2021’s been an exciting year for true wireless headphones, and with just days left before the new year, OnePlus has launched the OnePlus Buds Z2. Looking back at the past year, the wireless headphone world had a lot to offer in 2021. Between the Galaxy Buds 2, Pixel Buds A-Series, AirPods 3, and Beats Fit Pro (just to name a few), there was no shortage of earbud options.
OnePlus also got in on the action with the OnePlus Buds Pro. Announced this past July, the Buds Pro check a lot of boxes. They have a comfortable design, powerful audio quality, reliable battery, and deliver active noise cancellation + a transparency mode. All of that’s available for just $149 — making the OnePlus Buds Pro an interesting alternative to more expensive earbuds like AirPods Pro and Galaxy Buds Pro.
For anyone who’s stared longingly at the OnePlus Buds Pro but can’t justify spending that much money on a pair of earbuds, the OnePlus Buds Z2 might be a better fit. The Buds Z2 were announced on December 16 as a direct successor to last year’s original Buds Z. Like their predecessor, the Buds Z2 aim to deliver a solid all-around earbud experience at a low price. The $99 asking price is double what the previous Buds Z cost, but OnePlus is also touting a heap of upgraded features that should warrant the increased cost.
The OnePlus Buds Z2 Have ANC & 38-Hour Battery Life
One of those upgrades is active noise cancellation — something the first Buds Z didn’t have at all. OnePlus says the Buds Z2 can block up to 40dB of background noise, allowing users to listen to music “without interruption from loud, ambient noise.” That 40dB rating is the same one present with the OnePlus Buds Pro, meaning the Buds Z2 should have identical performance in this regard. Similarly, the Buds Z2 also share the OnePlus Buds Pro’s 11mm dynamic drivers. The Buds Pro have proven to have really good audio in our testing, so having that same power in the Buds Z2 is pretty exciting.
Further enhancing the listening experience are Dolby Atmos support, Bluetooth 5.2, and three sound profiles for users to choose from (Cinematic Movie, Immersive Music, and Mobile Gaming). And as if that wasn’t enough, the ANC effect can be reversed to enable Transparency Mode — making it possible to easily hear surrounding sounds while wearing the Buds Z2. Other features include an IP55 dust/water-resistance rating, up to 38 hours of total battery life, fast wired charging, and Google Fast Pair support.
Adding all of that together, the OnePlus Buds Z2 are essentially the same earbuds as the OnePlus Buds Pro — just without a couple of the more exorbitant features. They don’t have Qi wireless charging, their ANC isn’t adaptive, and the fast wired charging is slightly slower. Everything else is basically the same. If that sounds like an enticing package to you, the good news is that the OnePlus Buds Z2 are available for purchase right now on Amazon and OnePlus’s website. Sales from the OnePlus site are first being offered to anyone who joins the company’s new Red Cable Club, though that requirement goes away after December 17.
