OnePlus has updated its Nord Buds with Active Noise Cancellation and better battery life, the OnePlus Nord Buds 2. It was unveiled alongside the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite early this week.

For unboxing and what’s come in the box, you can check my FastView video below.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Specifications

FastView

Design

Let’s begin with its charging case. It comes with a matte finish with more rounded corners compared to its predecessor. There’s the OnePlus logo engraved on the top and uses USB C for charging at the back. The LED on the front indicates the case battery and charging status.

Overall the shape of the case is rather thick for skinny jeans.

Earbuds & Fitting

They’re in-ear earbuds with IP55 sweat dust protection and come with 3 different ear tip sizes, which is great for running or workout.

The matte finish extends to the earbuds and has a short round stem with a shiny concentric touch panel on the top. There’s no in-ear wear detection, so it wouldn’t pause when you take them out from your ear or vice versa.

They are pretty lightweight and with the oval design, it is comfortable to wear for long hours – make sure you pick the perfect snug-fit ear tip.

Companion App

For non-OnePlus or OPPO devices, the pairing would be through the Bluetooth setting or using the companion app, HeyMelody – available on Android and iOS.

If you are using OPPO or OnePlus devices, with the OnePlus Fast Pair, it will prompt a quick pair notification for quick pairing.

You get a lot of control and customization through the HeyMelody app including, Noise Control (ANC, Normal, Transparency Mode), Sound Master EQ, Find my earbuds, Touch Control, firmware update, and camera shutter control.

Sound Quality & ANC

Features a large 12.4mm Titanium-coated Dynamic driver that offers an impressive bass and mid-frequency performance.

By using the HeyMelody app, you are offered 4 preset equalizers; Balanced, Serenade, Bold, and Bass modes. You can get extra oomph with the Bass mode selected and more detail and richer vocal with Balanced. You can also make your custom equalizer.

Having the default, Balanced mode, I find it’s toward lows while mids and highs are reasonably balanced. This is great for any kind of genre and movie.

The OnePlus Nord Buds 2 is a perfect combo with OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite or others OnePlus devices that supports Dirac Audio Tuner where you will get smoother and more enhanced sound performance. You will also get an immersive experience, watching videos or playing music that is Dolby Atmos support.

Coming to ANC, despite having an in-ear fit with silicone ear tips, the AND is further enhanced and filters out the surrounding humming or high noises. It also features Transparency Mode when you want to talk to someone in front of you without the need of taking out the earbuds.

Battery Life

OnePlus claims to offer up to 36 hours with ANC off or 27 hours with ANC enabled. Throughout my one-week usage with an average of 2 hours per day, I still left with 38% which is solid.

It also features fast charging where a quick 10 minutes of charging provides 5 hours of use. I have yet to charge the charging case but I do assume it is able to top up in less than an hour. Unfortunately, there’s no Qi wireless charging but for the price it offered, I couldn’t ask for more.

Price & Availability

The OnePlus Nord Buds 2 is available to pre-order starting 11th April 2023, 10 am. Those who pre-order from the 11th to the 25th of April 2023 from OnePlus’s LazMall or OnePlus Official Retail Stores will receive RM 30 off.