OnePlus may have just confirmed its next ultra-affordable AirPods alternatives

UPDATE: Mere hours after publishing our original story below, OnePlus appears to be taking its teasing games to the next level already by tweeting a largely obscured image accompanied by a relatively vague tagline.

As far as we can tell, the OnePlus Buds Z will look different from their forerunners, possibly resembling Apple’s AirPods Pro more than the “standard” AirPods. Unless what we’re looking at here is actually a high-end new pair of true wireless earbuds equipped with state-of-the-art active noise cancellation, which would explain the company’s promise to bring “a whole new world of sound soon.”

That’s obviously not something we’d expect from some low-end little headphones set to cost as little as 50 bucks, but at least for now, this is all unfounded speculation. Luckily, we should find out pretty soon what OnePlus has in store for October 14.

Now that we know pretty much everything there is to know about the lone high-end smartphone OnePlus is preparing to unveil in just a couple of weeks, both from official and unofficial sources, it’s time to turn our attention to the other products the company might have in the pipeline for an October 14 announcement.

Yes, we’re fairly certain the OnePlus 8T 5G will not fly solo to the big upcoming virtual launch event, but at least for the time being, we’re not sure exactly how many other devices could break cover alongside the 120Hz powerhouse and what each of them might be all about. Noted Twitter tipster Ishan Agarwal predicted earlier this week “almost 5” product announcements “in total”, one of which was rumored not long ago to offer the true wireless design of the existing OnePlus Buds at an even lower price than $79.

These so-called OnePlus Buds Z may have just been confirmed on social media by their manufacturers themselves, which tweeted a series of riddles in the last few days that seemed pretty innocent and easy to crack at first glance. 

Although that may not sound like a radical change, it’s enough to suggest OnePlus is indeed talking about the unreleased Buds Z with fast charging technology here. Fast charging, mind you, could be a key selling point for a fresh pair of true wireless earbuds priced at 50 bucks or even less.

Knowing OnePlus, other teasers and much clearer confirmations of Buds Z features are set to follow in the lead-up to the aforementioned October 14 shindig, so anyone looking for an ultra-low-cost AirPods rival should keep an eye on the company’s social media channels, and well, our little website here.

Alongside the budget-friendly OnePlus Buds Z and powerful yet surprisingly inexpensive 8T 5G handset, we also expect to see at least one new member of the mid-range Nord smartphone family go official one week from Wednesday. And yes, the company will probably have a couple of things to say about that affordable bad boy too ahead of its actual launch.