The OnePlus Buds Z2 came to India in early January alongside the OnePlus 9RT (the best smartphone under Rs 50,000, read the review here). The Buds Z2 is an upgrade over the OnePlus Buds Z, and it has to be because it costs a lot more than what people expected. Thinking of buying a TWS (truly wireless stereo) earphone in the budget segment? The OnePlus Buds Z2 can be a good choice. Why? Read ahead to find out.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Body and Design
Let’s start with the thing that you see first — the charging case. The charging case of the OnePlus Buds Z2 has a long oval shape with OnePlus branding on the top. It is available in two colours - black and white. I had the black variant.
It is a very simple charging case with an LED indicator at the front. At the back, there’s a USB Type-C port for charging and a button for pairing new devices as well.
You can open the lid of the box using one hand without much discomfort. Inside the case, there are two earbuds naturally, which have a very basic design. The stem on the earbuds is quite long; however, nothing bad about it. There’s a touch area at the top of the earbud which can be used for giving commands to the OnePlus Buds Z2.
In terms of aesthetics, the OnePlus Buds Z2 aren’t bad. They can look perfectly cool and normal on almost anyone’s ears. They also fit very well in my ear when I took them for a run. I didn’t have to keep adjusting them time and again during my run to stop them from falling, which is a big positive, in my opinion.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Performance
The OnePlus Buds Z2 can be a very good and appealing option for people looking for a strong performer in the budget segment. If you have a knack for listening to music with high bass, the OnePlus Buds Z2 can be your perfect buddy.
It can get very loud and yet deliver crystal clear sound. What I really appreciate about these affordable TWS earphones is that they offer noise cancellation. To be precise, users can switch between Transparency, Noise Cancellation, and Noise Cancellation mode. There’s also a ‘Normal’ mode.
The OnePlus Buds Z2 come with 11mm dynamic drivers and can support active noise cancellation (ANC) up to 40db.
Gaming wasn’t an issue with these earbuds. The latency offered by OnePlus Buds Z2 is 93ms which is pretty decent. It has three inbuilt microphones for voice calling, which is also a very decent experience.
Even while running, when I was sweating profusely, there were no issues. Probably because the earphones are rated IP155 (water and dust resistant). Note that the charging case has been rated IPX4 and is water-resistant.
The max noise cancellation mode is very strong. It almost shuts off any unnecessary sound and frequency that you wouldn’t want to ruin your listening experience.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Battery
The OnePlus Buds Z2 have an excellent battery too. It is perfect for people who want to go about listening to music, podcasts, or anything else without worrying about dying battery time and again. The Buds Z2 can charge very rapidly too. If you have a OnePlus charging brick, you can simply take it and connect it with the USB Type-C port at the rear of the charging case of the earbuds for fast charging.
The OnePlus Buds Z2 charging case comes with a 520mAh battery, and the company says it can deliver a playback time of 38 hours in a single charge. I didn’t count the hours, but I am pretty sure that it can deliver performance above 30 hours with the charging case in a single charge.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Features and Things that Impressed Me!
OnePlus Buds Z2 is the cool kid in the block. For a very affordable price, it can offer ANC with multiple setting adjustments with the ‘Dolby Atmos’ support. It pairs with a OnePlus device like magic. It is really fast and quickly scans if there’s a OnePlus smartphone nearby. Re-pairing it with any other device isn’t hard either. All it takes is a couple of seconds, and it is paired and ready to go.
Then the earbud functions are easy to understand too. With just a single tap on the top of the earbud, you can play/pause music or pick and disconnect calls. Further, with a double-tap, you can move forward through the playlist to another song, while with three taps, you can restart the song.
Packing all of this into such an affordable TWS earphone, I must say, OnePlus has done a good job.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Price and Conclusion
The OnePlus Buds Z2 is priced at Rs 4,999 in India. March is about to end, and if you are looking for a TWS earphone that’s a value buy, it has to be the OnePlus Buds Z2. For this price, I couldn’t ask for more from OnePlus. Yes, there is competition at the Rs 5,000 price range, but the OnePlus Buds Z2 stand in its own league. I would have loved it more if the charging case was as short as the OnePlus Buds Pro in breadth, length, and width.
You can definitely consider OnePlus Buds Z2 if you want all the premium features trimmed down to an affordable TWS earphone. The sound adjustment that you can make with the OnePlus Buds Z2 is also a useful feature. They are available on the official website of OnePlus India and Amazon in addition to the retail stores across the country. If you want an even more affordable OnePlus earphone, you can go for the OnePlus Buds Z. But they don’t have the kind of features that OnePlus Buds Z2 come with.
The OnePlus Buds Z2 is available in two colours — Black and White. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must also try the OnePlus Buds Pro. In case you can extend your budget to Rs 10,000, the OnePlus Buds Pro are a quality buy and feel much more premium and better in performance as compared to the OnePlus Buds Z2.
