Looking for cheap noise canceling headphones? Then this OnePlus Buds Z2 review is for you.

Design and fit

Sound quality

Impression

Where could I buy

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Inexpensive headphones don’t have to be perfect, but they do need to sound good and have excellent value for money. If these are the criteria for success, OnePlus Buds Z2 is exactly what you need.

Aside from decent sound, with the Buds Z2 you get a lot of useful features like ear detection and noise cancellation in a beautiful pair of wireless earbuds. They sound good and are inexpensive – what more could you need?

OnePlus Buds Z2: review 

Design and fit

The OnePlus Buds Z2 are small wireless earbuds that you can buy in glossy white or obsidian black. They look good in both cases with the AirPod-style protruding stem, although they do stick out of your ears more than other headphones on the market.

The OnePlus Buds Z2 are largely made of plastic, solid and reliable without feeling cheap. But they won’t give you the same high-end feel as some of the best wireless earbuds out there .

They come in a tablet-shaped charging case with OnePlus branded on the top. It has a tiny LED indicator on the front to let you know the battery level, and there is a Bluetooth reset button on the back next to the USB-C port. The buds magnetically return to their place, so they are as quick to remove as to take out.

The box contains silicone tips of three sizes. Regardless of the shape and size of your ears, they fit comfortably and won’t move, even when you’re working out at the gym or going for a run. This is partly helped by the fact that the bud lies not only inside, but also on the ear. In the smartphone app, you can perform an “earphone fit test” to make sure you’ve made the right choice of earbuds. You just need to run a test and the app will let you know if it’s worth trying a different size or not.

The OnePlus Buds Z2 are IP55 water and sweat resistant, so you don’t have to worry if you get caught in the rain. Even the case is IPX4 rated so it can also withstand splashes.

You can control your music with the touch controls on the outside of each bud. Default controls: press once to pause or play; press twice to go forward; press three times to go back and hold to switch between noise reduction modes, you will hear a tone to know it worked. You can change the nature of each of the gestures using the Hey Melody app available for iOS and Android.

In terms of battery life, you’ll get 5 hours of listening time on a single charge, while the case will give you a total of 38 hours, so you won’t need to plug them in often. 

Sound quality

When using 11mm drivers, the OnePlus Buds Z2 sound great overall. They are full and balanced, with plenty of bass, you can easily distinguish every instrument in the track, while the vocals cut through most genres well. Sometimes you hear a slight hiss, but to be honest, for the most part it’s barely noticeable. One small issue is the lack of a manual EQ setting, it would be great to be able to tweak the sound to suit your preferences.

With three noise canceling modes, you can focus on your music wherever you are. Maximum noise reduction allows you to almost completely eliminate distracting noise, whether it be the sound of a train, keystrokes or office chatter. Sure, they’re unlikely to match the best noise-cancelling headphones , but for a pair of affordable wireless headphones, it’s impressive. If you don’t mind letting in some sound, there’s a standard noise canceling mode, as well as a transparency mode, which should better balance outside noises with the music so you can still hear your surroundings.

Dolby Atmos support means you’ll be able to fully immerse yourself in watching shows on the go, but you’ll only be able to get the most out of it if you have a OnePlus smartphone. That’s not the only function you’ll need a OnePlus phone for – like controlling everything about your headphones from your phone’s settings app; if you are using any other smartphone, you need to download the Hey Melody smartphone app.

With instant pairing with Google Fast Pair, all you have to do is take them out of the case and your phone will instantly connect. They stay connected without any problems.

If you’re worried about losing your buds when you’re out and about, the OnePlus Buds Z2 has ear detection so your music will pause if one falls out so you’re more likely to notice you’re missing.

Impression

The OnePlus Buds Z2 are some of the best true wireless noise-canceling headphones under $75 – the sound quality and ANC are pretty impressive since they’re from a much more expensive pair. If you have a OnePlus smartphone but don’t want to spend money on OnePlus Buds Pro, then OnePlus Buds Z2 is the right choice.

You won’t miss too much if you use a different smartphone because you can still download the HeyMelody app to get most of the features.