OnePlus has unveiled a new pair of truly wireless earbuds called the Buds Z2, and their big selling point is the inclusion of active noise cancellation. They’ll be priced at $99 when they go on sale December 18th. Those anxious to buy a pair can do so starting today by signing up for the company’s new Red Cable Club.
The OnePlus Buds Z2’s inclusion of ANC pits them against Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series which have proven to be some of the best wireless earbuds you can buy on a budget. Of course, they don’t ship with ANC onboard, so OnePlus has a leg up in terms of sound isolation.
The Buds Z2 come with a transparency mode for when you want to listen to your surroundings, and their design has been tweaked compared to the half-priced Buds Z with a shorter stem and lighter weight. They also come with the same 11mm drivers as found in the Buds Pro, so expect similar to identical sound quality.
Three mics can be found on each bud for improved voice pickup, and OnePlus’ Pro Gaming mode comes onboard for better response times when gaming. In terms of battery life, OnePlus says the Buds Z2 will last up to five hours with ANC on and seven hours with ANC off. The new oval case they come in will supply up to an additional 29 hours of battery life for a max total of 38 hours of usage on a single charge.
Rounding things off, the Buds Z2 offer IPX4 protection, Google Fast Pair compatibility, and OnePlus’ Flash Charge for five hours of listening after 10 minutes of charging. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging onboard.
The earbud market has certainly gotten more competitive over the past few years, and OnePlus’ introduction of the Buds Z2 will make things even more complicated if your budget is $100 for a new pair of truly wireless earbuds. I’ll do my best to get my hands on these to see whether they’re worth picking up.
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