OnePlus, which has made a comeback of sorts this year with its flagship 11 5G and the Buds Pro 2, has expanded its budget stable with the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G smartphone and its companion Nord Buds 2.
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2 — the successor to the original Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) Nord Buds — come with active noise cancellation (ANC) and improvements in sound quality, battery life, and connectivity, all for the same price of Rs 2,999.
This review aims to explore whether the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 are the best true wireless earphones under Rs 3,000.
While the Nord series of earphones has typically lacked in any strong points, the Nord Buds 2 offer active noise cancellation and notable improvement in sound quality. They feature 12.4mm dynamic drivers, two microphones for voice and ANC functionality, Bluetooth 5.3 with support for the SBC and AAC codecs, and OnePlus Fast Pair and Dolby Atmos audio are supported on select OnePlus smartphones.
The earphones have a unique spotted pattern and an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. The charging case has a pocketable shape and a USB Type-C port at the back alongside the easy-to-miss pairing button. The earpieces have a proper in-canal fit, ensuring proper noise isolation for the ANC functionality.
The touch controls are customisable through the HeyMelody app, which lets users tweak the settings on the Nord Buds 2. Users can switch between ANC and transparency modes, choose from a handful of equaliser presets, activate the ‘BassWave’ mode, low-latency game mode, and customise the tap controls. They can also view battery levels for both earpieces and the charging case separately, and update the firmware on the headset.
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While there is no multipoint connectivity, quick switching makes it easy to use the headset with two devices almost simultaneously. The earphones have a frequency response range of 20-20,000Hz and a sensitivity rating of 111dB. The general characteristics of the sound are similar to the previous-generation version.
In conclusion
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2 are a good option for those who are looking for budget earphones with active noise cancellation and notable sound quality.
