OnePlus sent the Buds 4 for me to test drive and review. There has been no editorial oversight offered or requested from the brand or any associated PR. These are my earnest thoughts regarding the product.
These are great earbuds, and in true OnePlus fashion, we’re delivering tech competitive features at lower prices than the accessories offered by companies like Google, Samsung, and Apple.
The newest buds are extremely familiar. We know what a good true wireless solution should look like, and the Buds 4 fit that to a tee.
I’m personally not a huge fan of the “cut off stalk” look for earbuds. There’s an “average” idea for fit and design. The stalk gives us more room for components, and the ear tips are shallow fit. Unfortunately for me, the stalk pushes against my earlobe, and that prevents the earbud from staying seated IN my ear when talking or chewing.
Many MANY more people like this design though, and it should prove more comfortable for people who don’t like ear tips drilling deeper into their skulls.
The case is now a “top loader” instead of the makeup compact style. The design is subtly refined. OnePlus delivers a harder line around the buds stalk. I like this flat surface, as it gives a slightly better target for volume swipes.
OnePlus rates the buds for up to 5.5 hours of playback using LHDC and ANC on a single charge. On my first full charge, I got over five hours, and charged them with room to spare.
It’s OnePlus, so fast charging is on tap. The buds charge quickly in the case, or can charge twice as fast when the case is plugged in and charging too. Ten minutes in the case should be good for 3 hours of playback, and ten minutes in the case plugged in should give the buds 11 hours of playback. A completely empty to full charge should take about 80 minutes.
The dividing line between Buds and Buds Pro is getting a LOT finer.
OnePlus includes drivers and DACs similar to what’s in the Buds 3 Pro. Dual driver and dual DAC, connecting over Bluetooth 5.4 and using LHDC 5.0 as the Hi-Res codec. Improvements generation over generation are difficult to parse. The Buds 3 Hi-Res playback was rated at 24 bit 96 kHz, and the Buds 4 reach 24 bit 192kHz.
I’m a fan of “placebo” quality audio, but that is difficult to demonstrate how it might impact your experience. There’s PRECIOUS little music in my collection saved at 192 kHz. I doubt I can hear those differences, I just want to save the highest quality option the artist delivered.
I’m not even sure I trust my ears to describe differences between the Buds 3 Pro and the Buds 4. They sound similar enough to my ears, that someone just wanting a high-quality audio experience should definitely save the cash over the Pros.
Digging through my headphone review playlist on Qobuz, I’m recalling similar experiences. It’s a vibrant consumer-friendly tuning, and with a marked focus on delivering “the phat BASS”. OnePlus taking a shot at the reputation Soundcore has for skull rumbling.
Dual driver helps a lot here. There’s a lot of room on these given the price, and we can lean on the lows pretty hard, but there’s still room for articulation in the mids. I don’t lose rhythm guitar behind an upright bass in old school rock and roll. The distortion and buzzy bits in Daft Punk are playful. The guitars in Rage Against the Machine have that edgy aggression we love.
Highs are recessed, and that’s something I’ve personally tried to correct for. I’m really sensitive to “bright” and “shrill”. I have a hard time with audio getting brittle. That throws me off when talking about tuning people might enjoy. Consumer ANC products though can often struggle to deliver that air for all folks, especially the ones who want some sparkle.
OnePlus is lean on the tuning options, just three main settings, but they do include a 6 band EQ to let you customize more. I don’t think many people will need it though. If the vibe is a “playful” and “juicy” the OP are in good territory. I think a LOT of people will opt for the Pepsi challenge to see how much bass they can slather on. Click on the Bass mode and then run the bass slider to the max, and just let the space between their ears vibrate.
It’s such an obvious focus, but a fun result. Where the Pixel Buds Pro at their bassiest are leaner than the OnePlus Buds 4 in “Serenade” mode.
Sound quality is highly subjective, and biology plays a large role in how a product might fit an individual. The Buds 4 are a fun option when you have a good fit. Because that fit also impacts the ANC performance.
Another area I have a difficult time judging, as I’m not always sure I’m keeping the best seal around my ear canal. I need a lot of forward angle and twisting to get that feeling like they are properly blocking my ear.
OnePlus is highlighting technical improvements to the noise cancellation, and I’m sure they are accurate. OP claiming a 5dB improvement over the Buds 3. 5dB in this context is difficult for me to grade as an improvement over the Buds 3, but they do seem to (again) pace the Buds 3 Pro. These are not the most hyper-isolating earbuds I’ve ever used, but they do a very good job of minimizing constant sound around me. From computer fans to road noise, I’m generally aware of my surroundings, but everything has been turned down.
Color me spoiled, as my most recent audio review was the Sony XM6, with some of the best ANC I’ve ever heard. It’s not fair to compare $125 buds to $450 cans. Yet, the effect of reducing something like crowd noise played from my computer speakers can get just slightly “digital artifact-y” on the Buds, where it’s a more natural or organic feeling from the Sony. The difference we might expect with a $300 difference in price.
Recommendations are Tricky
OnePlus does this a lot. Bringing better technology down to lower and lower prices. Now, they seem to have a small issue with their own internal competition. Why would someone buy the more expensive Buds Pro, when the Buds are so similar.
OnePlus has a chart showing the generational improvements from Buds 3 to Buds 4, but no similar chart highlighting what they believe is the value add for spending more on the Buds 3 Pro.
Both buds have more stable and longer range Bluetooth connections. Both buds are maxing out the quality offered by LHDC 5. Both have tech like Fast Pair, Dual Drivers and Dual DACs, and dual connections. Both are rated IP55.
OnePlus makes a bigger marketing push to highlight Dynaudio tuning and EQ, but both buds have “Golden Sound” support to detect canal fit and give you a hearing test.
The differences I can find, the Buds 3 Pro have the sensors built in for head tracking. Both buds have spatial audio support, but the Pros can track your head to anchor audio to a specific direction. That also contributes to the neck health and posture notifications. The Buds 4 can’t tell you if you’ve been sitting with poor posture, or looking down for too long.
The Buds 4 omit the “Zen Mode” feature which gives the listener pleasant white noise to help block distractions. The Buds 3 Pro case supports wireless charging, and the more expensive buds are built a little nicer. The controls on the Pros are Swipe and Squeeze (with less pressure being nudged into the ear canal), where the Buds 4 are Swipe and Tap.
If we were talking MSRP, I’m not sure the Pros extra features would be worth the premium over the Buds 4. The core audio and expanded feature set makes the Buds 4 a strong option. Of course, OnePlus needs to make this complicated though, and the Buds 3 Pro are currently on sale (at the time I wrote this) for $20 more than the Buds 4 MSRP, but then there’s ALSO a coupon code for the Buds 4, dropping the price down to $99.99 (which is roughly the price of the non-Pro Buds 3).
It’s really difficult to grade these on price. We know there will be sales, and people wont always be able to get THIS exact deal. There are going to be times where the Buds 4 are an amazing value, and times where it will make more sense to buy the Buds 3 Pro instead.
I can’t give a simple verdict, because this pricing will be fluid. It’s nice knowing that a lot of people will get some awesome “free with purchase” earbuds when buying a new phone.
Whether someone should go out and buy them directly depends entirely on when they shop these buds, and what kind of sale OnePlus might be offering.
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