.
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Latency
The newly launched OnePlus Nord Buds CE offers okay latency performance. While watching videos, I noticed an initial delay, which eventually gets fixed as the video playtime passes. This delay is not noticeable to the average user. As we keep using these TWS earbuds, we will eventually stop noticing this delay altogether.
In gaming conditions, the delay is more noticeable. For almost no latency, I will still suggest you go for wired earphones while gaming. This delay surely affects multiplayer games, where latency plays an important role.
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Connectivity
Regarding connectivity performance, the OnePlus Nord Buds CE is highly reliable. In my experience, I did not notice any connectivity issues. There were no audio drops or pairing issues. Everything works perfectly fine.
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OnePlus Nord Earphones Battery Life
OnePlus claims the Nord Buds CE can offer 4.5 hours of battery life on continuous playback. Providing a charging case, the battery life improves to 20 hours. The company claims the fully charged charging case can offer four additional charge cycles.
In my testing, these Nord Buds CE run for around 4 hours and 40 minutes, which is a decent figure considering the price point. OnePlus claims that with 10 minutes of charging, these Nord Buds CE can offer playback for around 81 minutes. In my testing, with 10 minutes of charging, I got around 95 minutes of playback time. Overall, the battery performance is not something to talk about. Meanwhile, the company is not offering special features like active noise cancellation, fast charging, etc. But, these TWS earbuds are still adequate, considering the price point.
One Plus Nord Buds CE: Final Verdict
With a price of Rs 2299, about USD 29, the newly launched OnePlus Nord Buds CE is certainly not the cheapest TWS earbuds in the market. However, these TWS earbuds are one of the best-sounding pairs of wireless earphones. The sound on the Nord Buds CE is much better than some other earbuds, which cost twice as much.
Talking about the negative points, the classic earbud-style design could be the major factor for consumers to choose these earbuds. Meanwhile, this type of design comes with a bulk of issues with these earbuds. In terms of sound experience, there isn’t much to complain about. If you don’t mind the design or prefer it over in-ear variants, this is certainly one of the greatest earbuds you can get.
