OnePlus Buds Z Truly Wireless Headphone [Review]

The OnePlus Buds Z are in-ear headphones that are all white and appear similar to the OnePlus Buds Truly Wireless. Like the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless, they also contain silicone earbud tips. A special edition model with Steven Harrington’s vibrant artwork design is also available.

Style

The OnePlus Buds Z are in-ear headphones that are all white and appear similar to the OnePlus Buds Truly Wireless. Like the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless, they also contain silicone earbud tips. A special edition model with Steven Harrington’s vibrant artwork design is also available.

Comfort

These headphones are quite comfy to wear. They’re quite light and don’t travel too far into your ear canal. They offer varied sizes of silicone tips than the OnePlus Buds Truly Wireless, so you can achieve a suitable fit for your needs. They do, however, protrude a little from your ear, which some listeners may find irritating.

Controls

Touch-sensitive controls are included on these headphones, however they can only be used with a OnePlus phone. According to the instructions, you can answer/end a call by double-tapping the controls, and you can reject a call by holding for five seconds. Double-tapping either bud goes to the next track by default, but on OnePlus 6 phones and higher, you may modify this function to play/pause, return to the previous track, or engage the voice assistant. Remove one bud to instantly silence your audio, even if they aren’t attached to a OnePlus phone.

Portability

The OnePlus Buds Z are extremely lightweight. They’re compact and light, so they’re easy to take around in your pocket. You can also take them with you in the carrying case, which should fit in most pockets.

Case

The evidence is compelling. It’s made of shiny plastic that feels tough and long-lasting. The buds are held in place by a magnet as they charge. Additionally, the single LED light indicator aids in the monitoring of the battery level.

Build Quality

The build quality of the OnePlus Buds Z is excellent. Despite being constructed of plastic, they have a sturdy feel about them. The silicone tips don’t appear to be prone to ripping, which is a plus. We don’t currently test for dust and water resistance because the earphones have an IP55 rating.

Stability

When you obtain a good seal, these headphones are very stable. Even if you’re working hard at the gym, they shouldn’t slip out of your ears.

Noise Isolation

The noise isolation on the OnePlus Buds Z is adequate. They have a hard time blocking out ambient noise with a lot of bass, such as bus and jet engines. They are, however, better at blocking out higher-frequency background noises, such as the sound of people chatting around you or the hum of a nearby air conditioner.

Battery

The battery life of the OnePlus Buds Z is adequate. They’re claimed as having a 5-hour continuous battery life, however we only got 3.7 hours out of them. For when you’re on the run, their portable charging case comes with around three extra charges. To save battery life, the buds have an auto-off timer that turns them off after ten minutes of no connectivity. In addition, the in-ear detecting functionality only automatically resumes audio if you put it back in your ears within three minutes of taking it out; otherwise, you must manually resume music.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth connectivity of the OnePlus Buds Z is adequate. They don’t have NFC or multi-device pairing capabilities. Although their latency is likely too high for gaming on PCs, they work well on iOS and Android smartphones. We don’t test for the 103ms of delay indicated by the manufacturer when using OnePlus Phones in ‘Fnatic Mode.’ Some apps, however, adjust for delay, so your results may vary.

Pros and Cons