Now on its third pair of earphones, OnePlus is no longer a new name when it comes to audio gear. At $49.99, the true wireless OnePlus Buds Z are $10 less than the OnePlus Buds, and for the most part, the main differences come down to design and battery life—the Buds Z use removable eartips instead of buds, and are rated for five hours of power instead of 10. They deliver a bass-forward sound signature that will satisfy anyone looking for a little extra low-frequency push, though they don’t quite stand out compared with the standard OnePlus Buds or other wire-free models in this price range.
They Look Like AirPods
Available in white, or in a Steve Harrington-designed edition with artwork on the earpieces and case, the Buds Z earpieces have stems similar to the Apple AirPods Pro. Internally, the earphones employ 10mm dynamic drivers. They ship with three pairs of translucent eartips in small, medium, and large sizes, as well as a short USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable.
The Buds have an IP55 rating, which means the earpieces are protected against dust ingress and are resistant to light splashes from any direction. They can’t be submerged or exposed to serious water pressure, so we’d advise against cleaning them under a faucet, but a wet cloth should be fine. Keep in mind this rating doesn’t apply to the charging case, so never place wet earpieces inside of it.
The controls on the earpieces are sensitive to touch and adjustable to a degree, but only on OnePlus phones—there’s no universal app available to customize the controls otherwise. A double tap controls playback, and also answers or ends calls, while a tap-and-hold rejects an incoming call. Pressing and holding the earbuds for three seconds automatically switches to the last connected device, which is either useful or potentially annoying, as you might accidentally switch to a different device instead of rejecting an incoming call. It’s a bummer that there are no volume controls, and ultimately which controls are available to you and how well they work depend on what phone you’re using—we tested with both an Android phone and an iPhone. Ultimately, you’ll want to use a OnePlus phone for the most streamlined, configurable experience.
The charging case is shaped like a pill, with a glossy exterior and a flip-top lid. The front face has a battery status LED, and the rear panel houses the USB-C port for the charging cable. OnePlus estimates battery life to be roughly five hours per charge, with about 15 hours of power stored in the case, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
The Buds Z are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0, and support AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, but not AptX. There’s no app, but that’s totally excusable at this price, as is the lack of extra features or accessories.
Audio and Mic Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Buds Z deliver powerful low-frequency response and don’t distort at top, unwise listening levels. The DSP (digital signal processing) does seem to noticeably kick in at higher volumes, thinning out the lows slightly, but there’s still plenty of bass kick here. At more moderate levels, the lows still sound full and rich.
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Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Buds Z’s general sound signature. The drums on this track sound thunderous, but manage not to veer into seriously over the top, unnatural territory. We also get an extra helping of the tape hiss that’s usually relegated to the background, so there’s plenty of boosting in the lows and highs here. Callahan’s baritone vocals get ideal low-mid richness, but can use a little more high-mid presence. In general, the balance is fine here, but things lean toward the bass end of the frequency range and it feels like the sound signature could use a little more high-mid crispness at times. This isn’t to say things sound muddy, just that there’s enough bass boosting that some more high-mid presence would be a good thing.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence to retain its punchiness, but we’re used to hearing a bit more out of the attack here. The vinyl crackle and hiss that’s also usually in the background of this track takes a slight step forward (indicating some higher-frequency boosting), while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with solid, subwoofer-like depth. The vocals are delivered clearly, though again, we wouldn’t mind a little more high-mid presence giving the vocals and the drum loop more definition.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some serious boosting in the lows, sending the lower-register instrumentation notably forward in the mix. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are still bright, crisp, and clear—they suffer less than the previous tracks do from the slightly dialed back high-mids. Ultimately, however, those looking for an accurate listen are going to be a little disappointed by the booming bass and tepid high-mids. Again, things are never muddy, but the balance leans to the lows a little more than necessary.
The mic offers so-so intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded, and the mic’s signal was loud enough, but there was some typical Bluetooth distortion making the words sound a little less clear. Still, on a solid cellular connection, callers should be able to understand you.
Solid Earbuds for OnePlus Fans
For $50, the OnePlus Buds Z offer a powerful listening experience that will appeal to bass lovers more so than those seeking an accurate, balanced listen. The lows are rich and plentiful, and the highs are boosted, too, but the high-mids can use a little more presence. Remember that for $10 more, the standard OnePlus Buds deliver double the battery life, making them a stronger buy in our book. Keep in mind that both pairs of Buds are best suited to OnePlus phone users, as you’ll be otherwise be dealing with limited on-ear controls. For owners of other Android phones and iPhones shopping in this price range, we recommend the $30 JLab Go Air, the $35 Tribit FlyBuds 3, the $50 EarFun Free, and the $80 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air.
