OnePlus launched the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 as a cheaper version of the Nord buds 2 in India last week. It doesn’t have ANC, but retains Bluetooth 5.3, 12.4mm drivers, AAC codec and promises up to 38h total playback. Are these the best budget true wireless earbuds from OnePlus? Let us dive into the review to find out.
Box contents
- OnePlus Nord Buds 2 in Deep Gray Colour
- USB Type-C charging cable
- Ear tips in Small and Large sizes (Medium sized tips pre-installed)
- Stickers
- Quick start guide and Safety guide
Design and Build Quality
Starting with the design, the headset is housed in a round charging case that fits in your pocket. The case has a matte finish, so it doesn’t easily attract fingerprints or smudges easily. The Deep Grey Colour is subtle, but doesn’t have the sparkling look that the Buds 2 had.
The charging case measures 68.9×36.6×28.2 and weighs 38.1g, which is compact and light. There are left and right markings for each buds to be placed in the case. There is a tiny LED indicator on the front that glows in green, yellow and red colours.
The case of the Nord Buds 2r has a curved design. The USB Type-C port is present in the back, but there is no set up button.
The headset has a plastic build that has a matte finish throughout, so it doesn’t attract fingerprints. There are microphones are present on the top and the bottom of each earbud.
The earbuds weigh about 4.3 grams, which is slightly lighter than the Buds 2. The earbuds feature an in-ear design and also come with medium-sized ear tips pre-installed. You can change to bundled Large or Small sized ear tips if you wish. It doesn’t have an Optical Sensor for Wear Detection, so you have to use the touch interface for play or pause.
Overall, the headset offers good build quality and fits your ears perfectly so that they don’t fall off your ears easily, even during outdoor activities. The earphones have IP55 ratings for dust and water resistance, so it can withstand splashes or light rain, but you can’t use it when swimming. There is no IP ratings for the case.
Connectivity, Pairing, and Controls
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2r supports Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC audio codec. The pairing process is very easy for OnePlus (6 or later) devices. Just enable Bluetooth on the OnePlus phone, open the charging case of the buds, place the charging case close to the phone, and follow the prompts. This works even with phones with the ColorOS base, such as OPPO and realme.
Since the case doesn’t have a pairing button, you have to hold the touch-sensitive area on both earbuds simultaneously to enter pairing mode to connect to non-OnePlus phones or other Bluetooth device. Then, select OnePlus Nord Buds 2r.
We tested it on the OnePlus Nord 3 and iQOO Neo 7 Pro, and never faced any pairing or disconnection issues.
| Function | Left earphone (L) | Right earphone (R) |
| Play / Pause and | Single tap | |
| Play next track or Answer call / Hang calls | Double Tap | |
| Play previous track | Triple Tap | |
| Long touch and hold | Switch devices | |
There is no option for volume control, same as other first Nord Buds and the Nord Buds 2.
You can customize the controls from the settings from a OnePlus or other ColorOS-based phones, and for other phones you can use the HeyMelody app on Android and iOS. You can change single tap, double tap and triple tap control options.
There are options to choose from different equalizer settings such as Balanced (Default), Bold and Bass. There is also a custom equalizer option. If the phone has Dolby Atmos, it works with the earbuds.
There is a camera control option for compatible OnePlus or ColorOS phones, and the Find my earbuds option makes a noise so that you can find the earbuds when it is connected to the phone.
Audio Quality and Call Performance
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2r packs a 12.4mm dynamic driver, similar to the Nord Buds and Nord Buds 2. Audio from the earbuds are very loud and crisp, but as usual, bass is slightly on the higher side. There is also Dolby Atmos feature, but it works only with compatible phones. I tried it with the Nord 3, and it worked fine.
It offers low-latency experience as low as 94ms that is useful when gaming which is good with other phones, but with OnePlus phones it is better since it is integrated with Pro Gaming mode or Fnatic Mode.
Coming to the call noise cancellation, it uses dual on each earbud that work together to filter out unwanted noise. This does a good job in cutting down noise. During my use, wind noise and traffic was cut out to the receiver.
Battery Life
The earphones pack 36mAh battery that promises about 8 hours of standalone battery, better than the Nord Buds and Nord Buds 2. During my use with AAC, I got about 7 hours of battery life in about 50% volume, so it is good. For calls, it lasts for is less since it uses AI call noise cancellation tech.
With the 480mAh charging case, it promises up to 38 hours of total battery life. The green light in the case indicates that the battery is high, and it turns yellow when it’s medium and red when it is low. You can also see the charge left in the case in the HeyMelody app or on the OnePlus phone’s screen itself when the earbuds are placed in the case. The company doesn’t mention anything about fast charge.
Conclusion
Overall, the OnePlus Nord Buds 2r is a good upgrade to the original Nord Buds since this offers good battery life, good call quality and a good build, but the Nord Buds 2 at a slightly higher price offers ANC, and it will likely get cheaper during sale.
Priced at Rs. 2,199 the Deep Gray variant is available from OnePlus store app, Amazon.in, Flipkart.com, Myntra.com, OnePlus experience stores, and select partner stores. The Triple Blue variant will be available from 15th July.
Pros
- Decent audio quality
- Good call quality
- IP55 ratings
- Good battery life
Cons
- No volume controls