OnePlus has announced the OnePlus Buds Pro, and if you couldn’t guess from the name, it’s the company’s Apple AirPods Pro challenger. OnePlus has made headphones for a while, starting out with halo models like the OnePlus Bullets range, before shifting to True Wireless models more recently. The OnePlus Buds Pro are billed as the brand’s first premium set of earbuds and add “smart adaptive noise cancelation” to the feature list, all in an in-ear, AirPods Pro-style short-stem design.
What makes the noise cancelation feature smart? Using three different microphones, clever algorithms to filter out unwanted noise in real-time, and a design to cut down on wind noise, the earbuds can reduce background sound by up to 40 decibels according to the company. OnePlus says the Buds Pro does this intelligently for a more comfortable listening experience.
Sound is delivered using Bluetooth 5.2 through two 11mm drivers and the earbuds have Dolby Atmos support, plus use a feature called OnePlus Audio ID, which is a special sound profile based on your own sensitivity to sound. While it’s not clear what this really means yet, it may be something like the measurements taken by AirPods Pro and Huawei’s Freebuds Pro, which assess aspects like in-ear fit to tailor the sound to you.
OnePlus says to expect five hours playback with active noise cancelation (ANC) switched on, or seven hours without it. The case provides an additional 23 hours of ANC use or 31 hours if you don’t turn ANC on. In total, without ANC, the OnePlus Buds Pro and case will deliver 38 hours of use. It wouldn’t be a OnePlus product if it didn’t have fast charging, and a 10-minute charge will return 10 hours of use. The case also has wireless charging, and if you own a OnePlus 9 Pro phone the reverse charging feature will top up the case too.
The price reflects OnePlus’ claim the Buds Pro are its first pair of premium earbuds. They will cost $150 upon release on September 1 in the U.S., or 140 British pounds when they are released in the U.K. on August 25. A choice of matte black or white models will be available. The OnePlus Buds Pro join a huge number of existing true wireless earbuds, including various other models called “Buds Pro,” all available at a host of different prices.
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