OnePlus Nord Buds 2r review: Powerful bass that does not overpower

OnePlus Nord Buds 2r

OnePlus caters to the midrange segment of the market with its Nord lineup – be it the Nord smartphones or the Nord Buds wireless earphones. They launched two Nord products on July 5 – the Nord 3 5G smartphone, which impressed me quite a bit during my review, and the Nord Buds 2r, a truly wireless (TWS) earphone priced at a very competitive Rs 2,199.

I had the earphones with me for over two weeks now and this is my final review:

Design, packaging and fit:

The OnePlus Nord Buds 2r comes in a compact packaging, with a black-and-blue colour scheme that felt subtle and understated. My review unit was the Deep Gray variant, while OnePlus also offers a Triple Blue option. The box contents included the earphones housed inside an oval-shaped charging case, three sizes of ear tips – small, medium, and large – and a USB type C charging cable, along with user guide, Red Cable Club membership card, and safety and information booklet.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2r box contents

What I liked most about the charging case was its light weight, compact feel and a matte finish that did not attract a single fingerprint. Weighing just 38.1 gm, it also fits any normal jeans or trouser pocket effortlessly.

ALSO READ: OnePlus Nord 3 5G Review: Solid performance that checks most boxes

The earbuds also have a matte finish and weigh only 4.3 gms. The eartips ensured a snug fit and did not fall off even during my daily walks and vigorous yoga sessions. I used the medium-sized eartips throughout my review. OnePlus claims they developed the Nord Buds 2r to ensure compatibility with most auditory canals, and has a curvature close to the human ear to ensure wear comfort for longer periods. The buds also come with IP55 water and sweat resistance, so they should work fine with splashes of water and sweat.

The earphones allow touch functionalities on both their stems – single tap for play/pause, double tap for next track and triple tap for previous track. OnePlus gets a big thumbs up from me for allowing these functions on both buds, as this greatly boosts ease of usage.

However, the stems of the buds were slightly shorter in my opinion, and people like me who have thick fingers may need to tap multiple times to get the touch commands on point.

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Pairing the Bluetooth 5.3-compatible earbuds with the OnePlus Nord 3 5G was super-fast, with my phone detecting the earbuds as soon as the case was opened. For non-OnePlus devices, the earbuds usually connect automatically only if those were the last Bluetooth devices to be connected to the system. I even tested the pairing with other smartphones such as the Moto G71 5G and Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, and did not face any issues during calls or while watching multimedia content.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2r's Fast Pair process

However, it should be noted that the Fast Pair function only works with OnePlus phones. You will need to download the HeyMelody app for non-OnePlus smartphones for extra EQ settings, while for OnePlus it is inbuilt.

Sound quality and Bluetooth connectivity

This is the most important part of any review for audio devices. OnePlus has packed the Nord Buds 2r with a bunch of nifty features and audio chops, most importantly their 12.4mm extra-large drivers, which allow more air flow, thereby increasing the sound quality. While I always prefer wireless earbuds to have a minimum of 10mm drivers, the driver size of the Nord Buds 2r is the largest used by OnePlus in their Nord lineup.

The titanium-coated diaphragm used in the drivers also has copper coil to increase tension and endurance, claims OnePlus. The earbuds come with Dolby Atmos and Dirac audio tuner, which is compatible with OnePlus devices from OnePlus 7 through OnePlus 11R models.

Throughout my time with the Nord Buds 2r, I typically used them during morning walks or exercise sessions, and then again during evenings for watching multimedia content on OTT apps. For music, I mixed it up between a range of genres – rock, pop, Hollywood, Bollywood, Ghazals and some instrumental as well.

The 12.4mm drivers of the Nord Buds 2r with its bass capabilities came to life while I was listening to John Wick original scores, emphasizing the dark and grunge-like feel. On the other hand, Coldplay’s A Sky Full of Stars (live version) or Dua Lipa’s Hallucinate took me to the middle of the stadium, making me feel like I was part of the audience with the surround music. Bollywood tracks sounded peppy with just the optimum bass.

Meanwhile, the bass took a backseat during Ghazals by Jagjit Singh, poetry recitations by Gulzar or Pandit Ravi Shankar’s sitar and Pandit Amjad Ali Khan’s sarod, allowing me to enjoy the accentuated vocals and the string music with good clarity.

The association with Oppo, which initially started as an audio company, seems to be benefitting OnePlus’ audio products. They have started becoming more refined and sound better than its initial devices.

Watching OTT content or playing games on the phone while using the buds was also pleasurable, with the 94ms low latency helping with a lag-free experience. The 10-meter Bluetooth range also worked very strong. I used to walk around my three-bedroom apartment with the buds on me while the phone lying in the other end without any signal breakage issues.

The earbuds also got me good connectivity during phone calls or web meetings. However, I noticed a drop in audio quality and echo issues during some calls. Maybe OnePlus will be able to fix this issue with software updates post the release.

Battery

With a battery capacity of 36 mAh of the earbuds and 480 mAh of the charging case, OnePlus claims the buds offer up to 8 hours of playback after a single full charge, while the charging case provides up to 38 hours of uninterrupted playback. While you can take these numbers with a pinch of salt, I did get excellent battery life on the buds, with anywhere between 5-6 hours of playback time easily with a single charge.

Verdict

While I do not claim to be an audiophile, I found the sound quality on the Nord Buds 2r excellent value for money – great bass that does not overpower the vocals and gives just the oomph users are looking for in this price segment.

Priced competitively, the OnePlus Nord Buds 2r should be liked by most buyers. However, some tracks may sound muddled at higher volumes while the call quality during phone calls can be better.