If you’re looking for a decent truly wireless earbuds, OnePlus has announced a new variant called OnePlus Buds Z. It’s a more affordable version of the OnePlus Buds Z that they released just a few months ago. Aside from the price range, the other main difference is that this new pair comes with silicone ear tips instead of the hard plastic one of the previous earbuds. We don’t know if the change will prevent customs agents from mistakenly branding it as counterfeit AirPods but that should help.
We’ve been hearing things about the supposed OnePlus Buds Z but now we have confirmation that it does exist and will soon be available for purchase. You’ll get the more comfortable and more adaptable silicone ear tips with this new model and each pair comes with three sizes of the tips included in the box. You also will be able to easily switch back and forth between your two most recently paired devices through a “quick switch” feature which involves holding down for three seconds either of the earbuds.
Despite being more affordable, it doesn’t skimp on the quality and features as per OnePlus. You get “bass boost technology” and Dolby Atmos support for virtualized 3D audio. You get 10mm drivers, an IP-55 rating for sweat resistance, and has support for Bluetooth 5.0. It may not have active noise canceling but it does have environmental noise reduction to boost voice over background noise during phone calls.
It boasts of 20 hours of playback time, but that already includes the charging case. A single charge should make it last up to five hours. If you run out of juice, you can charge it for 10 minutes and they say you will get “three hours of vibrant audio”. You don’t have wireless charging though but for that price range, it’s understandable. The earbuds are cradled horizontally similar to what other brands are doing now.
The OnePlus Buds Z is priced at $49.99 and will be available in white and “a special edition colorway by Steve Harrington”. It still says coming soon on the official website but it will supposedly be available for purchase by November 2.